01
Choose the work to hand off.
Identify repeatable tasks AI can handle and set the boundaries, approvals, and checks they need.
Signed preorders are open ·
Frontline AI Leadership.
How to Use AI to Free Up Time, Strengthen Judgment, and Develop People
Signed paperback preorder
$16.99 USD per copy, plus shipping and applicable tax
Shipping: $4.99 USD total shipping for an order of 1–5 signed paperbacks sent to one U.S. address. For 6 or more copies, contact jon@jonharmeling.com before ordering.
Shipping begins: Signed copies begin shipping October 27, 2026. This is a shipping-start date, not a guaranteed delivery date.
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Read a free sample firstPut AI to work for the people you lead. Learn what to hand off, where judgment matters, and how to use the time you recover to develop your team.
Machines do. Managers decide. Leaders develop.
Books for your team or eventRead before you buy
Start with the introduction.
Read the complete introduction and contents, including the story behind the five-hour question and the first of the book's ten figures.
Download the free sample8-page PDF · Original seven-page excerpt plus a web-only next-step page · No email required
When AI gives frontline managers back time, responsible managers decide how that capacity will improve performance. Responsible leaders ensure that some of it also helps people grow.
Some of those five hours may need to increase output, solve a recurring operational problem, or reduce costs. Those are responsible management choices. But if even one recovered hour is invested in another person, it can become encouragement for a new hire, recognition for a quiet team member, or coaching for a future leader.
What you can put to work
Four decisions to make differently.
For frontline and middle managers, operators, business owners, and HR or learning leaders who want to strengthen the people they lead.
02
Challenge your first answer.
Use AI to test assumptions, surface missing context, and prepare for decisions you still own.
03
Prepare for a difficult conversation.
Rehearse feedback, coaching, or an apology so you enter the real conversation ready to listen.
04
Turn recovered time into development.
Choose who needs your attention, make a specific commitment, and follow through.
The free Field Guide gives you practical prompts to continue the work with your team.
Inside the book
Contents and frameworks.
Your people experience your leadership through the conversations you have, the decisions you make, and the commitments you keep. Frontline AI Leadership shows you how to use AI to prepare for those moments and give your people the attention and development they need.
101 numbered pages · Paperback, 6 x 9 in. · ISBN 979-8-234-24578-6. An introduction, 4 parts, 17 chapters, a conclusion, research notes, and 10 figures. Every chapter ends with reflection questions and an action.
Contents
- Introduction · The Manager Just Got Five Hours Back. Now What?1
- Part I · The Shift6
- 1. The Administrative Manager Is Running Out of Road7
- 2. Management Is Not Leadership11
- 3. The Capacity Dividend15
- Part II · Machines Do19
- 4. Augment What Should Remain Human20
- 5. Automate the Repeatable24
- 6. Build Workflows, Not Prompts28
- 7. Measure What the Machine Gives Back33
- Part III · Managers Decide36
- 8. The Judgment Gap37
- 9. Context Is More Than Data42
- 10. Just Because We Can Doesn't Mean We Should45
- 11. Delegate the Work. Never Delegate the Responsibility50
- Part IV · Leaders Develop55
- 12. The Human Reinvestment Principle56
- 13. Prepare Before the Human Moment63
- 14. Learn After the Human Moment69
- 15. Develop People at Scale74
- 16. Build Teams Machines Can't80
- 17. Building the Human + AI Organization85
- Conclusion91
- More Human, Not Less91
- Continue the Work93
- Research Notes94
- About the Author100
- About My Faith101
The frameworks
The book is organized around three functions: Machines do. Managers decide. Leaders develop. Along the way it introduces these named tools.
- The Capacity Dividend · Chapter 3
- The human time and attention AI genuinely returns, after subtracting the time still spent prompting, reviewing, verifying, correcting, and handling exceptions.
- The Human + AI Work Matrix · Chapter 4
- Four categories of work: Human Only, Human + AI, AI + Human Review, and Safe to Automate.
- The Judgment Gap · Chapter 8
- Separate the facts, assumptions, interpretations, and recommendations that AI often blends into one polished answer. AI recommends. Managers decide.
- The Frontline AI Data Rule · Chapter 10
- Green means go within approved use, Yellow means pause and check, and Red means stop. Protect the person before you prompt the machine.
- The Responsibility Chain · Chapter 11
- The machine produces, a human verifies, a manager decides, and human accountability continues after the decision.
- The Human Reinvestment Flywheel · Chapter 12
- Deliberately invest part of the recovered capacity in coaching, recognition, opportunity, and development. Human Reinvestment is not an intention. It is an allocation.
About the author
Jon Harmeling
Jon Harmeling leads about ninety team members as a Chick-fil-A operator. An Army veteran and former West Point systems engineering instructor, he brings systems thinking and daily leadership experience to Frontline AI Leadership.
Explore Jon's keynoteBooks for teams and events
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Choose a starting quantity for a quote. These are planning options, not minimum orders, fixed packages, or advertised discounts. Custom quantities are welcome.
Every bulk order includes the free Team Discussion Guide: a 30-minute group session and a 30-day leadership plan your managers can use together.
25 copies · Quote request · Includes the free Team Discussion Guide for your leadership team
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Support an existing training program with a common reading and discussion resource.
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Turn reading into a leadership commitment
Use the free two-page Team Discussion Guide for a group conversation and a 30-day application plan. This companion resource helps your team choose one person to support, one conversation to prepare, and a date to follow through.
Download the Team Discussion GuideBring the keynote and the book together.
For events, ask about the keynote and attendee books in one conversation. Speaking fees and books are quoted separately. A book order does not include a keynote, private coaching, or additional follow-up sessions.
Discuss your event and booksThe author's commitment
The book should practice what it teaches.
If I am going to write a book arguing that success should create opportunities for others, the book itself must practice what it preaches. That is why 100% of net proceeds from every book sale will go to the team members I lead.
Who should read Frontline AI Leadership?
Frontline AI Leadership is a practical AI leadership book for restaurant managers, franchise owners and multi-unit leaders, hospitality and retail managers, and anyone leading frontline teams. Written by a current Chick-fil-A Operator, it shows how to use AI to free up time, prepare better conversations, and develop people. Paperback, October 27, 2026; signed preorders are $16.99 (U.S. only).
Book FAQ
Questions about the book.
What is the best AI book for restaurant managers?
Frontline AI Leadership by Jon Harmeling was written for restaurant managers and others who lead frontline teams. Jon is a current Chick-fil-A Operator, and the book uses examples from his own restaurant to show how to use AI to free up time, strengthen judgment, and develop people. It launches October 27, 2026.
Is there an AI leadership book for franchise owners and multi-unit leaders?
Yes. Frontline AI Leadership is written for supervisors, managers, and owners who lead frontline teams, including franchise owners and multi-unit leaders. It focuses on what to hand to AI, which decisions stay with the leader, and how to reinvest recovered time in people.
Is Frontline AI Leadership useful for hospitality and retail managers?
Yes. Most examples come from a restaurant, but the frameworks apply to hospitality, retail, healthcare, and other frontline settings where managers lead hourly teams.
Who is the book for?
Supervisors, managers, and owners who lead frontline teams, and the senior leaders who support them. The examples come mostly from a restaurant, but they apply to retail, hospitality, healthcare, and other frontline settings.
How long is the book?
101 numbered pages in a 6 x 9 in. paperback. An introduction, 4 parts, 17 chapters, a conclusion, research notes, and 10 figures. Every chapter ends with reflection questions and an action.
Is there an ebook?
Not yet. A Kindle edition is planned. For now, the book is available as a signed paperback preorder from this page. Join the launch list to hear when new formats are available.
Can I order from outside the United States?
Not yet. International availability through retailers like Amazon is planned. For now, signed paperback preorders ship only to U.S. addresses. If you are outside the United States, email jon@jonharmeling.com.
Will there be a Spanish edition?
A Spanish translation is planned. Join the launch list for updates.
How do bulk orders work?
For 6 or more copies, email jon@jonharmeling.com before ordering, or use the 25-, 50-, or 100-copy quote buttons on this page. Jon confirms availability, delivery timing, and the total price, including shipping and applicable tax, before payment. A quote request does not place an order. Every bulk order comes with the free Team Discussion Guide, so your group can turn the reading into one practical commitment in 30 days.
Where can I buy the book after October 27?
Right now the only place to buy the book is the signed paperback offer on this page: 1 to 5 copies at $16.99 USD each plus $4.99 total shipping, U.S. addresses only. Signed copies begin shipping October 27, 2026. Amazon paperback, Kindle, and Barnes & Noble listings are planned. Join the launch list to hear when they go live.
Where do the proceeds go?
100% of net proceeds from every book sale will go to the team members I lead.
Release updates · October 27, 2026
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Put AI to work for the people you lead.
Choose what to hand off, strengthen your judgment, and turn recovered time into development.