Job Architecture: Building a Language for Workforce Intelligence
Ben Zweig
Wiley (January 2026)

How to make the right decisions with the best information about human capital

In Job Architecture, Ben Zweig “shows the very real stakes when companies do not use good data to make decisions about human resources and labor in their industries.”

In fact, “If we want to live in a productive and efficient society, we have to make sure that our two main resources — capital and labor — are allocated well. If they aren’t, good businesses aren’t getting the capital they need to grow. Potential employees aren’t being hired to do jobs that are needed.”

With regard to the reference to “a language for workforce intelligence” in this book’s subtitle,” I take that to mean that all workers (ideally) are “on the same page” and “talking the same language,’ “share the same vision, values, and objectives, etc.

The information, insights, and counsel are carefully organized within three Parts and should be read sequentially. For present purposes, let’s focus on Part II in which Zweig “identifies the fundamental elements of implementing taxonomies [i.e., whatever can be developed, grouped, classified, and labeled within a shared community] creating standardization across industries and markets”). Zweig explains how you and your associates — and teams in almost any other organizations, whatever their size and nature may be — can create a complete workforce taxonomy. I wholly agree with him that “taxonomies can help us only if we can use them to better understand and manage a workforce.”

He focuses on seven characteristics of a useful taxonomy, literally a proper “arrangement”of all the components essential to a workforce culture’s personal growth, professional development, and organizational success. These characteristics are:

1. Organized around work activities rather than skills
2. Hierarchically flexible to be useful for an organization
3. Adaptable to the different contexts across companies and industries
4. Being able to explain the decisions made within the taxonomy and why it is set up the way it is
5. Easy to map (i.e., locate where who and what are
6. Being able to evolve (adapt) to the changing landscape
7. Some level of universality

Ben Zweig explains each thoroughly in Pages 81-101.

I congratulate him on Job Architecture. It is a brilliant achievement. Those who share my high regard for it are urged to check out The Octopus Organization: A Guide to Thriving in a World of Continuous Transformation, co-authored by Phil Lel-Brun and Ana Wernerand published by Harvard Business Review Press (December 2025)

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Here are two suggestions while you are reading Job Architecture: First, highlight key passages. Also,  perhaps in a lined notebook kept near-at-hand,  record your comments, questions, and action steps (preferably with deadlines). Pay special attention to the paragraph of each of the ten chapters as well as an especicially well-crafted Conclusion.

These two simple tactics — highlighting and documenting — will expedite frequent reviews of key material later.