Stop Thinking Like an Employee. Start Thinking Like a Product.
Why "Expertise-as-a-Service" is the mindset shift your career needs in 2026
Stop thinking of yourself as an employee.
Start thinking of yourself as a SaaS product.
Because that’s what you are—whether you realize it or not.
The Uncomfortable Truth
Most professionals have placed too much control of their livelihood in their employer’s hands. They’ve outsourced their identity to a company name on their LinkedIn headline. They’ve confused job security with career security.
And then they’re blindsided when the layoff email arrives.
Here’s what I learned after three decades in tech, including years as a Microsoft executive: Companies don’t owe you anything. They will restructure, reorganize, and rightsize you out the door the moment the spreadsheet demands it. It’s not personal. It’s business.
The question is: Are you ready when that happens?
Here’s what makes this worse: When I ask senior leaders to describe what they actually do—their unique value, their differentiated expertise—most struggle. They give me job titles. They give me responsibilities. They give me vague platitudes about “driving results” and “leading teams.”
But they can’t tell me what makes them different.
This is a massive problem. And an even bigger opportunity.
Different > Best
Michael Porter, the godfather of competitive strategy, said something that changed how I think about careers:
“It’s not about being the best. It’s about being different.”
Think about that. In a world drowning in talented people, “being good at your job” isn’t a competitive advantage—it’s table stakes. What separates you from the thousands of other competent professionals in your field?
Robert Greene makes a similar point: Your uniqueness—your weirdness, even—is your source of power. The things that make you different are the things that make you irreplaceable.
But here’s the gap I see constantly: People have strong skills. They have valuable expertise. What they lack is the ability to clearly communicate their value proposition.
And in a world where attention is scarce and competition is fierce, unclear value = invisible value.
The Mindset Shift: Expertise-as-a-Service
I want you to adopt a new mental model:
You are Expertise-as-a-Service (EaaS).
Just like a SaaS product, you need to answer three fundamental questions:
What are you selling? (Your specific expertise and outcomes you deliver)
How is it unique? (Your differentiation—why you, not someone else?)
What is the price? (Your value exchange—salary, rate, equity)
This isn’t about becoming mercenary or disloyal. It’s about owning your career with clarity.
When you adopt this mindset, something shifts. You stop hoping to be valued. You start ensuring you’re valuable. You stop waiting for recognition. You start communicating your worth.
And critically: You make it easy for people and organizations to “buy” your expertise.
Because confused buyers don’t buy. If someone has to work hard to understand what you offer, they’ll move on to someone who makes it obvious.
I Learned This the Hard Way
About eleven years ago, before I moved to Austin, I was exploring my next chapter. Instead of just “networking” and hoping the right opportunity would find me, I created a short slide deck—almost like a product cut sheet—that clearly articulated who I was and what I had to offer.
I shopped it around to executives in my network.
One conversation stands out. I got on a call with a software executive, walked him through my deck, and he said something I’ve never forgotten:
“I love the clarity of your value prop. It’s just not what we need right now.”
That was a “no.” And it was one of the most valuable conversations I had.
Why? Because he didn’t have to work to understand me. I did my job. I packaged my expertise in a format—like a menu or a cut sheet—that provided transparency to the buyer. He could quickly assess fit and make a decision. No mind-reading required.
You cannot expect buyers to know who you are and understand your deep expertise. That’s your job. Make it easy for them to say yes—or no. Both outcomes serve you.
That clarity didn’t just help me find opportunities. It helped me filter the wrong ones faster.
Why 2026 Demands This
The current job market is ruthless. And AI is accelerating this ruthlessness in ways most people still underestimate.
The pace of change is only increasing. Roles that feel secure today will be redefined tomorrow. The skills that got you here won’t be the skills that keep you relevant in eighteen months.
This isn’t doom and gloom—it’s reality. And reality is navigable when you’re prepared.
The EaaS mindset keeps you sharp. When you think of yourself as a product, you stay alert. You keep adapting. You keep evolving your offering.
Because here’s the critical insight: Your product isn’t static. It’s dynamic.
The expertise you’re selling today may not be what the market needs next year. Just like any successful SaaS product, you need to continuously update your features, refine your positioning, and adapt to what your market demands.
What got you here won’t get you there. Your “product roadmap” should be a living document.
Here’s the truth: You’re not selling permanent employment. You’re renting your expertise in a dynamic market.
That might feel uncomfortable. Good. That discomfort keeps you committed to growth.
The Question You Need to Sit With
If your company let you go tomorrow, could you clearly articulate—in 30 seconds—what you offer, why you’re different, and why someone should hire you?
If you hesitated, that’s your answer.
Your Challenge
I want you to do something this week:
Write your Product Brief.
Imagine you’re launching yourself as a new offering. Document:
What expertise am I selling? (Be specific—not “leadership” but “transforming legacy teams into AI-enabled organizations”)
Who is my target customer? (What type of company, leader, or problem?)
What outcomes do I deliver? (Measurable results, not activities)
What makes me different? (Your unique combination of skills, experience, perspective)
What is my pricing? (What are you worth? What should you be worth?)
How am I taking this to market in 2026? (Your visibility strategy—network, content, positioning)
A word of warning: Don’t underestimate the time this takes. Finding the right words—the precise language that captures your unique value—requires iteration. Most people give up too early, settling for vague descriptions that sound like everyone else.
This is where AI becomes your thought partner. Use conversations with Claude or ChatGPT to pressure-test your positioning. Ask it to poke holes. Ask it to simplify. Ask it what’s unclear. The back-and-forth will sharpen your thinking faster than staring at a blank page.
Then pressure-test it with humans:
Is this easy to understand in 30 seconds?
Is it compelling enough that someone would forward it?
Would you buy this?
Does it reflect where the market is heading, not just where it’s been?
If the answer to any of these is no, you have work to do. That’s not a failure—that’s the beginning of clarity.
The Bottom Line
The professionals who thrive in the next decade won’t be the ones hoping their company takes care of them.
They’ll be the ones who stopped waiting for permission. Who stopped outsourcing their worth to an employer’s opinion. Who took ownership of their expertise, packaged it clearly, adapted it continuously, and made it impossible to ignore.
You are the product.
The only question is whether you’ll build one worth buying.
I’d love to hear from you: What’s your one-sentence value prop? Drop it in the comments—I’ll reply to as many as I can. Sometimes an outside perspective is exactly what sharpens the message.