Yesterday was the New York City Marathon, and at risk of sounding like the Grinch, I kind of hate this day.

You can’t get anywhere in Brooklyn. Everyone is screaming. The city is overrun with, well, runners.

But even for a marathon Grinch like me, it’s impossible to not feel the joy of hard work paying off and people reaching their goals. The energy and camaraderie reaches through every single borough.

I have a parent friend who’s been training for this year’s marathon. Over the past six months, I’ve watched him do progressive runs, learn to manage his energy, build stamina…do all the things that runners do to prepare for the big day.

Thought experiment time: Imagine if, instead of hitting the street and developing his running muscles, my friend spent those six months just planning. Studying the route, getting advice from running experts, reading books on nutrition.

Doesn’t seem like a great way to prepare for the big day, does it? But this is how SO many teams approach their work.

In this marathon example, it’s obviously absurd. Of course you can’t just plan to run a race, you need to take action and train! The idea is equally absurd for teams, but so many organizations get trapped in the preparation stage. They think that if they plan enough, they’ll develop the perfect strategy and everything will work out.

Nope. The way to get from where you are to where you want to be is to act. Through action, you’ll learn what works, what doesn’t, and what you need to change to achieve your goal.

This is not to say all planning is a waste. My friend definitely consulted some runners and read some books. He definitely studied the course. But he also did the necessary, daily work. He put in the reps. And after yesterday, he can say he successfully crossed the finish line.

Which, speaking of finish lines, another thing the marathon’s got me thinking about is how we actually get there.

The ritual of building our muscles and skills over a period of time used to be the only way to cross the finish line. Now, in the age of AI, there’s an Uber that can take us from start to finish in medal-winning time.

AI might get you there faster, but it also takes away a lot of the growth and satisfaction we get through the training and the struggle. Nobody is going to take you seriously if you said, “Yeah, I did the marathon, too! I took an Uber.”

There’s a concept called Type 1 and Type 2 fun. If you haven’t heard of it, Type 1 is fun you have in the moment. Eating ice cream, reading a book. Type 2 is a struggle while you’re doing it, but you’re so pleased when you finish. Training for a marathon, for example. Learning a new skill. Completing a tough project at work. The fun comes from triumphing over the struggle.

AI takes the Type 2 fun out of many things in work life. It speeds up progress, but in doing so, erases so much of what makes a task meaningful. It threatens to erode skills and experiences.

The way we combat this? Discernment. As we learn how to integrate AI into our daily workflow, we also need to learn when taking the Uber makes sense and when to train for the marathon instead.

And after a weekend surrounded by the infectious joy of accomplishment, I can absolutely say that training for the NYC marathon is worth it.

To be clear, though, not for me. You will never catch me running through the streets of New York. But definitely for someone else.

Karina Mangu-Ward

Partner, August Public