---
id: "quote-fixing-the-rudder"
type: "quote"
source_timestamps: ["\\\"§ 3. Design AI with Workers", "Not Just for Them\\\""]
tags: ["metaphor", "agency", "co-creation"]
related: ["action-co-create-ai-tools", "framework-five-approaches-ai-trust"]
speaker: "Ashley Reichheld et al."
speakers: ["Ashley Reichheld", "Christina Brodzik", "Anne-Claire Roesch", "Greg Vert", "Ryan Youra"]
quote: "Teaching workers to use AI without giving them a say in how it's built is like training someone to sail but fixing the rudder in place: They can catch the wind but not steer their course."
sources: ["adoption"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-adoption"
originDay: 9
articleStem: "hbr-edu-40-workers-dont-trust-ai"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2025/11/workers-dont-trust-ai-heres-how-companies-can-change-that"
sourceTitle: "Workers Don’t Trust AI. Here’s How Companies Can Change That."
---
# Fixing the Rudder in Place

> "Teaching workers to use AI without giving them a say in how it's built is like **training someone to sail but fixing the rudder in place**: They can catch the wind but not steer their course."
> — [[entity-ashley-reichheld]] et al.

**Why it matters:** the governing metaphor for approach #3 of the [[framework-five-approaches-ai-trust]] — *Design AI with Workers, Not Just for Them.* It sharpens the argument that **training without agency is insufficient**: skill-building (catching the wind) is wasted if workers cannot influence tool design (steering). This is the rationale for internal foundries and iterative pilots — see [[action-co-create-ai-tools]] and [[entity-walmart-d9]]/[[entity-element-foundry]].