Human Performance in the Age of AI: The Third Edition of a Classic Consulting Handbook

Human Performance in the Age of AI: Introducing the Third Edition of Human Performance

The Social and Organizational Performance Review is pleased to announce the publication of the third edition of Human Performance: Consulting Handbook with AI Assistants, by Mariano Bernardez.

Originally published in 2006 as a practical handbook for consultants, managers, and performance improvement professionals, Human Performance has become a reference for practitioners seeking to improve individual, organizational, and social results through systematic performance analysis and intervention.

The 2026 edition marks an important milestone. For the first time, the handbook incorporates AI assistants as practical tools for performance consulting and management, reflecting one of the most significant changes in professional practice since the emergence of the Internet and digital collaboration.

Yet this book is not about replacing human expertise with technology. Its central premise is the opposite: AI becomes valuable when it extends human judgment, creativity, analysis, and decision-making.

The new edition preserves the practical orientation that characterized the original handbook while expanding its scope to address the realities of modern consulting. Readers will find more than seventy frameworks, models, checklists, and tools covering performance analysis, needs assessment, intervention design, implementation, evaluation, change management, organizational development, and social performance improvement.

A distinctive contribution of this edition is its emphasis on helping professionals create and customize their own AI assistants. Rather than treating AI as a black box, the handbook demonstrates how consultants and managers can develop specialized agents to support diagnosis, data analysis, project management, client engagement, performance improvement, and organizational learning.

The result is a practical guide for a new generation of performance professionals: one that combines proven methodologies from Human Performance Technology, Performance Improvement, e-Performance, Electronic Performance Support Systems (EPSS), and organizational development with the emerging capabilities of generative artificial intelligence.

For managers, consultants, coaches, HR professionals, learning leaders, and performance improvement practitioners, this new edition provides both a foundation in established practice and a roadmap for the future.

As organizations face increasing complexity, the challenge remains the same as it was in 2006: improving results while creating value for people, organizations, and communities. The tools are changing. The mission remains unchanged.

The third edition of Human Performance: Consulting Handbook with AI Assistants is now available.

We invite our readers to explore the book and join the conversation about the future of human performance in the age of AI.