In the age of AI, marketing leaders face a paradox. On one hand, AI optimists predict that “95% of what marketers use agencies, strategists, and creative professionals for today will easily, nearly instantly and at almost no cost be handled by AI.” On the other, experienced communicators remind us that AI “can’t replicate or replace human creativity and emotional intelligence.” The truth lies in between: the most effective teams strike a balance that leverages AI’s speed and human ingenuity. The challenge is knowing which tasks to automate and scale, and which require uniquely human touch.

This post introduces a simple 2×2 quadrant framework to cut through the noise and help you decide. By mapping your team’s activities on axes of Syntropy Score (how irreplaceable human input is) vs. Relevance Score (how critical the task is to client value), you can quickly see what to focus, automate, rethink, or eliminate.

Syntropy vs. Relevance: A Quadrant Method for Task Triage

To prioritize effectively, evaluate each recurring task along two dimensions:

• Syntropy Score (Human Input): Rate 1–10 based on how much unique human judgment, creativity, or contextual understanding the task requires.

• Relevance Score (Client Value): Rate 1–10 based on how important the task is to delivering real value for your client or organization.

Scoring Guidelines (1 to 10):

• Syntropy Score: 1 = fully automatable (routine scheduling, formatting data). 10 = deeply human craft or judgment (original strategy, live negotiation).

• Relevance Score: 1 = negligible impact (no one would notice if it disappeared). 10 = mission-critical to client success.

The Syntropy 2×2 Framework -The Quadrant Map

• Top Right: Core Human Signal – High Syntropy, High Relevance

• Top Left: Automate & Scale – Low Syntropy, High Relevance

• Bottom Right: Rethink or Reduce – High Syntropy, Low Relevance

• Bottom Left: Kill or Outsource – Low Syntropy, Low Relevance
  
  

Quadrant 1: Core Human Signal (High Syntropy, High Relevance)

These are the tasks at the heart of your value proposition. They demand uniquely human insight and matter greatly to client outcomes. Protect and invest in them.

Examples:

• Developing core brand messaging and positioning

• Designing creative campaign concepts

• Conducting deep customer interviews and extracting insights

• Writing thought leadership or executive keynotes with unique POV

• Strategic marketing planning and prioritization

Action: Double down. Let AI assist with scaffolding or research, but humans must own the final outcome. This is your differentiation.

Quadrant 2: Automate & Scale (Low Syntropy, High Relevance)

These tasks are important to client value but don’t require much originality. They’re perfect for automation, freeing up human focus for higher-value work.

Examples:

• Weekly performance reporting and analytics

• Social media scheduling and basic content distribution

• Email nurture campaign execution

• SEO keyword research and optimization

• Paid ads management and bidding

Action: Automate aggressively, but keep humans in the loop for oversight and interpretation.

Quadrant 3: Rethink or Reduce (High Syntropy, Low Relevance)

These tasks burn human energy but don’t deliver significant client value. Question why you’re doing them at all.

Examples:

• Over-engineering minor design assets

• Writing niche blog posts with little traction

• Producing custom reports no one uses

• Running small, low-impact events or newsletters

• Responding in detail to every minor social interaction

Action: Reduce, reinvent, or eliminate. Reallocate time toward higher-value activities.

Quadrant 4: Kill or Outsource (Low Syntropy, Low Relevance)

The graveyard quadrant. These tasks neither add value nor require human creativity. They’re pure entropy.

Examples:

• Manual data entry or duplicative reporting

• Maintaining unused social media channels

• Formatting and file conversion chores

• Excessive internal process overhead

• Legacy tasks done “because we always have”

Action: Stop doing them. If they must persist (compliance, edge cases), automate or outsource at the lowest cost.

Run This Exercise With Your Team

Here’s how to implement:

1. List your team’s top recurring tasks.

2. Score each task for Syntropy and Relevance (1–10).

3. Place each in the quadrant map.

4. Agree on one clear action per quadrant:

   • Q1: Invest and elevate

   • Q2: Automate and systematize

   • Q3: Reduce or reinvent

   • Q4: Kill or outsource

Finally, share commitments. Decide what each leader will stop, start, or change immediately. Publish those commitments to your team so everyone sees the focus shift.

Closing

This framework gives you a simple but powerful filter: Does this task create irreplaceable human signal, and does it truly matter? Use it to make AI a lever, not a distraction. Your team’s energy should go where human creativity and client value intersect.

Now—grab a whiteboard, run the exercise, and start pruning entropy. The future belongs to those who create order from chaos.

References

• World Economic Forum, The Future of Jobs Report 2023 – notes that AI cannot replace human creativity and emotional intelligence.

• Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI – prediction that 95% of marketing tasks will be handled by AI.

• Forbes / MarTech interviews – highlight balance of AI automation with human oversight.

• Peter Drucker – “There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.”