Give Alexander Hamilton a Typewriter: The Reframe That Makes Change Management Actually Work

Give Alexander Hamilton a Typewriter: The Reframe That Makes Change Management Actually Work

From Careers and the Business of Law by David Cowen

May 14, 2026 · 18 min

About this episode

Mary Agbovi discusses a reframing of change management through the metaphor of giving Alexander Hamilton a typewriter, emphasizing the role of AI as a tool for empowerment in legal operations.

Mary Agbovi runs legal operations at CoverMyMeds, sits on the SOLID Advisory Council, and co-founded an organization that builds schools in Togo. David Cowen sits down with Mary to unpack the most quotable metaphor in the entire series: what if we had given Alexander Hamilton a typewriter? It is a reframing of change management that strips away the fear of AI replacement and replaces it with something more useful, we are handing our teams tools to be more of who they already are. Key Topics Covered: The Hamilton typewriter metaphor: Why we are giving people an amplifier, not asking them to change identity Concentric circles of AI rollout: Mary's framework for thinking about adoption — direct team first, then the surrounding stakeholders The bell curve of adoption: What to do with the leading 20 percent, the middle 60, and the trailing edge Building schools, building legal ops: Why creating space for people to learn is the same fundamental work Inspiring agency: Why storytelling is the differentiator for legal ops leaders in 2026 Articulation as AI dividend: How Mary uses AI as a coach to refine her own thinking Project managing a life: Three daughters, building schools, leading…

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