LinkedIn deliberately rolled out its AI tooling and LinkedIn's Full-Stack Builder Model from the bottom up rather than by top-down mandate: small pilot pods first (see Single Pilot Team as Transformation Proof of Concept), access kept opt-in and conditioned on giving feedback, explicit FOMO/exclusivity tactics so access feels earned rather than assigned, all-hands storytelling, and highlighting unconventional career moves that resulted from the new model (e.g., a user researcher who became a growth PM) as proof the shift creates opportunity rather than threatens jobs.
Cohen's stated reasoning: "I see a lot of companies roll out their agents and just expect [employees] to adopt. Doesn't work this way" — adoption has to be pulled, not pushed.
LinkedIn's concrete version of the tactic: new internal AI tools and programs (e.g. the Associate Full-Stack Builder (APB) Program) are rolled out to a limited early-access group first, gated behind an explicit sign-up rather than pushed to everyone. Scarcity plus a visible sign-up list drives word-of-mouth demand — people ask to get in rather than being told to use it. Apply: require active feedback from the early cohort as the price of access, not just a login, so the exclusivity also produces signal.