# The pen and the skewer

Who messed with my barbecue?

- Section: Culture & Management
- Published: November 1, 2026
- Address: https://ceoone.com.br/en/article/the-pen-and-the-skewer
- Em português: https://ceoone.com.br/artigo/a-caneta-e-o-espeto.md

![José Augusto Minarelli in glasses, a navy jacket and a light blue shirt, smiling, with his arms resting on the back of a leather chair](https://pub-b80e49b2737940b3ab5d3f20d0578192.r2.dev/artigos/a-caneta-e-o-espeto-foto-horizontal.webp)

Photo: Courtesy

## Key points

- For José Augusto Minarelli, weight-loss pens curb diners' appetite and put pressure on all-you-can-eat steakhouses, which rely on volume, table turnover and margin per ticket.
- He compares AI to the pen: it takes away companies' demand for repetitive tasks such as reports, spreadsheets and analyses.
- The author proposes four habits for a career: observe, show value, keep up to date and connect.

*By José Augusto Minarelli*

For a long time, the pen and the skewer had nothing to do with each other. One was a writing tool; the other, a symbol of plenty at the table. One rarely influenced the other.

Recently, the pen started taking away hunger.

From the countryside to the world. The all-you-can-eat steakhouse, the espeto corrido, was born in the countryside, reached the big cities and crossed borders. Along the way, it gained sophistication: brand, setting, premium service and a high price. That growth attracted capital, with investment funds, international expansion and the promise of dividends for shareholders.

What changed. The weight-loss pen won many users, and it reduces hunger. Those who eat little want little, and nutritionists reinforce the trend, giving guidance on portion, frequency and choice. The customer who paid a lot to eat as much as they wanted started asking what the full price is worth for a small portion.

The knock-on effect. Less appetite, less consumption per customer, fewer visits, less revenue, less profit, fewer dividends. The model depends on volume, table turnover and margin per ticket, and expansion built on high prices carries high fixed costs. The value proposition, "eat as much as you like", loses strength when the customer no longer arrives hungry.

How the restaurants that noticed reacted. Some revised how they serve and what they charge: smaller portions, selected cuts, a hybrid menu between rodízio, à la carte and tasting, pricing by experience rather than volume, less waste and staff trained to listen to the customer.

## What about work? What about careers?

The phenomenon applies, and with great force. In many companies, the rodízio has always been one of tasks: reports, spreadsheets, texts, analyses, repetition. Artificial intelligence is the new pen. It takes away the organisation's hunger for that kind of volume, because what used to take a team is now done in minutes. The effect is the same: less demand for what was served in abundance, pressure on costs and margins, restructuring. Often the professional did nothing wrong. They simply kept serving what the market stopped ordering.

Four attitudes separate those who reinvent themselves from those who wait:

1. Observe. Ask, listen and notice what has changed.

2. Show value. Explain what problem your work solves.

3. Keep up to date. Combine experience with new resources.

4. Connect. Share information. Ask for and offer help.

Value lies in judgement, context, relationships, ethics and leadership, not in volume or hours of presence. In a career, the signal appears before the layoff: tasks that disappear, projects that shrink, meetings where your contribution is no longer asked for.

## The question that remains

Is what you offer still what the market needs?

Whoever waits for the dining room to empty before changing the menu may end up without customers. And without dividends.

*José Augusto Minarelli is CEO of Lens&Minarelli Associados, an outplacement and career transition hub*

CEO ONE · https://ceoone.com.br