AI strategy26 May 20262 min read
Buying isn’t implementing
Why most courses and tools get bought and quietly abandoned, and the single thing the data shows actually changes it.
AI strategy25 May 20263 min read
The Implementation Gap: Why Most of What You Buy Never Gets Used
Original analysis: the median online course completion rate is 12.6%, and 46% of software licences sit unused. The data shows the problem was never buying. It was implementing.
AI strategy5 May 20267 min read
The ‘AI replaces SaaS’ story was wrong. SaaS metering AI is what’s actually killing it.
HubSpot, Adobe and Salesforce are now charging customers based on AI usage, according to The Information's late April 2026 reporting. The "AI replaces SaaS" prediction got the direction right and the mechanism wrong. SaaS isn't dying because AI competes with it. SaaS pricing is breaking because the usage clocking layer that vendors are bolting on is changing the deal. After 120+ AI projects across 15+ industries, I've seen this exact pattern hit three UK SMBs in the last quarter. One client went from £1,200 a month in SaaS AI add-ons to £180 a month on raw API. Here's the decision framework, with three buyer responses and one worked example.
AI strategy5 May 20268 min read
CEOs and boards are now fighting over AI implementation speed. Here’s how to pick a pace that doesn’t fail.
Business Insider reported on 4 May 2026 that CEOs and boards across the United Kingdom and the United States are openly disagreeing on how fast to push AI inside their companies. Some boards want urgency, some CEOs want caution, and the disagreement is forcing pace decisions that often go wrong in both directions. This piece walks through three honest pace options for SMBs (slow-and-stable, fast-and-fix, parallel-track), shows which org each one fits, lists the three signs you've picked the wrong one, and gives a short decision matrix you can run in a board meeting before the temperature in the room rises any further.
AI strategy29 Apr 202610 min read
Your AI Vendor Is Learning From Your Team. Here Are the Three Contract Clauses Most SMBs Forgot to Include.
A viral video of Indian factory workers wearing head cameras to train AI made the training-data pipeline visible. Most SMB AI vendor contracts are silent on what their tools learn from your team. Three redlines a practitioner asks for on every renewal, plus a fifteen-minute audit you can run this week.
AI strategy27 Apr 20269 min read
Google Just Handed McKinsey $750M to Sell You AI. The Practitioner’s View on What That Means for Your Business.
Google has set up a $750M fund to push AI agents through McKinsey, Accenture and Deloitte. OpenAI is now selling Codex through PwC. The big consultancies are circling. Here's what an actual practitioner thinks you should do this week.
AI strategy8 Apr 20267 min read
Consulting Firms Are Becoming Implementation Firms. That Should Tell You Something
The biggest consulting firms are shifting from advice to execution. It's validation that strategy without implementation is worthless.
AI strategy8 Apr 20265 min read
Meta Cut 200 Jobs for AI. Should Your Small Business Be Restructuring Too?
Meta's restructuring isn't about replacing workers. It's about becoming a different company. Here's what small business leaders should actually learn from it.
AI strategy8 Apr 20265 min read
A Marketing CEO Slashed His Team After AI Took Over. Here Is What He Got Wrong
Alex Cohen eliminated his entire team because AI could do the work. He wasn't wrong about AI. He was wrong about his strategy.
AI strategy8 Apr 20264 min read
AI Hallucinations Are Built In, Not Bugs. Here Is What That Means for Your Business
Research shows hallucination rates up to 10% at scale. Your task isn't to eliminate them: it's to know where AI can't be trusted.
AI strategy8 Apr 20266 min read
The New Yorker’s AI Apocalypse Story and What Your Business Should Actually Worry About
The gap between AGI existential risk and what AI actually does for your 50-person company is enormous. Here's what matters.
AI strategy8 Apr 20265 min read
Sydney University Says AI Is Bad at Business Strategy. After 120 Projects, I Agree
Research proves what practitioners know: AI generates trendslop strategies that sound smart but lack judgment. Here's why and what to do about it.
