Stories about Chaos

Nobody says this out loud A local branch of a bank wants a roll-up banner and a floor sticker for an event they're running Thursday afternoon. Two hours, maybe three. Some clients, some coffee, a local sponsorship activation. They submit the request on Monday. Legal needs to review it. Brand needs to sign off. Compliance needs to check the disclaimer. By Thursday morning, the approval is still pending. So they make something themselves. Canva. PowerPoint. An old template some

There's a tell. Anyone who reads a lot of content online has seen it. The sentence that starts with "In today's rapidly evolving landscape." The conclusion that circles back to "At the end of the day, it all comes down to people." The paragraph that opens with "It's worth noting." We know what this is. We know who wrote it. And we read it anyway. Last year, a CMO at a global FMCG company told me she had rolled out AI design tools across forty-two markets simultaneously. The b

A few weeks ago, Sequoia Capital partner Julien Bek dropped an essay that made the rounds everywhere. His thesis: the next trillion-dollar company won't sell software. It will sell the work itself. A software company masquerading as a services firm. For every dollar businesses spend on software, they spend six on services. AI is coming for that budget. He's talking about insurance brokerage, accounting firms, legal contract work. Makes sense. But I read it and kept thinking a