1️⃣ AI productivity has to be cashed in
BCG says AI raises output, but the value leaks away if approvals, layers and duplicate work stay intact. The management job is to remove work, reset roles and decide where freed-up capacity goes.
💡 Why it matters
Do not measure AI by activity. Ask where effort, cost or cycle time actually disappeared.
☕ Coffee talk
Who owns the freed-up capacity before it quietly becomes more meetings?
2️⃣ Global companies need political joints
INSEAD argues that multinationals are moving from globally optimised control to semi-autonomous local units, regional supply chains and permanent geopolitical capability. Efficiency is no longer the whole design brief.
💡 Why it matters
Country risk has become operating model work. Decision rights may need to move closer to the market before the next shock.
☕ Coffee talk
Which decisions still sit at HQ because the org chart is nostalgic?
3️⃣ AI pricing is becoming operations design
Lenny’s latest guest post says the old SaaS freemium playbook breaks when every free AI use burns compute. The smarter move is to price intensity, outcomes and workflow depth, not just “better features”.
💡 Why it matters
Product leaders need paywalls that protect the aha moment and the unit economics at the same time.
☕ Coffee talk
When the free tier is already good, what exactly is the customer paying to escape?