Who Do We Trust Now?

woman recording a podcast in front of a laptop

You would never take a stranger’s word for something that matters, not without checking who they are, what they are selling, and whether they have a reason to shade the truth. Yet you will open an AI assistant, ask it something that actually matters, and take the answer at face value. The machine is mostly … Read more

Missing the numerator

Girl leaning on a server room

Big Tech: Revenue & profit per employee, 2018–2024 Productivity tells a different story than headcount alone. Toggle companies, switch between revenue and net income, or index everything to 2018 = 100 for a normalized comparison. METRIC Revenue / employee Net income / employee SCALE Absolute ($K) Indexed (2018 = 100) Interactive chart: Revenue and profit … Read more

Agentic AI Changes the Process, Not the Psychology

Volvo Trucks president standing on top of a suspended Volvo truck hanging from a crane above the Port of Gothenburg, from the Volvo “The Hook” campaign.

There’s a lot of hype right now about agentic buying the idea that AI agents will soon buy from other agents, automating entire decisions on our behalf. In theory, your AI talks to my AI, they compare specs, negotiate price, and everyone saves time. That sounds efficient. But here’s the tension: buying, as well as … Read more

What Smart Companies Get Right About Brand Building (and Marketers Often Forget)

Seven colorful soda cans in a row, including Coca-Cola, Coke Zero, Fanta, and Sprite, photographed against a white background

Marketers can be really freaking annoying. “You need to build a brand.”“You can’t only invest in the short term.”“You have to think long term, blah blah blah.” And yes, they’re right.Just like I should spend 20 minutes stretching, meditate, journal, and hit the gym every morning. Instead, I chug my coffee, drag my daughter out … Read more