Rethinking Strategy in the A.I Era

Future Rise Newsletter #10 | April 15

For decades, business strategy meant planning three, five, and even
ten years ahead. It was all about predicting where the market would go
and designing efficient, profitable systems to meet it. But in today's
world, that approach is outdated.
We're living in a nonlinear reality. The pace of change, from technology
to geopolitics, makes long-term predictions unreliable. Just look at
recent shifts in A.I, tariff wars, or unexpected global conflicts. No-one
saw them coming, yet we still expect strategy to be this perfect,
linear, three to five year plan.
The truth is that the old model was built for economies of scale, not
economies of learning. It was built for certainty, not adaptability.
And here's the catch: you can't be efficient and adaptable at the same
time.
That's why companies like Zara and VW, with global reach and massive
resources, have lost ground. They bet on what was working instead of
what could work. They focused on efficiency when they should've also
been experimenting.
How can we approach strategy?
01 | 02 |
Split your strategy into two. The other team focuses on tomorrow,
One team focuses on today, agile, curious, and experimental, free
improving what already exists, to test, learn, and build the future.
finding efficiencies, keeping These are two different energies, and
the machine running. they need two different teams.
"Strategy can no longer be a straight line. It has to be a
living, breathing process built for both today's reality and
tomorrow's unknowns."
John Sanei

Actionable Insights
Replace rigid long-term strategies with short learning cycles.
• Run experiments.
• Capture feedback from the market.
• Adapt strategies regularly.
Until next time...keep strategizing...
P.S.