Business Management | Arete Coach

Meet the Forward Deployed Engineer

Many organizations still struggle to translate the promise of artificial intelligence into measurable business results. The technology’s potential has been made clear, but its impact often remains trapped in pilot programs, unintegrated tools, or isolated innovation labs. One emerging solution is the Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE): a hybrid professional who bridges the critical gap between data science and business execution. Rather than working in isolated technical teams,

6 days ago6 min read

The Assumption Bias Mitigation Protocol: A Leader's Framework for Verifying AI

Companion article to: "The AI Confidence Trap: When 85% Certainty Is Dangerously Wrong" Your AI will deliver a sophisticated analysis with 85% confidence. You will act on it. And the recommendation may be catastrophically wrong. This happens because AI confidence measures pattern matching , not information completeness . High confidence paired with low context is a recipe for systemic, high-stakes errors. The solution is not to discard these powerful tools, but to impose disc

Oct 226 min read

The AI Confidence Trap: When 85% Certainty Is Dangerously Wrong

We stand at an inflection point. Large language models and predictive systems now generate sophisticated analyses at a velocity that has created a dangerous asymmetry: the speed of AI-assisted decision-making has dramatically outpaced our frameworks for validating the assumptions underlying those decisions. Research on AI-augmented productivity demonstrates genuine force multiplication. Yet this acceleration introduces a new risk. Leaders who would never bet their company on

Oct 207 min read

The Unstuck Flywheel: 3 Friction Points That Stall AI Momentum (And How to Break Through)

Many leaders have seen the electric vision for AI: a powerful, self-reinforcing cycle that personalizes customer experiences and streamlines workflows. Yet, this initial excitement often fades within months, replaced by stalled projects and quiet skepticism. The issue is rarely a catastrophic error but a slow death from a thousand small cuts; the vision of a rocket launch meets the frustrating reality of pushing a car through mud. Promising initiatives become stuck not becaus

Oct 134 min read

The AI Investment Litmus Test: 4 Questions to Ask Before Spending a Dollar

Imagine this: A senior executive recently confessed their biggest fear. It wasn't a market downturn or a new competitor. It was their upcoming board meeting, where they’d inevitably be asked, "So, what is our AI strategy?" Their company had allocated millions for "AI transformation," but the fund sat largely untouched. Why? Because every proposal that crossed their desk felt like a solution in search of a problem—expensive, complex, and disconnected from the P&L. This scenari

Oct 64 min read

When AI Flattens Strategy, How Will You Compete?

A staggering 78% of organizations now report using AI in at least one business function, propelled by the conviction that it will deliver a decisive competitive edge (McKinsey & Company, 2025; Ransbotham et al, 2020). Yet, this is where the new competitive paradox of the AI era emerges. As AI becomes a ubiquitous, commoditized utility, its power to confer a unique advantage diminishes. When every competitor leverages the same powerful, off-the-shelf models, the inevitable ou

Oct 15 min read