Business Management | Arete Coach 4/16

The 2026 Mid-Year Economic Outlook

Six months ago, I published a ranked matrix of the ten issues most likely to shape the business environment in 2026. This mid-year update recalibrates that ranking against hard data: the IMF's April World Economic Outlook, the April CPI release, current markets, and post-SCOTUS tariff reality. The numbers have moved. More importantly, the pattern beneath them has sharpened. Let me give you the headline figures, then tell you what they actually mean for how you run your organi

18 hours ago4 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 6, 20254 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 1, 20255 min read

What’s Keeping Executives Up at Night: AI, Economics, Talent, and Trust

Executives across the globe are grappling with a complex and evolving business landscape as they navigate the disruptive force of...

Sep 14, 20253 min read

Curiosity as Strategy: What Business Leaders Can Learn from Perplexity’s Aravind Srinivas

At HubSpot’s recent conference, Aravind Srinivas, Co-Founder of Perplexity, delivered a talk that was equal parts provocative and...

Sep 12, 20253 min read

From Task-Runner to Thinking Partner: How AI Built a McKinsey-Grade Model in 105 Minutes

On July 31, 2025, I read a Wall Street Journal article titled “The AI Company Capitalizing on Our Obsession With Excel.” I searched for...

Aug 15, 20256 min read

AI Implementation Is Failing—But Not for the Reasons You Think

AI adoption across the enterprise landscape has accelerated dramatically. Today, 78% of organizations report using AI in at least one...

Aug 1, 20253 min read

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