Reflections

  One of the key roadblocks to wider AI adoption especially in India is, apart from an understanding of the specific benefits in real-world detail, the lack of understanding of the risk associated with them. In customer conversations, this is an element that is now beginning to crop up more and more – alongside deep, workflow-specific questions. Sadly, most AI companies do not do a good job on either front – addressing specific workflows, or specific risks. This is where hype around risks can emerge.        For example, AI Agents in particular, and AI in general, going rogue is a nightmare scenario that I am sure many of us have heard of. However, the real problem with AI is not simply whether an AI can go rogue. It is whether organisations have any practical framework for quantifying the risk of autonomous exec...

  "What is execution?" This line came up in a discussion recently, and it got me thinking about a question I've circled back to many times: what is the acceptable definition of "execution"? How do we judge it? Is it labour, is it work, or is it success?   My answer: Direction + Prioritising + Process + Plan + Implementation + Moderated Velocity + Monitoring & Pivoting = Execution.   Is Success A Parameter Of Execution? Execution is not success – success is the result of seamless execution. In fact, success is not even a parameter. Including it takes the mind away from execution, which needs a laser-like focus on the objective, and the way to go towards it — while keeping an eye on the strategy and the market shifts so one can pivot to cater to the evolving market or internal changes. That is the fundamental core of execution   Understanding Execution A commando or a soldier does not think of the battle victory. He or she only focuses on the...

  Strategy Begins With Understanding the Economics Underneath Strategy, in its most basic form, is about making choices based on an understanding of the environment in which a business operates. That sounds obvious, but it is surprisingly easy to forget when strategy gets reduced to market size, consumer trends, competitive positioning and growth ambitions. Underneath every strategy sits a more fundamental layer of assumptions about costs, demand, pricing, capital, people, productivity and the economics of the business itself. If those assumptions change materially, the strategy has to change too. This is why I believe an underlying understanding of business costs and their interconnected behaviour is not merely a finance or economics requirement; it is a fundamental strategic capability.   Inflation is perhaps one of the best examples of this. We have become accustomed to discussing inflation as a number. CPI is at 5%, food inflation is at 7%, core inflation is stic...

  I am not against progress. I am asking us to remember its price ..... We are living through what can only be described as the golden age of technology. Everywhere you look, there is an unmistakable air of celebration – something that has only been enhanced with the advent of AI. Artificial intelligence has turned the global landscape into a grand festival of possibilities; be it engineers, or leaders, or everyday creators – people are rushing to experiment, build, and deploy at a pace unprecedented in human history. Under the banner of progress, we are driving and diving headfirst into new frontiers, eager to harness tools that promise speed, automation, and near-magical capabilities.   Yet, beneath this electric enthusiasm lies a disturbing trend: a growing disregard for the consequences on the downside of this movement. It is becoming more and more clear that we ar...

  The AI Moment—and the Pricing Blindspot It is the world of artificial intelligence now, that much is pretty much accepted. But what people have not yet been able to understand fully is the impact it would have on something that is completely beyond, you know, expectations of most people. And that is pricing. Pricing is in a state of flux in any number of industries - that is beginning to be known; what is lesser known is that this is creating a unique matrix between competitive pressure and market dynamics which is going to make things challenging for business managers worldwide. How AI Is Driving Costs Down What is happening is, while it is known that artificial intelligence and proper planned implementation can shorten development cycles, it can shorten execution cycles, it can shorten product to market costs & times - it can lessen product costs across industries. It helps us save money during the advertising execution process, in an ad agency. It helps us ship new feat...