Category: Business

  • You Ask, I Answer: How to Justify AI Costs to the CFO?

    Summary In today's episode, I explain how to justify escalating AI API costs to your CFO when direct revenue ROI isn't apparent, using a blender analogy to reframe the question. Here's what this means for you. You need a measurement strategy that proves your AI spend is making the company money faster than it's costing…

    Continue reading →

  • So What? Defining the Agency of the Future

    Summary In today's episode, I break down how AI is rapidly making the traditional agency billable hour model obsolete and what firms must do to survive. Here's what this means for you. You'll gain a clear understanding of why hourly billing is collapsing and how outcome-based pricing tied to measurable business impact is the only…

    Continue reading →

  • You Ask, I Answer: How to Diversify AI Vendors?

    Summary In today's episode, I break down the strategic case for balancing commercial AI providers like OpenAI against self-hosted open source LLMs, using a "plan big, act small" framework. Here's what this means for you. You'll gain a business continuity playbook that hedges against major AI vendors inevitably tripling prices to cover their massive losses.…

    Continue reading →

  • State-of-the-Art AI Just Got 95% Cheaper: Run Top Models Locally

    Another week, another Pareto distortion in AI. Two new AI models came out on the scene this week, Qwen3.8-Flash-Next and zAI GLM-5.3-Flash. Both of these are Flash models, meaning that they’re smart but optimized for speed. Both of them score higher on Artificial Analysis independent benchmarks than Claude Sonnet 5 and Opus 4.7. They’re both…

    Continue reading →

  • You Ask, I Answer: Where Is the AI Workplace Surveillance Line?

    Summary In today's episode, I explore where to draw the line between a helpful proactive internal AI assistant and a surveillance tool that makes employees uncomfortable. Here's what this means for you. You gain a practical framework for deciding whether AI monitoring belongs in your workplace at all. You'll also learn these concepts: why disclosure…

    Continue reading →

  • You Ask, I Answer: AI vs Human Service Tiers?

    Summary In today's episode, I tackle Beatrice's question about whether marketing agencies should split their AI-driven services from their human-driven premium offerings or treat AI as invisible infrastructure. Here's what this means for you. Hourly billing models collapse when AI shrinks six hours of work to six minutes, so you must shift to value-based pricing…

    Continue reading →

  • Good Times Buy Ideas, Bad Times Buy Action: What Marketing and Sales Leaders Need to Know

    When times are good, people buy ideas. When times are bad, people buy action. When times are good, people buy strategy. When times are bad, people buy tactics. When times are good, people buy brand. When times are bad, people buy price. When times are good, people buy growth. When times are bad, people buy…

    Continue reading →

  • You Ask, I Answer: Restructuring Hiring for AI Era?

    Summary In today's episode, I explore how to restructure your hiring practices now that AI easily passes entry-level practical tests and assessments. Here's what this means for you. You gain concrete interview techniques that catch candidates who rely on AI to bluff their way into roles. You'll also learn these concepts: how specific behavioral questions…

    Continue reading →

  • DeepSeek v4 Flash vs. Claude Sonnet 5: Why Paying 17.8x More for AI Is a Mistake

    This one hastily made slide explains pre-IPO jitters better than anything else when it comes to AI. DeepSeek released its v4 Flash model earlier this year, on April 24. At its release, it was widely regarded as pretty smart and stupid cheap for its size. For a lot of folks using agentic AI, its pay…

    Continue reading →

  • Prove It’s Human: Why the Not AI Certification Is Your New Marketing Advantage

    Scott Stratten called it early this year: certifying that something is NOT AI is a marketing feature now. This morning, as I was making a terrible drawing on my iPad in Adobe Fresco, I noticed a new feature in the export window (I usually hit Quick Export, not Export, so this feature has probably been…

    Continue reading →