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AI Strategy field notes.
All Joust field notes tagged AI Strategy.
The Survival Test
Most of the AI cases I am asked to look at are true and useless at the same time. The technology really can do the thing, but that was never the question. One test, run in both directions, separates a business case from a bet on a price you do not control.
Ron Davis
Jul 15, 2026
A Better Mental Model for Understanding AI
AI systems are predictive systems, not intelligent ones. That single shift in framing explains why they use tools, why they hallucinate, and where human judgment still matters.
Ron Davis
Jun 26, 2026
Why Most AI Pilots Fail
Three patterns I keep seeing after 20+ consults, and what to do instead. The model is fine. The pilots die for reasons that have almost nothing to do with AI.
Ron Davis
Jun 3, 2026
The Operations Tax
There is a recurring cost inside every operating business that technology could replace. It hides in salaries, not vendor invoices, which is exactly why it never shows up in a procurement review.
Ron Davis
May 13, 2026
Tools, not gods.
We've seen this hype cycle before. The grounded version of AI is real, useful, and worth defending from the loudest pitch. A practitioner's read on what works, what it costs, and what to actually watch.
Ron Davis
May 11, 2026
Why most AI consulting decks never reach production
After thirty years inside the systems that run enterprise companies, the pattern was hard to miss. Smart teams pay for strategy. Then nothing changes.
Ron Davis
Apr 12, 2026
Build vs. buy, in 2026
The build-vs-buy decision changed when LLMs got cheap. The new question isn't which one to choose. It's which parts of the stack each one belongs to.