In 1950, an F1 pit stop took 67 seconds. Today the world record is 1.80. The 96% reduction has almost nothing to do with making mechanics faster — and everything to do with redesigning the work itself. The same lesson saved thousands of children’s lives at Great Ormond Street Hospital. The same lesson explains why most AI transformations are failing right now.
Edward de Bono coined the term “lateral thinking” in 1967 and compressed the entire framework into one sentence: “You cannot dig a hole in a different place by digging the same hole deeper.” Most senior executives in 2026 are digging a deep hole in the wrong location — with all the wrong instincts, all the right credentials, and a culture that rewards intensification over reorientation. This is what to do instead.
A clickbait Reel is going viral claiming Microsoft banned engineers from using AI because AI costs more than humans. Almost every part of that framing is wrong. The actual story — about token-based pricing creating a new enterprise cost class that finance teams aren’t prepared for — is harder, more important, and the most useful lesson available to any leader running an AI program in 2026.
Steve Jobs refused to show the embarrassing version. Eric Ries says you must. They’re both right — about different audiences. Here’s why most enterprise AI programs are getting MVP exactly wrong.
Eric Ries was right. Steve Jobs was right. Elon Musk is doing something different from both of them. Most leaders don’t realize there are six kinds of MVP — each doing a fundamentally different job. Here’s the taxonomy.
“If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” This idea is widely associated with Ken Robinson, who argued that modern systems often educate people
70% of major transformations fail. Cloud, digital, platforms, agile, now AI. The technology changes. The failure rate doesn’t. Here’s what the 2025-2026 McKinsey and BCG data actually says — and what the 5% who succeed are doing differently.
This idea is famously attributed to Pablo Picasso: “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” It’s a simple statement —
Jeff Bezos almost destroyed Amazon — not with a bad bet, but with too many ideas. Here’s the release-rate lesson every leader running an AI transformation needs to hear.
There’s a short quote often shared in leadership circles: “It’s impossible,” said pride.“It’s risky,” said experience.“It’s pointless,” said reason.“Give it a try,” said the heart. While its exact origin is
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