What doesn’t change? Everything seems like it changes these days.
Writing about AI means getting excited about change these days. New models every day now. Updates to the way we think about doing business.
And as wild as it is day-to-day, that change is exactly what we’d expect for a new general purpose technology. AI is changing so many things at once—how we work, the technology of work, business strategy, our personal lives—that some studies are finding population-level effects on anxiety driven by AI.
So in that world, what doesn’t change?
That’s a question I’ve gotten a few times in the past few weeks, and I wanted to address it here, because anchoring in a world of change starts with leadership.
But if I’m being honest, I no virtually no leaders who could tell you or me off the top of their heads what won’t change in the next five years. When I ask them that question most stare at me like a deer caught in headlights. They don’t know. We don’t know. And if leaders don’t know, they can’t convey steadiness where it matters at work.
That’s what this briefing is for. To find the places where AI doesn't change the fundamentals. To find the places where AI amplifies longterm business trends you can bet on.
And to find frameworks in the age of AI that let you leverage those longstanding truths to build something that lasts—even if a new model comes out next week.
Today's briefing is different from anything I've written before. I'm going to show you the unchangeable laws that AI operates within. Not generic platitudes—the specific, observable patterns that determine who wins and who falls behind. The bedrock you can build on while everything else churns.
What you'll find below:
Four aspects of durable customer demand you can bet on, regardless of industry
Three laws of business that outlast tech cycles
An AI framework across those fundamentals that gives you specific leverage points to build against that won’t shift
A fun visual ChatGPT artifact that illustrates all this in a way that’s easy to digest, share, and remix for your business specifically
The Organizational Capabilities That Actually Matter—what to build while everyone else chases models
This is the framework I've been building toward for months. Once you see these patterns, you can't unsee them. Every AI announcement, every competitor move, every strategic decision becomes a piece of news that’s easy to slot into its proper place—either as a smart move on the chess board or a waste of effort from someone who doesn’t know what game they’re actually playing.
The waves of change will keep coming. But after today, you'll know exactly where the bedrock is.
This is an Executive Circle briefing, a Sunday newsletter exclusively for Founding Tier Members. You can learn more via this 60 second video explaining what’s in each tier, and you can change your plan here. Enjoy, and back to regular programming Monday!
PS. Interested in digging in further? This executive briefing is part of an ongoing series I’m doing covering aspects of AI transformation in companies. You can read about how leaders are changing product strategy, driving AI adoption, and principles for leading AI culture change, and building an AI native business in issues from previous weeks.
