Outrunning a Bear
A friend and reader of the newsletter asked me whether I'm using AI much for the writing of these daily posts. As a general rule, I don't (maybe a topic for another post as to why) but today I'm feeling cheeky (and a bit off thanks to a stomach bug), so what follows below is 100% generated by Claude Opus 4.1 with no edits on my part. Enjoy this one, inspired by our recent travels in the Canadian Rockies.
Why Your AI Strategy Doesn't Need to Outrun the Bear
Remember that old joke about bear encounters? "You don't have to outrun the bear, just your slowest friend."
After dodging imaginary bears on vacation last week (everyone had bear spray, nobody saw bears), I realized this perfectly captures what I'm seeing with AI adoption right now.
Most companies are paralyzed, waiting for the "perfect" AI strategy. They're trying to outrun the bear.
But here's the thing: You don't need to be OpenAI. You don't need a $10M AI transformation. You just need to be moving faster than your competition—who, let's be honest, are probably still debating whether ChatGPT is a fad.
The bar is surprisingly low:
While they're forming committees, you're running small experiments
While they're waiting for perfect, you're shipping good enough
While they're protecting old processes, you're questioning why those processes exist
The bear isn't AI replacing your business. The bear is standing still while everyone else starts jogging.
And unlike the wilderness, in business you can actually help your "friends" run faster too. Rising tide, boats, etc.
P.S. - If you're the slowest friend reading this, hit reply. Let's get you moving. No bear spray required.
Just a few closing thoughts:
It's not bad, but it's cliche. "Here's the thing" and all
The title is too long and clunky
It tries hard to be friendly and ethical, so in the end, it's about helping your slow friend run faster instead of letting the bear eat them
Only a single em-dash. Take that, ChatGPT!
That final analogy about "the bear is standing still while everyone else starts jogging" makes no sense
Feel free to hit reply and let me know your own thoughts about where it lands and where it doesn't.
