AI Disruption: The Quiet Revolution Reshaping Business Strategy
The world is transfixed by President Trump’s chaos—again. His approach to foreign policy, his fixation on tariffs, and his trade war rhetoric have sucked all the oxygen out of corporate boardrooms. The media can’t stop analyzing what it means for the economy, for global markets, for America’s standing in the world.
But while everyone is fixated on short-term economic turmoil, the disruption with the most lasting impact on the economy is happening behind the scenes: the rise of AI agents.
AI agents—autonomous digital workers capable of making complex decisions without human input—are already beginning to reshape entire industries, quietly and swiftly. They’re rewriting the rules of strategic planning, sitting in on boardroom meetings, forcing organizations to rethink their long-term trajectories in ways that even the most seasoned leaders aren’t fully grasping yet. Employees are paying attention, and they’re worried.
Leaders smart enough to think long term have to plan in ways that are flexible, building strategy that aims for impact across multiple horizons—what’s needed this year, what’s needed in the next five years, and what’s needed in the next 20—all at once. I argue in No Point B that planning can no longer be linear. Survival today is important, but it’s easy to let short-term fires distract from long term disruptive forces. No company can afford that kind of complacency right now.
This speaks to a fundamental truth we’ve been preaching at 18 Coffees for years: adaptability isn’t a nice-to-have skill. It’s a core leadership competency. Organizations that develop the muscle memory for change—developing teams that can operate in ambiguity, leaders who are comfortable adjusting course with emotional intelligence, cultures that reward curiosity—will be the ones that thrive in an AI-dominated future. The ones who don’t will be the ones scrambling to catch up, reacting instead of leading.
The political noise will continue. But while the world holds its breath on where the economy is going this year, the companies that can see beyond it and prepare for where the economy is going in the next few decades will be the ones shaping the next era of business.
