Corporate reality
AI investments, bad incentives, and bloated operations. Learn where automation earns its keep—and where it merely adds another subscription.
Independent thinking. Practical returns.A publication for experienced adults
The Useful Heretic membership
Think for yourself.
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You’ve earned your experience. Put it to work. Weekly analysis on business, AI, and your next act—without the corporate theater or enlightenment by the gallon.
For people with a career behind them and ambition ahead.
Our editorial promise
No borrowed convictions.
Evidence before enthusiasm
Practical takeaways, not hype
Commercial relationships disclosed
The editorial brief
Things experienced adults are tired of pretending to believe.
Not contrarian for sport. Each essay starts with a defensible argument and ends with something you can use: a better question, a decision framework, or a practical experiment.
The kind of question we ask
“Is that an AI strategy—or a software budget with a PowerPoint deck?”
Less performative innovation. More measurable returns.
The second act
Independence, money, and ambition after the career ladder. Retirement is not the end of thinking big. It may be the end of asking permission.
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better questions.
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