The Uncomfortable Truth About AI
Alan Pentz thinks too many owners are dismissing the threat of AI the way many retailers dismissed the threat of Amazon 25 years ago.
Good morning!
Here are today’s highlights:
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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Alan Pentz says too many owners are telling themselves comfortable fictions about AI: “Eric Vaughan, CEO of IgniteTech, who was featured in a recent Fortune article, looked at his workforce in early 2023 and saw the same thing: people telling themselves AI wasn’t a real threat to how they worked. His response? He replaced 80 percent of his staff within a year. Not because he wanted to. Because changing minds was harder than adding skills. Here’s what he did:”
“He called an all-hands meeting and told everyone: ‘We’re going to give you a gift — time, tools, education, projects — to give you a new skill.’ Every Monday became ‘AI Monday.’ No customer calls. No budgets. Only AI projects. Company-wide. Sales, marketing, finance, engineering — everyone. Twenty percent of payroll went into this learning initiative.”
“As he recounts in the Fortune article, ‘It failed. Mass resistance. Even sabotage.’ The technical staff — the people you’d expect to embrace it — were the most resistant. They focused on what AI couldn’t do instead of what it could. Marketing and sales? They got excited. The engineers? They dug in their heels.”
“So Vaughan did what most owners won’t: he let them go. Not a few. Nearly 80 percent of the company, replaced over 12 months. ‘You can’t compel people to change, especially if they don’t believe,’ he said. ‘Changing minds was harder than adding skills.’”
“The result? Seventy-five percent Ebitda margins. Products built in four days instead of months. A major acquisition completed. And now, in 2026, they’re hiring again — but only people who already believe.” READ MORE
