Articles

Essays and field notes by topic.

One article library, organized by topic rather than separate blogs.

The money went out. Nobody counted what came back.

Systems · August 19, 2026

The money went out. Nobody counted what came back.

Spending on AI is recorded precisely. What it returns, in most organisations, has never been written down. This piece sets out what the published research actually says, including where the widely quoted numbers have been compressed past what the studies support. It covers the Australian position after the mandatory guardrails were shelved, the automated decision-making disclosure obligation that takes effect on 10 December 2026, and the finding that thirty-seven per cent of Australian boards have audited what their organisation is running. It closes on a conflict of interest the category has not addressed and an eighteen-month mistake of the author's own.

AI AIGovernance CorporateGovernance PrivacyAct CFO
The Slow Ledger

Systems · July 07, 2026

The Slow Ledger

A man who once managed a hundred and sixty-five billion dollars announces the end of the arrangement between ad reads. The essay takes what holds in his warning, that bubbles form around true ideas and that advisers answer to a different number than yours, then turns his own instrument on him. Underneath sits one portable mechanism: fast numbers celebrated, slow numbers drawn down, the bill arriving later, addressed to someone younger.

investing markets bubbles incentives systemsthinking jeremygrantham riskmanagement financialmedia
It's Getting Obvious Who's Actually Thinking

Systems · June 23, 2026

It's Getting Obvious Who's Actually Thinking

For all of history a long, fluent document was expensive, so we read it as proof of the thinking behind it. AI takes that cost to zero, and the receipt becomes a costume. Senior leaders, flooded and unconvinced, would rather you walked into their office than sent a file. Underneath the flood sits a quieter cost: the people outsourcing the thinking are getting weaker, and the shared record is filling with forgettable noise.

AI artificial intelligence knowledge work writing critical thinking communication leadership productivity future of work attention deep work AI reports AI writing
The Half of Manifesting That Works

Systems · June 08, 2026

The Half of Manifesting That Works

Manifesting is half right. Expectation does not transmit a request to the universe. It works by changing attention, the body's response, and persistence, which shape the actions that produce a result. The naive version fails because the nervous system reads receipts, not affirmations, and because picturing the win drains the drive to chase it. The working half is concrete: name the outcome and the real obstacle, pick the one move that brings money or progress in, shrink it to a daily rep, bolt it to a fixed trigger, and count the reps you control.

mindset self trust manifesting psychology behavior change habits discipline small wins mens development stoicism action implementation intentions