A Candid Letter to my CEO friend
From Someone Who’s Seen This Movie Before
by BusinessGPS.ai
Private. Read this when you have ten quiet minutes
Dear Friend,
I’m writing this the way I’d speak to you if we were sitting alone after a long board meeting — jackets off, phones face down, no slides on the wall.
Not as a vendor.
Not as an “AI expert.”
But as someone who’s been around long enough to recognise a danger that only shows up after things start going well.
Because that’s exactly when it gets you.
- First — Let Me Say This Clearly
What you’re seeing right now is real progress.
- Projects that used to crawl are moving.
- Backlogs are clearing.
- Your Systems Integrator is delivering faster than you thought possible.
- The dashboards are green.
- The pressure is finally easing.
And honestly?
You deserve that win.
AI is fixing problems that have plagued enterprise delivery for decades.
But here’s the part I want you to hear — and it may sting a little:
The biggest strategic mistakes are almost never made in moments of failure.
They’re made right after a breakthrough.
I’ve Seen This Pattern Before
- Different decade.
- Different technology.
- Same story.
We saw it with:
- Outsourced application management
- Offshore delivery centres
- “Best practice” ERP templates
- Business Process Outsourcing
Each time, it started the same way:
“They’re faster than us.”
“They’re better at this than we are.”
“Why wouldn’t we let them handle it?”
And each time, the cost didn’t show up on the P&L right away.
It showed up later — as dependence.
What’s Different This Time (And Why I’m Writing)
This time, you’re not just outsourcing effort.
You’re outsourcing understanding.
When your SI uses AI to:
- Design the architecture
- Generate the logic
- Produce the documentation
- Validate the solution
- Explain the outcomes
…while your team reviews it manually, late, and under pressure…
Something subtle happens.
Your organisation stops learning at the same speed the system is changing.
And once that gap opens?
It never closes on its own.
Let Me Be Blunt — Because You’re a CEO
Every time your team signs off on something they didn’t help think through…
Every time a deliverable arrives that “looks right” but can’t be meaningfully challenged…
Every time governance becomes ceremonial instead of analytical…
You’re not just approving progress.
You’re giving up strategic memory.
And strategic memory is the one thing you can’t buy back quickly — no matter how much budget you have.
The Trap Doesn’t Feel Like a Trap
That’s the clever part.
It feels like:
- Efficiency
- Modernisation
- Maturity
- “Finally getting our arms around delivery”
But fast forward a little with me.
Six months after go-live.
You want to extend the platform.
Your team struggles to explain the logic.
The documentation exists — but no one really understands it.
A new partner says, “We’d need six months just to get oriented.”
And suddenly you realise something uncomfortable:
You didn’t just buy a solution.
You rented an intelligence you don’t own.
I’m Not Anti-SI (And Neither Are You)
Let’s be clear — your integrator isn’t doing anything wrong.
They’re doing exactly what the market is rewarding:
- Industrialising delivery
- Scaling intelligence
- Using AI to compress time and cost
If you were in their seat, you’d do the same.
The mistake would be assuming their progress automatically becomes yours.
It doesn’t.
Unless you deliberately design for it.
The Question You Should Be Asking (But Probably Aren’t)
Not:
- “Are we delivering faster?”
- “Is the programme on track?”
- “Are we getting value for money?”
But this:
“If they walked away tomorrow, would we still understand what we’ve built?”
If that question makes you uncomfortable — good.
It means your instincts are still sharp.
The Quietly Smart CEOs Are Doing One Thing Differently
They’re not trying to out-AI their SI.
They’re doing something far more sensible.
They’re augmenting themselves.
They’re putting intelligence on their side that:
- Sees what the SI produces
- Understands how it connects
- Assesses quality at machine speed
- Preserves organisational memory
So that delivery stays fast — without surrendering control.
Why This Matters More Than the Current Programme
Because this isn’t about this transformation.
It’s about the next ten.
AI isn’t a phase.
It’s the new operating environment.
And the companies that thrive won’t be the ones with the “best” vendors.
They’ll be the ones who never stopped being intellectually present in their own change.
My Advice — As a Friend
Don’t wait until you feel trapped.
By then, you are.
Build capability before you need it.
Augment your people while you still have time to learn.
Make sure your organisation can see as fast as its partners can act.
Because in the AI era:
Whoever owns the intelligence owns the outcome.
And I’d hate to see you win the short game…
only to lose the long one.
If you ever want to talk this through — no decks, no selling — you know where to find me.
Take care,
A friend who’s seen this before
P.S. If you ever want to sanity-check where your organisation stands — quietly, off the record — I’ve put together a short diagnostic I use with boards. No sales deck. No obligation. Just clarity.
BusinessGPS.ai — Grab Your AI Advantage.
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