Bulls, AI, and Strategic Myopia

Focus on What Matters

The bull was breathing heavily. The wounds on his hide, left by the picadors’ lances, burned with pain.

The man in front of him slowly pulled the cape—the muleta—off his shoulders and locked eyes with the bull.

This was an enemy. A surge of hatred flooded the bull.

Then, the man started shaking the cape right in front of the bull’s face. The fluttering fabric got on his nerves, already frayed. Lowering his broad, horned head, the bull attacked.

Image is generated by Dall-E 3

During the cruel and now banned corrida, toreros taunted bulls with their capes. In many languages, the color of those capes became a metaphor: “like a red rag to a bull.”

But bulls don’t see color. It’s the movement of the fabric that enrages them—not the hue. If the ‘muleta’ were blue or green, their fury would be just the same.

Humans see color and can reflect on what they see. And yet, their attention, too, is drawn far more to what moves—rather than to what matters.

Change breeds fear, and your fear is always someone's business model.

The word ‘news’ comes from ‘new.’ Shocking, right?

A news story about absolutely nothing happening lately would hardly be a sensation. We crave change.

In detective stories, investigators often solve cases by noticing subtle changes that others overlook.

Evolution has shaped our minds to spot even slight changes because change has always meant danger. Saber-toothed tigers ate those of our ancestors who couldn’t detect changes in their environment and didn't pass their genes to offspring.

If I secretly move some furniture around in your office, you’ll notice it as soon as you walk in.

We pay disproportionate attention to what changes and ignore what stays the same. This instinct fails only in men—and only when their wives want them to notice a new haircut.

We forget about four things:

1. Most things around us look pretty much the same as they did 20, 50, or even 100 years ago: pens, forks and knives, showers, coffee cups, railway cars, backpacks, buildings, etc. They evolve, but the pace of change is as slow as government bureaucracy. If OpenAI regularly updates ChatGPT, it doesn’t mean we live in a 'fast-changing world.' Most things around you stay the same for years. Millions eat bread, take showers, and commute every single day, yet most startups still try to capitalize on AI instead.

2. We all share the same 16 basic human needs, and they shape our behavior. They don’t change.

3. For some industries, fear of change is fuel – media, strategy consultants, and social media gurus. Terms like 'VUCA world,' 'BANI world,' or even 'TUNA world' are nothing but marketing buzzwords. Management consultants and book authors use them to capitalize on your FOMO.

4. Building a business around something as shaky as new technology is too risky. 99% of those who try will fail. There’s plenty of room for innovation in more traditional domains—many problems in this world are still unsolved.

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Pro tips:

1. Pay less attention to hypes and fads. DeepSeek is unlikely to revolutionize your industry overnight.

2. Make a list of things that won’t change in your industry anytime soon. They may serve as a bedrock for some elements of your business model.

3. Build a strategy around customer needs. Select the right tools for this strategy, be it AI or anything else.

4. Stick to the path.

5. Wash, rinse, repeat.

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Read also: Winning customers isn’t enough: win the market instead

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