What’s Ahead for 2026: Recovering From AI Hype & Rebalancing the Human Equation

Episode notes

2025 was the year of, "Buy more, go faster, and worry about the fallout later." We put the innovation agenda on the company credit card. But as we enter 2026, the music has stopped, the lights have come on, and the tab is coming due. This week, I’m declassifying what I call the "AI Hangover." Many headlines continue screaming about the next model release and fueling the FOMO, but if you’re a business leader, you shouldn’t be worried about GPT-6. You need to be worried about incoming fallout of bad decisions and the "Workslop" clogging your current operations. I spent the last 12 months analyzing the crash before it happened so you don’t have to. In this episode, I move past the vendor hype to focus on the three "Market Truths" that prove the party is over. We’re transitioning from a year of reckless consumption to a year of necessary cleanup. The real risk isn’t that you missed the AI boat; it’s that you’re driving a supercar on unpaved roads.

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