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Midweek greetings to all, as we unveil the 261st chapter of Weekly Olio—a delightful concoction of laughter, insight, and a sprinkle of mystery. Within these pages, you'll discover a handpicked selection of fascinating finds from the vast realms of the internet.
Keep your eyes peeled for this week’s Publisher’s Parmesan, arriving this Sunday!
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The Quote 💭
“The one quality that can be developed by studious reflection and practice is the leadership of men.”
The Tweet 🐦
Wars don't stand still. Tactics change, weapons fail, and new threats appear overnight. If you own the design, you can adapt quickly. If you don't, you're dependent on a foreign company—its price, timeline, and government's approval.
The Infographic 💹
US and China - continue be the two largest economies powering the world. It is interesting to see the relative contribution of various countries to the global economy.
Real-World Ads, Simple to Run
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The Short Read 📝
A Cold Shower for AI Mania - by Raghuram Rajan
Raghuram Rajan argues that while AI will significantly transform work and productivity, the current market enthusiasm around AI may be excessive. He outlines the AI value chain—from chipmakers and infrastructure providers to AI labs and end users—and notes that widespread enterprise adoption remains slower than many investors expect due to organizational, security, and reliability challenges. Rajan identifies several risks to the AI boom. Rapid technological advances could make existing data centers obsolete, AI model capabilities may plateau, and competitive advantages among leading AI firms may prove short-lived. He also highlights potential regulatory intervention driven by energy consumption, safety concerns, misuse by bad actors, and possible job displacement.
While demand for computing power remains strong, shortages and uncertainty could delay adoption. Rajan suggests that profits may ultimately accrue differently than investors expect, and some AI firms may struggle to justify massive investments. His conclusion is balanced: AI will likely create long-term value, but expectations of quick, extraordinary profits are probably overstated, and not every participant in the AI ecosystem will survive. Read more…
The Long Read 📜
How Iran Killed its Economy - by The Atlantic
The article from The Atlantic chronicles the rise and fall of Iran’s independent tech sector, which once thrived by creating domestic alternatives to Amazon (Digikala) and Uber. This "golden age" was driven by visionary entrepreneurs like Said Rahmani of Sarava, who leveraged local talent in a market isolated by sanctions. The turning point came after the 2015 nuclear deal. Fearing Western "infiltration" (nofooz), Supreme Leader Khamenei and the IRGC launched a systematic crackdown.
The state used smear campaigns, weekly interrogations, and the arrest of associates to break independent founders. Beyond financial control, the regime coveted the vast user data these platforms held for surveillance. Through a series of "squeeze plays," successful startups were eventually coerced into selling stakes to state-linked conglomerates (bonyads) at gross under valuations. This state-led "confiscation" effectively dismantled the private sector, forcing a mass exodus of tech talent and replacing meritocracy with a economy dominated by unaccountable security forces. Read more…
Why does every QBR sound like it took an hour to prep?
The strategic-account QBR has a different feeling. The CSM walks in knowing the buying committee, usage trends, support history, news on the company. They've blocked an hour to prep. The customer feels seen.
The other 190 QBRs don't get that hour. The CSM scans the dashboard five minutes before the call. They wing it. The customer answers the same baseline questions for the third time this year.
What if every QBR was a strategic-account QBR? Two minutes before the call, your CSM has the full brief in Slack: usage trends, support history, NPS, news on the company, what their champion just posted on LinkedIn.
Every customer feels like your top customer. Even when there are 200 of them.
3,000+ tools connected. SOC 2 certified. Your data never trains models.
"It was almost instantly adopted by the bulk of my team." Boris Wexler, CEO, Space Dinosaurs
That’s all for this week. If you enjoyed this edition, we’d really appreciate if you shared it with a friend, family member or colleague.
We’ll be back in your inbox 2 PM IST next Wednesday. Till then, have a productive week!
Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author's employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.