AI makes everyone faster. Strategy makes you irreplaceable.

Almost thirty years ago, Michael Porter wrote that operational effectiveness isn't strategy. Now that everyone has access to the same AI tools, that insight is more relevant than ever — the playing field is levelling, which makes positioning the only real differentiator left.

I re-read What Is Strategy?, Michael Porter's classic article from 1996. Remarkable how current it still is.

Almost thirty years ago, Porter already wrote that operational effectiveness isn't strategy. Working more efficiently, lower costs, better processes — these are important improvements, but they don't automatically make you distinctive.

And that's exactly what I now see happening with AI.

The playing field is levelling

Everyone gets access to the same powerful tools. Everyone can write, design, analyse and automate faster. Operational effectiveness is becoming the norm — not the differentiator.

So the question is no longer:

“How do you use AI?”

But:

“Why would clients, employees or candidates choose you specifically?”

That answer doesn't sit in technology. It sits in positioning.

Strategy is choosing

• →what you stand for
• →what you don't do
• →a story that shows up consistently in your culture, communication and service

AI makes organisations more efficient. A clear strategy makes organisations irreplaceable.

And maybe that, almost thirty years after publication, is still Michael Porter's most important lesson.