Chapter Summary: The AI-First Imperative¶

Key Takeaways¶

Know which game you're playing: The Kill Test separates AI-first from AI-enabled. Remove AI from Harvey, nothing remains. Remove Notion AI, you still have a workspace. Both strategies work. Playing both at once doesn't.
Build moats that compound: Jasper's 18-month head start vanished when ChatGPT commoditized AI writing. Glean's Knowledge Graph takes a year to mature—that timeline is the moat. Capabilities commoditize. Data compounds.
Start now, but start smart: Months 0-6 are level playing field. By month 18, moats form. By month 24, catching up requires 2-3x resources. Every month in analysis paralysis is a month competitors build defensibility.
Budget for reality: 95% of AI pilots fail production. Total cost of ownership exceeds estimates by 150-300%. Retrofitting takes 18-24 months. Plan for these baselines or join the 42% who abandoned initiatives in 2025.
Invert your build vs. buy calculus: When AI tools make development faster than integration, the old framework flips. Build when you can move faster. Buy when security, compliance, or expertise gaps make building riskier.