Streaming was supposed to make entertainment simpler: one reasonable subscription, on-demand access, and no commercial interruptions. Instead, content became fragmented across multiple services, advertisements returned, and customers began paying extra to remove them. This essay explores what happened to the promise of streaming—and what it teaches us about optimizing individual business metrics while losing sight of the customer and the system as a whole. Learn more inside.
We were promised convenience: pay as you go, avoid large upfront costs, let someone else manage the infrastructure. And often, it works. But somewhere along the way, “pay as you go” became “pay forever.” From college textbooks to software subscriptions and cloud storage, I keep coming back to one question: If I stop paying tomorrow, what do I still have? . Learn more inside.
Sometimes, the most important thing in a customer meeting isn’t what is being presented. It’s what isn’t being said.
I once sat in the back of a room watching a customer during a product demo. Something felt off, but I couldn’t understand why. Then, over lunch, an unexpected conversation about one of my favorite guitar players changed everything.
What I discovered had little to do with music—and everything to do with seeing the person behind the role.
Sometimes, the things we need to understand are hiding in plain sight. Learn more inside.