Sangeet Paul Choudary — Reshuffle
Who Wins When AI Reshuffles, Reshapes, and Restacks the Economy?War is the most ruthless form of competition and the best metaphor for what’s happening in today’s AI-fueled economy. As Sangeet Paul Choudary explains in his new book Reshuffle, the French generals after World War I weren’t foolish. They were simply brilliant in the wrong paradigm. They built the Maginot Line: 450 miles of bunkers, turrets, and underground fortresses. But when German forces launched the blitzkrieg, they bypassed it entirely.The Maginot Line didn’t fail because it was weak. It failed because it answered the wrong question.That’s exactly what most companies are doing with AI today: treating it as a high-tech fortification. Bolting it onto legacy workflows and rebrand yourself as “AI-powered”. The real edge doesn’t come from slapping LLMs onto old pipes. It comes from ripping the system open, mapping its friction points, nodes, feedback loops, and asking: What happens when AI changes how this system works altogether?SaaS companies are especially guilty here. Add a chatbot to your product, build some automation into your backend, and suddenly you're “AI-first”? It’s the most ridiculous form of window-dressing, a short-term rebrand. And worse, it’s shortchanging customers. These superficial upgrades don’t solve deeper problems of coordination or deliver system-level value. They just inflate price tags with zero structural change.Most business leaders unfortunately still start with the tech, not the terrain. They chase the hottest models, slap them onto dusty workflows, and hope for ROI. That’s like adding turbochargers to a horse cart and expecting lift-off. Sure, you’ll get more speed, but you’re definitely not leaving the ground.Forget ownership. That’s yesterday’s source of power. In the agrarian age, it was land. In the industrial era, it was factories. In the 20th century, it was IP. Today, power flows to those who coordinate what they don’t own—supply chains, developer ecosystems, user networks, fragmented data.AI isn’t just a better tool. It’s a system reshaper. It’s a chance to rewrite the rules of engagement. And the real advantage lies not in automating tasks, but in orchestrating systems. But you’ll never see that if you treat it merely as a plug & play tool.The magic happens when you use AI to solve coordination problems:• What are the decision bottlenecks?• Which handoffs introduce delays?• Where does misaligned data cause friction?Solve those, and you don’t just cut costs. You unlock new possibilities.This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Think Blitzkrieg, not Maginot. Germany didn’t win by building bigger tanks, they won by syncing infantry, armor, air cover, and supply chains into one blistering advance. It wasn't just a change in technology, but a change in military doctrine. AI works the same way in modern business: sure, it can automate invoice approval or customer chat. But its strategic superpower is dismantling coordination barriers.In Reshuffle, Sangeet Paul Choudary argues that AI’s true story is one of system evolution, not tool installation or upgrade. Sustainable advantage grows from system‑first thinking, relentless focus on coordination, and unleashing compounding and cascading effects to change your scope.This cascading dynamic is the untold tale of global trade’s second wave, and the real story of AI today. The first wave of breakthroughs—faster GPUs, bigger models—grab headlines. The second wave, of unlocking coordination will reshapes economies.Want proof? Look at logistics giants that use AI to coordinate fleets in real time, rerouting trucks, drivers, and dock slots with relentless precision. They didn’t just save money, they invented on‑demand supply chains that redefined customer expectations.AI isn’t the answer to an isolated task. It is the lever that shifts entire systems from static panels to adaptive networks.Ignore this, and you’ll build digital Maginot Lines: sleek dashboards, fancy bots, and shiny analytics that fail to move the needle when the real world flips the script. Understand this, and you’ll orchestrate an AI-powered Blitzkrieg, where synchronization becomes your moat.The takeaway from Reshuffle?Sustainable advantage starts with systems, not tech stacks.It flows from orchestration, not automation.It’s earned by redefining the game, not by playing it slightly better.Rethink the system you’re operating in, from first principles. Then play to win.Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it.Watch the full video episode:Follow Sangeet Paul Choudary on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sangeetpaulBuy Reshuffle by Sangeet Paul Choudary: https://www.amazon.com/Reshuffle-wins-restacks-knowledge-economy-ebook/dp/B0DTKW6NQV/Follow Sangeet on Substack:This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.How I Apply This to “AI“ Right NowHere’s a summary of the key points I learned and will apply to my work:We tend to overvalue AI’s automation capabilities because we undervalue coordination’s role in economic evolution. While efficiency is AI’s visible benefit, the hidden reward lies in gaining control over how others align with your system.Coordination—which hinges on five structural levers: representation, decision-making, execution, composition, and governance—drives productivity by allowing components to specialize and scale in unison.If AI is added without changing coordination mechanisms, you end up building leverage for the AI vendor rather than for yourself. So, instead of asking, “What can’t AI do?” ask, “What does AI break?” The next major opportunity arises from the constraints AI introduces, not from the tasks it hasn’t yet mastered.Reskilling alone falls short when AI restructures the systems that once valued those skills. AI introduces new choke points where contextual value concentrates—often beyond traditional roles. In a world of abundant answers, value shifts toward asking the right questions and identifying the right signals, making curiosity and curation increasingly vital human traits.Economic value hinges more on scarcity and relevance than on mere skill or effort. Jobs, therefore, exist to manage constraints rather than execute tasks, and roles are valuable when they resolve the system’s most limiting factors.To operate ‘above the algorithm’ is to shape the system; to operate ‘below’ it is to be shaped by it. AI intensifies the divide between tool users and those who build integrated solutions around them. Strategic advantage now resides with solution architects, not just skilled operators.Historically, autonomy and coordination have been at odds in organizations: more autonomy reduced alignment, while more coordination slowed execution. AI shifts this dynamic—greater autonomy enhances coordination and vice versa—generating a flywheel of value creation.Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it.Next on Part-Maven Part-Maverick, we will discuss with Chris Reiter the challenges that the world’s 3rd largest economy Germany faces and the implications for the future.This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Subscribe to be first to know when the episode drops: https://www.youtube.com/@SLASOGFor more of my thoughts, follow me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rritavan/Get my book Data Impact for a pragmatic take on data-driven value creation for business: https://www.amazon.com/Data-Impact-businesses-LEVERAGE-SIMPLIFY/dp/178133921X/Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it. Get full access to Part-Maven Part-Maverick at mavenmaverick.substack.com/subscribe
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