Don't let the dream of tomorrow’s AI destroy today’s revenue

I keep having the same conversation with CFOs and executives at major consumer brands.

On the surface, everything is fine. But underneath, there’s a weird tension—a strange, stagnant energy.

Brands are stuck in what I’m calling the "AI Holding Pattern."

They've been sold the dream of a fully automated future, and they've bought in hard. The logic, pushed by visionaries and a tsunami of hype, feels sound: why make an expensive $150,000 hire for a key role when a revolutionary AI agent might do the job for $1,000 a month in the near future?

So they wait.

When a Head of Retention leaves, the role sits empty. When the team needs a new growth marketer, the job req is put on ice. The C-suite tells themselves it’s fiscally responsible. It's prudent. It's playing the long game.

But the AI isn't there yet. And the long game is starting to look like a slow bleed.

The Brutal Cost of Waiting

For a while, the leaner headcount looked healthy on the P&L. But now, the cracks are starting to show, and they're getting wider.

The cost of this holding pattern isn't just a single empty seat on the org chart. It's a compounding tax on your entire business.

Here’s what it actually looks like:

• Momentum Stalls: The new channel launch you planned for Q4? Pushed to next year. That critical site optimization project? It’s sitting in a backlog, waiting for a leader. Inaction is a momentum killer, and it’s incredibly hard to restart a stalled engine.

• Your Best People Burn Out: The remaining A-players are forced to pick up the slack, doing their job plus half of someone else's. Their strategic work gets replaced by tactical firefighting. They get tired, frustrated, and eventually, they leave.

• Competitors Lap You: While you’re waiting for the perfect AI, your hungriest competitor did hire that Head of Retention. They're actively building out the loyalty program you only have on a whiteboard, and they're stealing your customers.

• Innovation Dies: Growth comes from focused, dedicated experts pushing new initiatives. When those roles are empty, the business defaults to maintenance mode. You stop taking calculated risks and start playing defense.

The pursuit of a more efficient future is ironically making these businesses incredibly fragile today. By the time the damage is obvious on the quarterly reports, it will take a massive effort to regain the lost ground.

The Smart Middle Ground

I'm not arguing against the power of AI. It's already delivering serious value. But the idea of a complete operational freeze is a strategic dead end.

The smartest operators are refusing to get stuck. They’re finding a middle ground.

Instead of choosing between a risky, expensive hire and a complete standstill, they're using a flexible, "bolt-on" model. They’re bringing in fractional experts and interim growth teams to plug the most critical gaps.

This approach allows them to keep the engine running and even accelerate without the long-term overhead and commitment of a full-time hire. They get senior-level expertise to drive key projects, mentor junior team members, and keep the momentum humming while they wait to see how the AI landscape truly evolves.

It’s a bridge to the future that doesn't sacrifice the present.

Don't let the dream of tomorrow’s AI destroy today’s revenue.