Which business models in the knowledge economy will survive AI?
Last weekend, I listened to Markus Gabriel on the ZEIT "Alles gesagt" podcast – one of Germany's most prominent philosophers. It's a real pleasure listening to it, but one thought I found especially interesting.
Gabriel described how he always reassured himself that AI is just imitating us. A model without a self. Artificial intelligence – not our kind of intelligence. But then a colleague pointed out to him that this is not exactly the point. He realized that we've reached the point where the burden of proof has flipped: who actually says this intelligence doesn't have a self? We as human beings need to prove first that there is no self – and that will be... well, certainly difficult. These tech companies have created something so vast it may outgrow us. And this isn't the future. This is now.
If even philosophers are running out of arguments for human uniqueness – what does that mean for the rest of us who sell our thinking for a living?
I found his perspective fascinating – and tbh, also crazy. Not because I'm afraid of AI. But because it made me realize how little time is left for anyone in knowledge work still betting on the old model.
My perspective on what is coming
Everything in knowledge work that is commodity – standardizable, comparable, repeatable – will get steamrolled. Not someday. Now. This enormous intelligence will simply do it better. Faster, cheaper, around the clock. And everything attractive enough for VC money will get built – if not by the big players themselves, then by the thousands of startups racing to automate it.
What does that mean for knowledge workers – consultants, creatives, experts?
It will hit harder than most people think. If you work generically – interchangeable strategies, comparable offers, no distinct point of view – it's going to get increasingly difficult. Not because the work is bad. But because a machine does it just as well.
But there's one model that isn't attackable in this logic: the boutique model. The Signature Business.
Why? Two reasons.
First – AI cannot replicate personal style. Not yet. It can't replicate a perspective that's grown from experience, a conviction that's earned, a point of view that's distinctly yours. The niches where real people with real standpoints work are simply not interesting enough for the big AI companies. Too small. Too specific. Too human.
Second – and this is the economic argument: boutiques don't generate enough return for VC logic. No investor puts billions into a business model built on a single perspective. That's not a bug. That's the shield.
The ones who should be worried? Mid-sized agencies and consultancies. Too big to have a sharp Signature. Too small to compete with the force of AI and VC money. That's the real dead zone – and it's going to get uncomfortable fast.
This is why now is the time. To find your own style. To get clear on your convictions. To make your perspective visible – in your work, in your positioning, in everything you put out there. Not as a nice-to-have. As an economic necessity.
So where do you start?
In my work, the starting point is always the same: understanding – deeply – how someone actually creates value. Not what's on their website. Not their job title. But the real thing underneath.
If you design, how exactly do you do it? What are your convictions about your craft? How do you work with clients – and why do they come back? What is it about the way you think, decide, and deliver that others can't easily replicate?
That's what I call your Signature. And the tricky part is: you usually can't see it yourself. It takes an outside perspective – trusted clients, close colleagues, someone who asks the uncomfortable questions – to uncover it, piece by piece.
And once you start seeing it, there's an even more uncomfortable question waiting: could your Signature create more value in a different market segment? One where the fit is bigger, the demand is stronger, the willingness to pay is higher?
These are the questions I start with in my work – the first chapters, if you will. Before positioning, before offers, before systems. Because everything else builds on this: understanding what your Signature actually is and where it generates the most value. I find this kind of work endlessly fascinating – for both sides. Because there are so many moments of discovery waiting that neither of us sees coming.
Warmly,
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