The B

Ben Esmael

The B. is an audio extension of the newsletter for people who prefer to listen rather than scroll. Short, focused reflections on business, capital, technology, and power—where strategy meets execution, and where trade-offs are rarely obvious but always decisive.

Episodes

  1. Episode 28

    2 JAN

    Episode 28

    Still Experimenting Year-end reflections tend to exaggerate what didn’t matter and sanitize what did. This one won’t try. For the second year running, I’ve been operating from a different seat—commercial rather than advisory—across financial services and supply chains, after years in consulting and SME environments. Same markets. Different incentives. That shift changes what becomes visible. From this side of the table, a few things stand out. Technical excellence without context has limited value. Clients rarely arrive with requirements anymore—only direction. And most failures trace back not to bad decisions, but to assumptions no one bothered to surface. This edition reflects those observations. It looks at AI not as a tool, but as a system whose behavior may soon force uncomfortable questions. It looks at why infrastructure leaders are pulling critical technology closer instead of outsourcing it. And it looks at how capital itself is changing shape, as family offices quietly accumulate influence once reserved for institutions. Before getting into it, a genuine thank you. This is the 28th edition of The B. The fact that you’re still reading suggests the signal-to-noise ratio has been acceptable—by today’s standards, that’s saying something. We’re living in interesting times, which history reminds us is rarely meant as a compliment. Let’s begin. Don't forget to check and follow me on LinkedIn PS: Charts, figures, and references are available in the written edition Some things read better than they sound—charts and data included in the written edition.

    8 min

About

The B. is an audio extension of the newsletter for people who prefer to listen rather than scroll. Short, focused reflections on business, capital, technology, and power—where strategy meets execution, and where trade-offs are rarely obvious but always decisive.