For centuries, the question of achieving success was answered simply by effort and skill.
Back in the day, you were told to do a good job, and in doing so, you would be rewarded. “Lace up your boots and get to work,” they preached. Expertise was fundamental to doing a good job, hence education, practice, and the matriculation through job experiences — more education and more practice. The harder you work, the better the results. Right? Right. Right?
Additionally, I have always believed that the ability to think strategically is crucial to achieving success, considering the “what” and “why” behind a given plan or idea. Also important is the ability to think tactically, which is the “how” a plan is executed.
I reached out to an expert on the topic (not an AI agent, well, I hope not…), Terri McBride, who has many years of experience with helping people and organizations attain higher levels of success, at such firms as McKinsey and AT Kearney. She pointed out, at an even more basic level, “strategy is the purpose, tactical is the practice.”
So, the goal in one’s life, I’ve always thought, was to be a Renaissance Man, which in part was working hard while using a unique blend of strategy (thinking big) and tactics (expertise). However, I’m not so sure anymore. In today’s world, maybe it’s not the plan that matters — it’s the magic you promise. After much thought, I believe this is what you must do now…
Always drive toward an unattainable goal. Let’s take politics, for instance. It’s a clear example of how success now depends less on competence and more on charisma. To understand this, consider the difference between pollingism and magnetism in politics. Pollingism means shaping decisions based on public opinion—rational, data-driven, and cautious (Democrats). Magnetism is about drawing people in with bold, compelling ideas—often irrational but irresistible (Trumpism). Magnetism makes the impossible feel possible. Magnetism is magic!
This detachment from reality isn’t just a political problem—it’s rampant in tech, too. CEOs and boards chase fantasy visions, facts be damned! Competence just doesn’t cut it anymore. What wins is attention and belief: selling something absurd with absolute conviction. Like convincing investors that a $2B app for renting your neighbor’s mop (plus $29.99/month for mop analytics) is the next revolution. Now, that’s magnetism!
Always solve the unattainable goal with an Agent. Of course, you can’t just dream up impossible ideas – you need to execute them. That’s where Agents come in. The impossible is now possible! And don’t argue because if you do, you will be classified as a pollingist. I mean, who would take issue with a company like Salesforce using Agents that can “empathize at scale” with 10,000 customers at once? Because if there’s one thing frustrated customers love, it’s industrial-strength, automated empathy! Marc Benioff went from selling enterprise software to pitching empathy-at-scale, and investors were hypnotized. So, step up into the light and join him with the other magnetics, such as Elon Musk, Larry Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg, and Sam Altman, all of whom were once bright stars in the pollingism group. You are now in good company, where billions are being poured.
Always solve Agent problems with other Agents. Agents now act as judges to other Agents, ensuring that code or answers haven’t gone too far off the rails. Hey, even most SQL coders get it wrong. So, don’t worry about correct documentation for training the Agent because that is so 2019. As Nate Jones says on his Substack, it’s ok to get it to good enough at 80%. That other 20%? Sure, it matters if you’re building a financial banking system, but remember, you’re attempting to build the impossible.
You can also approach such challenges by looking at the velocity of Agentic ascendancy. It seems like yesterday we were complaining about “bots masquerading as humans.” Now, it’s the other way around. If bots once felt like a nuisance, now they’re more like colleagues. The same automation we used to resist is now being institutionalized by your boss. They’re betting big on an AI-generated internet and shrugging off the “dead internet theory.” Follow the money. The Agent will get you there.
However… the more I think about it, the more I wonder if I’ve been too quick to dismiss strategy and tactics. Maybe success isn’t about abandoning them, it’s about reimagining them through Agents.
Always remember what goes around comes around. How can one truly ‘make it’ in today’s agentic world? Perhaps the answer is actually not to abandon hard work and the practice of strategy and tactics. Maybe the key to success is to reimagine strategy and tactics in this new agentic world. A world where expertise still matters.
Just saying it can be done via an Agent doesn’t mean it will get done by an Agent, and may need, God forbid, old-fashioned work, thoughtfulness, and expertise. So maybe we do still need to lace up our boots?
Now, that’s thinking strategically and tactically.
— mh