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What do B2B buyers, Netflix viewers, ghost job hunters and AI godfathers have in common? They’re all navigating the same tension: too much noise, not enough trust. Whether it’s the fear of a bad call, a skip past dull content, or growing scepticism about tech promises, this week’s stories reveal what really earns attention – and what doesn’t. Let’s get into it.

Enjoy!

Why fear is the driving force in B2B sales

LinkedIn’s latest study, unveiled at Cannes, revealed that the much-quoted phrase “no one ever got fired for buying IBM” still holds true in the B2B world. What really tips a deal, says the report, is not performance or price, but the ability to defend the decision later. The research shows most buyers aren’t hunting for the best product, they’re seeking a rationale they can stand by if things go wrong. The most powerful signal is peer endorsement, with a recommendation from “someone like me” being three times more influential than a discount. In other words, credibility is the closer. Find out more from The Drum.

Forget fixing flaws – your strengths are where the magic happens

Some advice echoes years after you first hear it. For strategist Joe Burns, it came in the form of a simple management credo: “We’re not here to fix what you’re bad at – we’re here to make you better at what you’re great at.” In a persuasive piece, he argues that the best career dividends don’t come from smoothing out weaknesses, but from leaning hard into your spikes – the distinct, sometimes unorthodox strengths that make you exceptional. In short, it’s a refreshing defence of letting talent run wild. Whether you manage people or are being managed, this is your permission slip to stop masking the messy bits and start doubling down on what you’re great at. Read the article here.

The growth metric most brands ignore

Each year, about half of global FMCG brands grow – and half don’t. But 13 years of data from Kantar’s Brand Footprint report shows that the winners almost always play the same card: they recruit more buyers. In 2024, 88% of growing brands increased penetration. Lay’s and OMO each added 20 million shoppers globally, nudging market share by just 1% – but shifting the odds massively in their favour. Forget loyalty. Growth is a numbers game – and the game is reach. See the full rankings from the 2025 study here.

AI-powered pricing: smart innovation or overreach?

US airline Delta is rolling out personalised airfare pricing – using AI to predict how much you, specifically, are willing to pay. But pricing experts say the bigger risk isn’t public backlash over fairness or privacy. It’s precision. The data just isn’t accurate enough to reliably set prices at the individual level. Behaviour is messy. Preferences shift. And models often make confident guesses from weak signals. The smarter play is probably pricing by micro-segment – small groups that behave similarly, where patterns are more stable and mistakes cancel each other out. If Delta gets this wrong, it won’t just dent revenues – it could fuel wider distrust in AI-led decision-making. Fortune has the story.​

Build for resilience, not perfection

In a thoughtful blog post, marketing guru and best-selling author Seth Godin makes the case that resilience isn’t about recovery – it’s about design. The systems most likely to endure are those built with flexibility in mind. Rather than chasing tight tolerances or flawless performance, leaders should focus on creating organisations that function reliably under pressure. That means operational slack, adaptable teams and habits that hold up when conditions shift. In volatile markets, it’s not perfection that wins – it’s repeatable robustness. Read his post here.

The job market’s ghost in the machine

As many as one in five advertised roles may be “ghost jobs” – listings posted without genuine hiring intent. CIO’s investigation finds recruiters recognising this practice across tech and specialised sectors. Some employers use it to gather CVs, test candidate markets or polish their image for investors. But for applicants it’s wasted time, frustration and eroded trust. For employers – especially those scaling fast – the risk is reputational. If you’re building a brand by hiring signals, be sure your job ads signal reality. Because today’s talent won’t just look past ghost jobs – they’ll remember the employer who never showed up. Find out more here.

Why one of the godfathers of AI says we’re on the wrong path

Forget smarter chatbots – Yann LeCun wants to build machines that actually understand the world. In a provocative talk with NVIDIA’s Bill Dally, the Meta AI chief and deep learning trailblazer explains why large language models alone won’t get us to true AGI. His argument is that real understanding doesn’t come from reading the internet – it comes from seeing, predicting and interacting with the physical world. LeCun’s team is now focused on what he calls “world models” – AI systems that learn from vision, physics and planning. If you’re betting everything on LLMs, this might change your roadmap. Watch the fascinating YouTube discussion here.

Attention spans aren’t shrinking – focus is

Emerging research dispels a prevailing myth: human attention spans haven’t declined – they’ve become quality-demanding. An analysis of 21,000 individuals from 32 countries found that adults today perform better in sustained attention tasks than adults in the 1990s. And despite the concerns of many parents of screen-loving teenagers, young people show no measurable decline in focus performance. What has changed is their intolerance for dull content – exposure to endless choice has made audiences unforgiving of boring narratives. In business terms: people will binge a compelling Netflix series for hours but scroll away the moment a message doesn’t resonate. The implication is clear for marketers and content creators – attention hasn’t dropped; patience for mediocrity has. Check out the study here.

AI prompt of the week: product prioritisation

Got a laundry list of product features but no idea what to build first? Use this scoring matrix to make those essential roadmap decisions.

Help me create a weighted scoring matrix for these product features: [list features].

My context: [product type], [user base size], [business model], [team capacity].

Scoring criteria:

Customer Impact (40%): user demand, pain severity, adoption potential

Business Value (35%): revenue impact, strategic alignment, competitive advantage

Technical Complexity (25%): dev time, infrastructure needs, technical risk

For each feature, provide 1-10 scores with brief reasoning, calculate weighted totals and rank. Include:

Quick wins vs. strategic bets

Resource allocation for top 5

Dependencies and timeline recommendations

Sensitivity analysis: how rankings change if engineering capacity shifts 50%

Context: [Current product stage, key metrics you're optimising, recent user feedback themes]

Additional user validation (if required)

Users request [specific feature] but I suspect they actually need [your hypothesis]. Design 3 behavioural experiments to validate true needs without directly asking.

Why AI can’t replace a great copywriter

It’s rare that I recommend Pinterest in this newsletter, but top copywriter Vikki Ross’s board is a treat for anyone who loves great wordsmithery. Her ‘lines I don’t think AI could write’ collection is a delight and includes one of my current favourite OOH campaigns – the music lyric-themed ads from TaskRabbit, which most Londoners will have spotted while riding on the tube. Check out the collection here.

The language of better leadership

Great leadership isn’t just about what you do – it’s how you say it. This short guide swaps out the phrases that undermine trust for ones that build clarity, autonomy and better collaboration.

Drop me a line

That’s it for this week – thanks for reading. If something here sparked a thought, hit reply and let’s trade hot takes. See you next Sunday in the same inbox with fresh insights.

Cheers!
Adam

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