Research on the architectures of iconic businesses.
Currently writing The Death of the Narrative.
Follow the researchRecent Writing
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The Essentialist Immunity
In 2024, Cummins paid $1.675 billion — the largest Clean Air Act penalty in history — for installing defeat devices on nearly a million vehicles. The stock hit an all-time high. The company became more central to the energy transition, not less.
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The Tolerance Gap
Shimano holds 70-85% of the global bicycle component market. Not because of patents or contracts. Because their manufacturing precision is so extreme that designing around anything else is a compromise.
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The Restoration Economy
A Steinway piano costs $70,000 new and can sell for more decades later. The company operates a facility dedicated to rebuilding instruments older than the people working on them. By standard business logic, this is irrational.