Two articles, 25 years apart. Same publication. Same pattern.
In March 2001, Michael Porter wrote “Strategy and the Internet” — arguing that despite all the Internet hype, strategy still matters and business fundamentals haven’t changed. In February 2026, Harvard Business Review ran “3 Ways AI Is Changing How Companies Work” — declaring that AI’s transformation will dwarf previous upheavals.
Same playbook. Different technology.
The Pattern
1999–2001: The Internet will change everything
- Companies rushed to add “.com” to their names
- Strategy was declared obsolete
- Profitability didn’t matter — just get big fast
- Everyone needed to transform immediately
Result: the dot-com crash. Trillions in value evaporated. Companies that survived were the ones with actual business fundamentals — Amazon, eBay, Google. Not Pets.com or Webvan.
2024–2026: AI will change everything
- Companies rush to announce AI initiatives
- Traditional approaches are declared obsolete
- Everyone needs to prepare NOW
I’m not dismissing AI’s importance. Porter wasn’t dismissing the Internet’s importance either. Both technologies are genuinely powerful enablers. But technology doesn’t create strategy. It enables it. Or it wastes capital on it.
I’ve overseen hundreds of complex technology transformations that generated direct value to the income statement. The best-returning ones all had one thing in common — they were targeted directly at creating real value for customers or expanding the company’s competitive moat. Revenue up, cost down. Simple. The technology didn’t make the strategy. The strategy determined which technology problems were worth solving.
What History Actually Teaches
Look at what survived the dot-com crash. Amazon sold books profitably and used technology to do it better than anyone else. eBay connected buyers and sellers more efficiently. Google delivered better search results. They won because they solved real problems and built sustainable businesses. The Internet enabled those businesses — but it didn’t replace the need for clear thinking about customers, competition, and economics.
Before your next AI initiative, ask:
- How does this create unique value for our customers? Not “what can AI do” — what will customers pay for that they can’t get elsewhere?
- How does this change our economics? Will it reduce costs? Enable premium pricing? If you can’t trace it to the income statement, be skeptical.
- What gives us a sustainable advantage? If everyone has access to the same AI models, where’s your competitive edge?
- What’s the actual business case? Not the vendor’s ROI calculator — your specific numbers, your specific context.
If you can’t answer these clearly, you’re not transforming — you’re spending.
What Porter Got Right in 2001
“Having a strategy is a matter of discipline. It requires a strong focus on profitability rather than just growth, an ability to define a unique value proposition, and a willingness to make tough trade-offs in choosing what not to do.”
— Michael Porter, 2001
That was true in 2001. It’s true in 2026.
The companies that will win with AI are the same ones that won with the Internet — the ones with clear strategies, sustainable advantages, and disciplined execution.
The technology changes. The fundamentals don’t.