Field notes on AI in business
Practical writing on AI, automation and the day-to-day work of running a business. From the team that builds and runs AI systems.
AI strategy
Who Owns AI in a 200-Person Company?
Mid-market companies are too small for a Chief AI Officer and too big for a free-for-all, so AI ownership defaults to nobody. Here are the four realistic fixes.
Basel IsmailJul 10, 2026
Financial reporting
Understanding the Lag Between Economic Reality and Financial Reporting
By the time you read a quarterly filing, the numbers are weeks old. Here is how that reporting lag works and how investors close the gap with timelier data.
Basel IsmailJul 10, 2026
Pharma analysis
How to Analyze Pharmaceutical Companies and Their Drug Pipelines
Pharma stocks trade on pipelines, patent cliffs, and trial readouts more than on current earnings. Here is a practical framework for analyzing them.
Basel IsmailJul 10, 2026
Sentiment analysis
The Role of Sentiment Analysis in Modern Financial Research
How sentiment analysis extracts signal from earnings calls, SEC filings, news, and social media, plus a simple workflow for tracking language changes yourself.
Basel IsmailJul 10, 2026
AI transformation
Why Headcount-Neutral AI Transformations Outperform Layoffs-First Programs
Cutting staff to fund AI destroys the knowledge and goodwill the rollout needs. The evidence favors programs that hold headcount flat and redeploy time.
Basel IsmailJul 10, 2026
Contrarian investing
Contrarian Investing: How to Find Opportunity When Everyone Else Is Selling
Markets overreact to bad news and misprice good companies. Here is a practical process for separating temporary problems from businesses that are genuinely broken.
Basel IsmailJul 10, 2026
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13f filings
How Institutional Investors Use 13-F Filings for Competitive Intelligence
A practical guide to reading 13-F filings: what funds must disclose, what stays hidden, and how to track position changes without chasing stale trades.
Basel IsmailJul 10, 2026
Cryptocurrency
How the SEC Treats Crypto Disclosures (and How to Read Them)
How the SEC treats crypto and digital-asset disclosures, and a practical checklist for judging whether a company is telling you the truth about its exposure.
Basel IsmailJul 10, 2026
Process automation
Fix the Process Before You Automate It: Why AI on a Broken Workflow Multiplies the Mess
MIT found 95% of GenAI pilots deliver no measurable P&L return. Automating a broken workflow just speeds up the mess. Map, prune, and standardize first.
Basel IsmailJul 10, 2026
Saas metrics
How to Analyze SaaS Companies: The Metrics Wall Street Actually Cares About
SaaS companies live or die on ARR, net dollar retention, LTV/CAC, and the Rule of 40. Here is what each one really tells you and how to read the benchmarks.
Basel IsmailJul 10, 2026
Financial modeling
Building Financial Models That Actually Predict Rather Than Rationalize
Most financial models are built backward from a conclusion. How to build ones that forecast instead, using base rates, scenarios, and honest scorekeeping.
Basel IsmailJul 10, 2026
1,319 articles