Your agency doesn't have a sales problem. It has a people problem. I spent 15+ years building teams, from scrappy startups, to scaling tech companies, to huge agencies like GroupM and WPP. Now, I give small agency owners the SOPs, frameworks, and hard truths they need to build high-performance cultures that run without them.
The TL;DR, Where Your AI Guy Recommends to WAKE UP
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A bi-weekly roundup of why AI fluency needs to be on your strategic plan for 2026 February 7 - February 20 You can't ignore the shift. But you can control it.I was overjoyed when the New York Times' podcast The Daily did a feature on AI this past Wednesday. Go listen, it's a great primer on how AI is changing/has changed EVERYTHING. Welcome back. Aren't you excited to vibe code your own website in 2 minutes, like Natalie did during the interview? This very moment, in February 2026, is a major tipping point.
And of course, the most important tipping point: Learn to Scale is diving into holistic AI transformation consulting.
As a TL;DR subscriber, I wanted to share the backstory behind this shift. The short version: it isn't a shift. My life philosophy, from before founding Learn to Scale all the way to today, is that Everybody Learns. I believe that everyone has the capacity to learn, the ability to learn, and the responsibility to learn. Every organization has the power to learn, the responsibility to help their people learn, and they should expect that their people will learn. RIGHT NOW, the most critical thing we must learn is how to work alongside AI. This is not just a mandate for marketing agencies, but literally every sector in business needs to open their eyes and admit that AI is here, it is going to be everywhere, it is radically changing how people work, and it is happening faster than most people can learn on their own. Another way of looking at it: spending on AI is forecasted to hit $2.5 trillion in 2026. In just over a decade, investment in AI has surpassed the cost of developing the first atomic bomb, landing humans on the moon and the decades-long effort to build the 75,440km (46,876-mile) US interstate highway network. This π is π aπ big πdealπ For someone with a life mission of helping people and organizations learn, helping people and organizations learn AI is my calling. When I was reflecting on how I felt about that statement, it gave me chills. I reached out to colleagues to bounce this idea off of them and their feedback was incredibly validating, "Dan, you've been doing this already. You're great at helping people learn and not feel dumb. You're clearly passionate about this technology. I think itβs such a good fit for you!" The deep dark doubt that I had to wrestle down was the fear of becoming just another AI hype guy. I was really worried that I would be perceived as a modern day carpetbagger, an unscrupulous opportunist that isn't different from the spammy "Learn AI agents and they'll make you millions!" snake oil hucksters. Mom, Dad: that liberal arts degree is finally paying off. I realized that all my systems thinking, learning mindset, personal code of ethics, and holistic perspective is what will make me different. It crystalized during one of my user research interviews: a fellow AI enthusiast was worried about being seen as just another AI guy, but after he heard my story he said, "You are still the people guy; you're just helping them with AI to solve their people problems." Yes. That's exactly right. Just like the speed of change with AI, I'm sure I'll look back on this years from now and laugh at how naive it sounds. However, courage to pursue something you believe in requires you to ante in and put your thoughts out in the world. The big question: How will you do this, Dan? The answer:
A TL;DR from the CROI've been keeping my eye on the changes around town and lemme tell you: there's something happening with AI over there. -Roman Noodles, Chief Ruff Officer In a few weeks, I'll be able to show the results from my most recent batch of rocks in the tumblers. One of them is a single large quartz crystal that I'm particularly excited for, but there are a few spots on it that have been collecting grit and rock sludge. The whole thing is clear and sparkly...except for a few grey brown spots and corners. Ick! Think of the physics: rocks are all kinds of shapes and sizes and if it has a depression or crevice, it will pick up gunk while bouncing around in the tumbler. I rarely tumble large rocks, so this is a unique new challenge. I was thinking of taking my Dremel to it and trying to buff out the stone gunk, but the crystal is so strangely shaped that I might just end up carving a hole in it, making the problem worse. It's also a crystal, and I learned the hard way that rock tumbling rocks are hard and it takes forever to Dremel anything off them. Yeah, that's a pearl of wisdom you can share with your friends at your next party: rocks are hard. I'll be sure to share the results in the next TL;DR, with pics. I know that's all some of you want and I am happy to oblige. Here's to hoping we're all a little shinier in two weeks, Dan from Learn to Scaleβ βOpt-out from the newsletter | Unsubscribe from all emails | Update your Preferences | www.learntoscale.us, Boston, MA 02119 βPS. The music industry ain't immune to AI and this hot take on Suno.ai is SPICYβ |
Dan Newman
Your agency doesn't have a sales problem. It has a people problem. I spent 15+ years building teams, from scrappy startups, to scaling tech companies, to huge agencies like GroupM and WPP. Now, I give small agency owners the SOPs, frameworks, and hard truths they need to build high-performance cultures that run without them.
A bi-weekly roundup of 1-2-3-HOP January 24 - February 6 When AI Is On Everyone's Dance Card, You Must Dance With AI In the 19th and early 20th centuries, a dance card was a tiny, decorative booklet used by women at formal balls to keep track of their dance partners for the evening. The dance card was a high-stakes social tool. A "full card" was a sign of great popularity, while an empty one was every Victorian socialite's nightmare. It also provided a graceful out: if a woman didn't want to...
A bi-weekly roundup of metrics that makes your CFO go brrrrr January 10 - January 23 Numbers, Glorious Numbers I've been working on an app that helps agency owners answer the existential question: is my business doing ok? As I was vibe-coding my way through Cursor to build this cozy business visualization app, I realized that I needed to provide users with more concrete guidance to help them with the very-confusing parts of setting revenue goals, sales goals, and calculating how efficient...
A bi-weekly roundup of how to fit your business on a single sheet of paper December 27, 2025 - January 9, 2026 Nine Boxes Closer To Nirvana Skip the New Years Resolution, To-Don't List, and Accountabilibuddy Pact. Do a Lean Canvas instead. The Lean Canvas is a one-page business modeling worksheet that should take about 15 minutes for you to fill out if you know your business model and a couple years if you don't. Think of it less like a business plan and more like an annual physical for your...