ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
An AI-native strategy firmGlobal Advisors: a consulting leader in defining quantified strategy, decreasing uncertainty, improving decisions, achieving measureable results.
A Different Kind of Partner in an AI World
AI-native strategy
consulting
Experienced hires
We are hiring experienced top-tier strategy consultants
Quantified Strategy
Decreased uncertainty, improved decisions
Global Advisors is a leader in defining quantified strategies, decreasing uncertainty, improving decisions and achieving measureable results.
We specialise in providing highly-analytical data-driven recommendations in the face of significant uncertainty.
We utilise advanced predictive analytics to build robust strategies and enable our clients to make calculated decisions.
We support implementation of adaptive capability and capacity.
Our latest
Thoughts
Podcast – The Real AI Signal from Davos 2026
While the headlines from Davos were dominated by geopolitical conflict and debates on AGI timelines and asset bubbles, a different signal emerged from the noise. It wasn’t about if AI works, but how it is being ruthlessly integrated into the real economy.
In our latest podcast, we break down the “Diffusion Strategy” defining 2026.
3 Key Takeaways:
- China and the “Global South” are trying to leapfrog: While the West debates regulation, emerging economies are treating AI as essential infrastructure.
- China has set a goal for 70% AI diffusion by 2027.
- The UAE has mandated AI literacy in public schools from K-12.
- Rwanda is using AI to quadruple its healthcare workforce.
- The Rise of the “Agentic Self”: We aren’t just using chatbots anymore; we are employing agents. Entrepreneur Steven Bartlett revealed he has established a “Head of Experimentation and Failure” to use AI to disrupt his own business before competitors do. Musician will.i.am argued that in an age of predictive machines, humans must cultivate their “agentic self” to handle the predictable, while remaining unpredictable themselves.
- Rewiring the Core: Uber’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi noted the difference between an “AI veneer” and a fundamental rewire. It’s no longer about summarising meetings; it’s about autonomous agents resolving customer issues without scripts.
The Global Advisors Perspective: Don’t wait for AGI. The current generation of models is sufficient to drive massive value today. The winners will be those who control their “sovereign capabilities” – embedding their tacit knowledge into models they own.
Read our original perspective here – https://with.ga/w1bd5
Listen to the full breakdown here – https://with.ga/2vg0z
Strategy Tools
Strategy Tools: The 7S Framework – A Comprehensive Guide
By John Khova Global Advisors digital consultant Introduction The McKinsey 7S Framework is one of the most enduring and widely recognised management models in strategic consulting and organisational design. It posits that organisational effectiveness depends not on...
Fast Facts
Fast Fact: Great returns aren’t enough
Key insights
It’s not enough to just have great returns – top-line growth is just as critical.
In fact, S&P 500 investors rewarded high-growth companies more than high-ROIC companies over the past decade.
While the distinction was less clear on the JSE, what is clear is that getting a balance of growth and returns is critical.
Strong and consistent ROIC or RONA performers provide investors with a steady flow of discounted cash flows – without growth effectively a fixed-income instrument.
Improvements in ROIC through margin improvements, efficiencies and working-capital optimisation provide point-in-time uplifts to share price.
Top-line growth presents a compounding mechanism – ROIC (and improvements) are compounded each year leading to on-going increases in share price.
However, without acceptable levels of ROIC, the benefits of compounding will be subdued and share price appreciation will be depressed – and when ROIC is below WACC value will be destroyed.
Maintaining high levels of growth is not as sustainable as maintaining high levels of ROIC – while both typically decline as industries mature, growth is usually more affected.
Getting the right balance between ROIC and growth is critical to optimising shareholder value.
Selected News
Quote: James van der Beek – TV star
“You are incredibly fortunate whatever success falls on you, which is what happened with me.” – James van der Beek – TV star
James van der Beek’s words capture a profound humility amid fame, underscoring how fortune often shapes trajectories in the unpredictable world of acting. As the charismatic lead in the iconic teen drama Dawson’s Creek, van der Beek experienced overnight success that he attributed largely to serendipity rather than calculated ambition. His perspective resonates deeply in an industry where talent meets opportunity by chance, a theme echoed throughout his career.
James van der Beek: From Small Beginnings to Global Fame
Born on 8 March 1977 in Cheshire, Connecticut, James William Van Der Beek grew up in a middle-class family with a father who worked as a corporate executive and a mother who was a gymnastics coach and homemaker. From an early age, he displayed a flair for performance, participating in school plays and local theatre. Despite initial aspirations towards professional tennis, van der Beek pivoted to acting after being accepted into the Interlochen Center for the Arts, though he ultimately attended Drake University briefly before dropping out to pursue opportunities in New York.
His breakthrough arrived unexpectedly in 1998 when, at age 21, he landed the titular role of Dawson Leery in Dawson’s Creek, created by Kevin Williamson for The WB network. The show, which aired from 1998 to 2003 across six seasons, followed the lives of four friends navigating adolescence in the fictional small town of Capeside, Massachusetts. Van der Beek’s portrayal of the earnest, film-obsessed dreamer Dawson catapulted him to international stardom, making him a household name among teenagers worldwide. The series’ witty dialogue, emotional depth, and exploration of coming-of-age themes drew a massive audience, peaking at over 6 million viewers per episode in the US.1
Post-Dawson’s Creek, van der Beek diversified his career with roles in films like Varsity Blues (1999), which ironically flopped despite high expectations and shaped his later scepticism about success, and Rules of Attraction (2002). He later starred in TV series such as Mercy (2009) and Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23 (2012-2013), where he parodied his own image. Van der Beek also appeared in CSI: Cyber and voiced characters in animations like Labor Day. Off-screen, he embraced fatherhood with his wife Kimberly Brook, raising six children, and advocated for holistic health and work-life balance.
Tragically, van der Beek passed away on 11 February following a battle with colorectal cancer at the age of 48, just months after reflecting on his career at the Steel City Con in April 2025 alongside co-star Kerr Smith. There, he recounted the moment he realised Dawson’s Creek‘s magnitude: an appearance in Seattle expecting 100 fans but greeted by 500 screaming admirers. This anecdote mirrors the quote’s essence, highlighting his initial doubts after a prior film’s failure.1
The Context of the Quote: Gratitude in Reflection
The quote emerges from van der Beek’s broader philosophy on success, articulated amid discussions of Dawson’s Creek‘s enduring appeal. He credited the show’s multigenerational fandom to its ‘very sincere’ characters who ‘cared about trying to do the right thing,’ noting even his daughter Olivia’s friends watched it despite the lack of modern tech like mobile phones. His commitment to the role, alongside co-stars Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, and Michelle Williams, amplified its authenticity. Yet, van der Beek consistently downplayed personal agency, viewing his stardom as ‘incredibly fortunate’ happenstance-a mindset forged by Hollywood’s volatility.1
Leading Theorists on Luck, Success, and Serendipity in Careers
Van der Beek’s emphasis on luck aligns with scholarly explorations of success as a confluence of talent, timing, and chance. Nassim Nicholas Taleb, in Fooled by Randomness (2001), argues that much of perceived skill in fields like acting stems from survivorship bias and randomness, where outliers succeed not solely through merit but ‘black swan’ events-rare, unpredictable occurrences mirroring van der Beek’s Seattle epiphany.
Similarly, Robert H. Frank’s Success and Luck (2016) draws on research showing luck’s outsized role in professional achievements. Analysing data from sports, business, and arts, Frank posits that while talent provides a baseline, exponential rewards amplify small advantages via fortunate breaks, much like landing Dawson’s Creek amid a teen drama boom.
In psychology, Richard Wiseman’s The Luck Factor (2003) presents empirical studies distinguishing ‘lucky’ from ‘unlucky’ individuals. Wiseman identifies traits like optimism, resilience, and openness to opportunity-qualities van der Beek embodied by persisting post-flop films-which enhance serendipity capture. Actor memoirs, such as those by Matthew McConaughey or Meryl Streep, echo this, often crediting ‘right place, right time’ over relentless grind.
Stephen Jay Gould, in Full House (1996), critiques success myths through evolutionary biology analogies, suggesting peaks like van der Beek’s fame result from random drifts rather than linear progress. These theorists collectively validate his view: success in acting, rife with 1-in-10,000 odds, owes more to fortune than thespian prowess alone.
Legacy: Sincerity Over Spotlight
Van der Beek’s career exemplifies acting’s lottery-like nature, where Dawson’s Creek endures for its heartfelt portrayal of youth’s uncertainties. His final reflections remind us that true fortune lies in gracious acceptance of life’s unpredictable gifts.
References
Polls
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