The World Is Even Flatter: Seizing the AI Revolution for Firm Growth

Brian Kearns, CPA, CFP, RIA Founder, Haddam Road Advisors
Best Practices in Financial Planning

Twenty-one years ago, in 2005, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman described the coming of a new world order in his book, “The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century.” In it, he describes the 10 “flatteners” that were changing the world at that time, creating an environment of revolutionary change in the global economy that would allow people around the globe to connect, collaborate, and accelerate commerce.

Among the great forces of change he mentioned were the internet and web browsers; software like Microsoft Office; and the idea of constant connectivity, including technologies like Voice over Internet Protocol and mobile phones. To give some perspective on the prescience of this book: It was published two years before the launch of the first Apple smartphone.

Fast forward to today, many of Friedman’s predictions have come to fruition. The technology he described has connected us all and has fundamentally changed the way we work, creating new products and services seemingly out of thin air while destroying certain industries. Think about it this way: When’s the last time you flagged down a taxi?

While these changes benefited many, they unfortunately left others without the requisite skills needed to survive the evolving “K-shaped” economy. For example, a friend of mine owned a cab company; they now drive for Uber.

Throughout this economic and social turning, one moat has persistently prevented even faster and more effective change: the ability to turn an idea or service into reality through software development. Unless you’re a coder, you can’t speak Python, Java, or C++. You’re either bidding for expertise or searching for it to get your project completed.

In the last six months, a techno-superhighway has been paved over that moat. Yes, it’s artificial intelligence (AI), and your business won’t look the same in five years. But that’s not something to fear—it’s offering you the single greatest opportunity to build a service model that you can create, manage, and control.

Despite the imagery often used to convey AI, the general population won’t be relying on robots for all analysis and guidance—that time isn’t yet upon us. While it’s true that the current landscape demands business builders and owners to rely on technical solutions to analyze, interpret, and recommend a cogent strategy, we’re still organic beings with a desire for human guidance and advice. Keep in mind that George Jetson (yes, the legendary TV cartoon dad from “The Jetsons”) was born on July 31, 2022. He’s just learning to walk.

LEARNING TO SPEAK AI

So, what’s next? I don’t know your path, but I’ll tell you my experience thus far in hopes that it may spark your imagination and motivation to build for the next phase of how we do commerce.

Two years ago, I hired a marketing firm to help build my practice, Haddam Road Advisors. I spent tens of thousands of dollars and generated zero activity (literally zero). In hindsight, I’ve realized that the traditional marketing model in financial services was already obsolete.

Recognizing this, I wanted to deepen my understanding of the new AI landscape I kept hearing about, so I signed up for an online AI course. It was a lot of work, but I gained an understanding of large language models (LLMs), computer vision, few-shot prompting, and a whole bunch of other things I’d never heard of before. Building a basic chatbot was the final project of the course—and that was cool. However, despite earning the Microsoft AI 900 qualification, I still found a fundamental limitation to my learning: I’m not a coder, and I’m not fluent in the language of AI.

Still, I kept tabs on the AI space. I joined an online community of accountants to keep up with changes. Through this community, I learned about a certain tax software that uses AI to scrape document data and upload it directly into prep software. I checked it out and bought a license after one demo. It changed the operational side of tax prep (both in time and cost), and it improved my service model.

But I was still trying to build a marketing framework for Haddam Road Advisors. So, I kept poking around in cyberspace and happened upon another community focused on using AI to create autonomous business applications—it’s been a game changer!

I’m also making fast friends with Claude, which is an LLM designed with the emphasis of being helpful, harmless, and honest. It’s an astounding technology and a productivity supernova. In fact, I need to install a cushioned floor in my office because in the last two months my jaw has kept hitting it.

Just to give you an example on its capabilities, I recently asked Claude for some help on research related to the “Oracle of Omaha,” aka the legendary investor and chairperson of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett.

Before he retired as CEO in December 2025, Buffett used to write an annual letter to his shareholders, which became one of the most anticipated financial documents every year. I asked Claude to help me generate a list of these letters from the last 50 years. My AI group showed me how to upload this information into NotebookLM (a new Google AI platform) and process this information. It generated a mind map, a five-minute video, and a 17-minute podcast (with AI voices) titled, “Trading Cigar Butts for Beautiful Businesses.” And there it was: 50 years of Buffett’s wisdom distilled in a way that I could use to gain a better perspective on how he invests. Admittedly, it wasn’t super in-depth or detailed, but if I’m ever looking for a better understanding of any subject in the future, I’m using this technique first.

ABANDON YOUR ASSUMPTIONS

So, how do I apply this to my business? I honestly have no idea, and here’s the silent truth: no one else does either. This evolution is an ongoing process and something I’m happy to share (drop me a line and we can chat).

For now, here’s a basic framework to build on:

• Gain skills: Invest in yourself. Take a course, find resources, and ask AI to explain them.
• Join communities: Find people who know more than you do, learn from them, and share the knowledge you’ve gained from your experience. Younger, older—it doesn’t matter. No one knows the whole answer, and it seems now more than ever people are willing to help everyone move forward.
• Learn by doing: Expertise equals knowledge plus mistakes— and wisdom is expertise applied over time, just ask Buffett. Knowing what not to do is almost as important as knowing what to do—perfection is the enemy of progress. Remember, Roger Federer, one of the greatest professional tennis players of his generation, lost 46% of his points during his career. That’s a lot of failure on the way to success.

As you move forward, consider this bit of wisdom from American record producer Rick Rubin: “Beware of the assumption that the way you work is the best way simply because it’s the way you’ve done it before.”

When it comes to AI, I’d encourage you to keep this in mind and realize the more you participate, the more you’ll benefit in this great flattening wave.