by Brittain Ladd | Jul 16, 2026 | AI, Newsletter, Retail
I recently became aware of a fascinating robotics program implemented by the Mayo Clinic. I learned of the program from a reporter who contacted me and asked for my opinion on the topic of robots in hospitals. She casually mentioned that the Mayo Clinic is using...
by Brittain Ladd | Jul 13, 2026 | Retail
McDonald’s has made one mistake in its history that cost more than all the others combined. Understanding that mistake explains the biggest opportunity in the restaurant industry today, and why one founder in Phoenix is better positioned to capture it than...
by Brittain Ladd | Jul 13, 2026 | AI, Logistics, Retail, Strategy
Game theory tells you what position you must hold. Statistics tells you the odds your plan actually gets you there. Almost no company computes either. Ask a Fortune 500 strategy team what their plan is, and you will receive a narrative: a market thesis, a three-year...
by Brittain Ladd | Jul 12, 2026 | No Retreat, No Surrender
Forty-six years after Desert One, most companies still refuse to run the one calculation that matters. In April 1980, the United States launched eight helicopters into Iran on a mission that required six, believing two spares constituted a margin of safety. The...
by Brittain Ladd | Jul 12, 2026 | Logistics, Strategy, Supply Chains
On the night of April 24, 1980, eight RH-53D Sea Stallion helicopters lifted off the deck of the USS Nimitz in the Arabian Sea and turned north toward Iran. Their mission was to rescue 53 American hostages held in Tehran since November 4, 1979 — 50 inside the U.S....
