The Premis™ Papers

The questions that outlast the answers.

Writing on judgment, strategy, and the institutions that sell them — from the team rebuilding consulting in the AI age. Each paper takes one position and argues it to a conclusion, including the parts that are inconvenient for us.

For
Operators and advisors deciding what to do about AI, not what to think about it
Length
5–10 min reads, with the argument up front
Published
When there is something worth saying — never to a calendar
Standard
One position, argued to a conclusion — including where it costs us
011000101110111001111110000100000000101110111000001010110000101010010011101010010100101001
Paper #1 · Latest

What Consulting Sells When Answers Are Free

When AI democratizes analytical depth and synthesis, consulting firms can no longer sell answers. They must learn to sell systemic judgment, political alignment, and boundary architecture.

  • Consulting's margin lived in knowledge arbitrage — the gap between what a global firm knew and what a client knew. AI closes that gap toward zero.
  • The billable hour now punishes efficiency: the faster a firm works, the less it earns. That is a structural contradiction, not a pricing nuisance.
  • The pyramid becomes a diamond. The junior research base contracts; senior generalists who frame problems and govern risk become the firm.
22 July 2026 · 5 min read · Read the paper →

About these papers

How often do they appear?

Roughly monthly, but only when there is something worth saying.

A thin paper costs more credibility than a missed month, so the schedule bends and the bar does not.

Is this marketing for the product?

The papers argue a position and stand on their own.

Several are uncomfortable for us — paper 01 argues that answers are becoming worthless, which is a strange thing for a company selling analysis to publish. Premis is the working answer to the same questions, so we say so at the end and leave it there.

Can I quote or republish one?

Quote freely, with a link back.

For republication in full, email hello@premisbrief.com. The answer is usually yes, and usually quick.