Thought piece: The efficiency trap

Hi there,

There is a dangerous assumption in business that technology is deflationary. We assume that if we wait, the tools will get cheaper. We think implementation will get easier and the risks will go down.

We tell ourselves that being a "fast follower" is the safe bet.

But a hidden economic principle called the Jevons Paradox suggests the exact opposite.

The paradox of efficiency

In 1865, economist William Stanley Jevons observed a curious trend. As steam engines became more efficient with coal, coal consumption did not go down. It skyrocketed.

When a resource becomes cheaper and more efficient to use, we don't use less of it. We find new, previously impossible ways to use it. The demand for the resource explodes.

This is happening right now with AI.

Leaders think AI will simply lower the cost of their current operations. They expect to do the same work for less money.

The reality is different. AI raises the standard of what is possible. It moves the baseline of "acceptable performance" vertically.

The acceleration imperative

While you wait for the technology to stabilize, the market uses that volatility to build massive advantages. The gap between leaders and laggards is no longer linear. It is exponential.

 Consider the hidden tax of waiting:

• Data debt: Competitors are already feeding their models with proprietary data. Every day you wait is a day of training data you never get back.

• Cultural rigidity: Implementing AI requires a new organizational muscle. You cannot buy this muscle off the shelf in two years. You have to build it now.

• The quality floor: As AI lowers the cost of creation, the market is flooded with average work. The only way to stand out is to operate at a level of quality and personalization that manual effort can no longer match.

The cost of the software might drop. The cost of relevance is skyrocketing.

Escaping the linear trap

For years, the agency model was built on "staff augmentation." You paid for hours. You paid for warm bodies. It was linear. At Future Works, we realized that this model cannot survive the Jevons Paradox. It is too slow. We replaced "selling time" with a proprietary AI execution engine. By deploying automated workflows instead of just adding headcount, we now ship critical initiatives 2x faster than the industry standard.

High-velocity execution creates immense value, but it also creates demand.

To maintain this standard and continue investing in our engine, our rates will increase by 20% in 2026. If 2026 is a big year for your roadmap, this is your chance to keep current pricing while getting access to the new system.

We are freezing 2025 pricing for anyone who books their Q1 roadmap session before December 31st.

You secure the execution engine. You lock in the lower rate. You stop paying the future tax. The paradox is real. Waiting rarely saves money. It simply costs you speed.

Much love,
Matt

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