In a recent LinkedIn post, Jason Averbook shares his reflections on a keynote by Peter Hinssen, emphasizing the profound shifts businesses and leaders must navigate in what Hinssen terms the ‘Never Normal.’ Averbook uses Hinssen’s insights to highlight the accelerating pace of technological change, particularly the advent of AI, and the imperative for organizations to adapt with unprecedented speed.
Averbook relays Hinssen’s core message that the current era is characterized by continuous disruption, not temporary setbacks. “We’re not going ‘back to normal.’ We’ve entered the Never Normal, a world where shocks, crises, and disruption are not storms to wait out, but the permanent climate we live in,” Averbook quotes from Hinssen’s presentation. This framing sets the stage for a discussion on how businesses must fundamentally rethink their strategies and operational models.
The AI Imperative and Extreme Capitalism
A central theme in Averbook’s coverage of Hinssen’s talk is the transformative power of Artificial Intelligence. Averbook highlights Hinssen’s assertion that digital transformation was merely a prelude to the AI revolution.
“Digital was never the destination. Digital was the appetizer. AI is the main course and it’s coming faster, bigger, and with more investment than any technology wave we’ve seen before.”
According to Averbook, this rapid advancement in AI is intrinsically linked to what Hinssen describes as ‘extreme capitalism’ and a ‘talent singularity.’ As Averbook explains, the massive capital expenditure by major tech players signals an era where a select group of highly capable individuals and organizations will significantly outpace the rest. The implication, as relayed by Averbook, is that the cost of inaction—waiting—will become prohibitively high, while the cost of decisive action will diminish.
From Data Overload to Insight Generation
Averbook also addresses the critical challenge many organizations face: an abundance of data but a scarcity of actionable insights. He quotes Hinssen’s observation on this paradox:
“Most organizations are drowning in data but starving for insight. The winners will be the ones that stop just collecting data and start truly connecting dots.”
This point underscores the need for a strategic shift from mere data collection to genuine insight generation, a capability that Averbook suggests will be a key differentiator in the ‘Never Normal.’
Addressing ‘Yesterday’s Work’ and Leadership Challenges
Furthermore, Averbook emphasizes Hinssen’s call to eliminate ‘yesterday’s work’—outdated processes, meetings, and rituals that persist out of habit. Averbook quotes Hinssen directly on this critical point:
“Yesterday’s work” is real: all the legacy processes, meetings, reports, and rituals we keep alive out of habit. If we don’t ruthlessly remove yesterday’s work, we won’t have the capacity to build tomorrow’s.”
Averbook frames Hinssen’s powerful leadership challenge for the ‘Never Normal’ era, focusing on the need to anticipate future shifts, adapt quickly to weak signals, and build resilience to recover rapidly from inevitable setbacks. As Averbook concludes by quoting Hinssen, “The future of work isn’t in 2030, it’s in the decisions we make on today.” The overarching message, as conveyed by Averbook, is that embracing uncertainty is not a detriment but a fundamental opportunity for innovation and growth.
📝 About This Content
This article is based on insights shared by Jason Averbook on LinkedIn.
📅 Originally posted on March 19, 2026 | View original post on LinkedIn →