My Virtual Think Tank: Experience Beats the Algorithm

A few weeks ago, after sharing my reflections on the international joint venture between Verizon and British Telecom, a reader left an intriguing comment: “Perhaps you should form a former telecom executive think tank; it’s fascinating how many lessons from those groundbreaking days still apply today.”

That observation stuck with me. After 25 years as a solo strategy advisor, I realized I didn’t need to build one; I’ve been running one all along.

I think of it as my virtual think tank.

It has no physical office, no payroll and no standing meetings. Instead, it is a curated network of trusted peers, former colleagues and industry leaders built across decades in competitive telecom. It’s the group of people I turn to when I need to pressure-test an idea, dissect an unfamiliar problem or gain perspective outside my own line of sight.

In an era captivated by artificial intelligence, this informal model represents something increasingly rare and vital: intelligence grounded in battle-tested experience and earned trust.

Embracing the Soloist’s Dilemma

Social media loves the “one-person band,” the virtuoso who effortlessly switches between drums, bass, guitar and keys, layering track after track into a seamless composition. It looks magical because those two-minute clips compress decades of dedicated practice across multiple disciplines.

Most of us, however, are fortunate if we master a single instrument.

My instrument is the mobile ecosystem, but my engagements don’t stop at its edges. I take on work in contiguous areas: finance, entertainment, hospitality, travel, transportation. Those discovery conversations are always energizing, and the juices flow. But I never walk away from them pretending to be an expert in areas where I’m not. That’s why the real work begins after the call is over. I assess the problem, map out what I know, and ask a critical set of questions:

•       Who has lived this specific problem before?

•       Who has already seen this movie play out?

•       Who has the perspective and candor to challenge my assumptions?

Then I make the call.

The Craft of the Trusted Network

Reaching out to a specialist isn’t just about getting a quick answer; it’s an ongoing dialogue. Sometimes a complex issue is clarified in five minutes; more often, the conversation evolves into a deeper exchange of ideas. On occasion, that specialist becomes an active collaborator on the engagement.

There is a distinct discipline to this approach. Protecting client confidentiality requires framing the underlying strategic problem with enough precision to extract meaningful insight without revealing sensitive specifics or identities. That framing is a craft in itself.

You don’t cultivate this kind of access through algorithms or online rankings. You build it by watching people perform in high-stakes environments over years, understanding how they think, and knowing their specific superpowers.

Beyond the Infinite Monkey Theorem

We’ve all heard the Infinite Monkey Theorem: given enough typewriters and enough time, a room full of monkeys will eventually produce Hamlet. It is a classic thought experiment, but it makes for an atrocious business strategy.

Yet much of our current approach to generative AI follows a similar premise: generate massive volumes of synthetic analysis and possible answers, hoping that real insight emerges from the statistical noise.

My virtual think tank operates on the exact opposite principle. I don’t need infinite possibilities; I need the single right conversation with the right person.

I need the practitioner who made the mistake a decade ago, knows what failed, understands what succeeded, and isn’t afraid to tell me, “You’re looking at this from the wrong angle.”

The Real Source of Strategic Leverage

A solo practice powered by a deep, on-demand network offers unmatched agility: deep domain expertise, minimal overhead, zero bureaucratic friction, and, above all, no illusion that any single person, or machine, has all the answers.

True leverage isn’t pretending to know everything. It’s knowing precisely who to call when you don’t.

That network took a quarter-century to build. It operates entirely on experience, human judgment and mutual respect. So far, I have yet to see an algorithm that can replicate that.