# What Makes Great Strategists Different in AI Era

> AI levels strategy analysis, but sticky knowledge remains key advantage.
- Title: What Makes Great Strategists Different in AI Era | Shortify
- Summary: AI levels strategy analysis, but sticky knowledge remains key advantage. Great strategists find untransferable knowledge in context to stay competitive as AI…
- Keywords: strategists, sticky knowledge, competitive advantage, michael porter, gabriel szulanski, metlife, steve jobs, xerox parc, expert present strategists, business, management, Makes
- Source: Harvard Business Review — https://hbr.org/2026/10/what-sets-great-strategists-apart-in-the-ai-era
- Author: Giovanni Gavetti
- Published: 2026-10-13T12:15:04+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: ai, strategists, sticky knowledge, competitive advantage, michael porter, gabriel szulanski, metlife, steve jobs, xerox parc, expert present strategists, business, management
## AI Makes Strategy Analysis Commodity
AI now provides identical strategic analytics to all competitors, making analysis a commodity rather than competitive advantage.
## Starbucks' Milan Insight
Howard Schultz saw coffee as an experience in a Milan café in 1983, not a product, sparking his company's unique approach.
## Sticky Knowledge Definition
Sticky knowledge is tacit, context-bound, and hard to transfer, unlike codified market data.
## Sticky Knowledge Types
Sticky knowledge faces friction from motivational, epistemic, or contextual barriers that prevent easy transfer.
## MetLife's Japan Challenge
MetLife's insurance playbook failed in Japan due to cultural differences in customer priorities and longevity concerns.
## Expert Present Strategists
Expert present strategists combine deep expertise with active presence where sticky knowledge lives to create advantage.
## Steve Jobs at Xerox PARC
Steve Jobs recognized xerox parcs graphical interface potential through relationships with executives in 1979.
## AI Cannot Replace Expertise
AI can find correlations but cannot build trust, tease out unspoken knowledge, or make analogical leaps like Jobs did.
## Four Shifts for Strategists
Strategists must distinguish commoditized analysis from sticky knowledge, seek it proactively, recognize it, and make trade-offs for presence.
## Recognition as Key Constraint
Expertise to recognize sticky knowledge's significance is critical, requiring years of preparation and cannot be delegated.
## Expert Present Strategy
The expert present strategy combines deep expertise, active presence, and judgment to create uncopyable competitive advantage.
## Why This Matters Now
As ai improves, sticky knowledge becomes increasingly valuable for strategists to maintain competitive edge.
## Key takeaway

Great strategists find untransferable knowledge in context to stay competitive as AI dominates analysis.