Learning from great filmmakers about competition and collaboration, balancing AI in education, and the renewed importance of strategic thinking. These are a few of the stories we’re talking about this week. Whether it be in the office or on the airplane headed to our next program, we’re always talking about the issues and trends that are shaping the way we learn as well as what interests each of us on the team. Read more below.
Collaboratively competitive
A recent article about Paul Fischer’s book, The Last Kings of Hollywood examines the creative partnership between Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg during the 1970s. These filmmaking giants charted a completely new path and made some of the most iconic films in living memory. Rather than working in isolation, they exchanged profit points, collaborated on projects, and offered honest feedback. This “friendly rivalry” elevated their work and changed Hollywood forever. Fischer argues that peer collaboration and honest criticism remain vital in modern filmmaking, offering a counternarrative to today’s franchise-dominated studio system where directors are often hired hands rather than auteurs. We can learn something about the importance of both collaboration and a good dose of competition to encourage us all to succeed and build something remarkable.
Playing it too safe?
While Apple has been in the news lately for the leadership succession, we’ve been thinking about the company’s strategy with AI as discussed in Axios. Initially labeled a laggard in adoption, Apple now appears poised to benefit from other companies’ expensive race to be the top dog. Instead of betting on creating the most powerful AI models, Apple is focusing on selling its high-end hardware (like iPhones and Macs) and letting other companies take the risks and costs of developing cutting-edge AI. It doesn’t matter which AI app wins; every app downloaded from the App Store nets Apple a 15–30% cut. But playing it safe doesn’t mean risk free as new devices or competitors could disrupt Apple’s dominance.
Creating balance
Tech companies and education advocates argue that early exposure to AI in education builds digital literacy, reduces teacher workload, and enables personalized learning through adaptive tools. But for some parents and educators, it’s time to pump the brakes on the technology in the classroom and focus on basics first. They argue that it can cause cognitive atrophy, warped relationships, and prioritize process over outcomes. Their solutions are a bit disparate, ranging from outright AI bans to creating spaces for children to read whole books on their own and learn in low-stimulation environments. All of which has us thinking about balance. The power of the technology is real, but like all new tools, we need to think strategically about how we adapt to and use them, to ensure success now and in the future.
Building better skills
While we may still be learning how to integrate AI into classrooms, a new industry report released by Together and Absorb LMS shows a refreshing trend for continuing education: Strategic and Critical Thinking has overtaken “Digital Fluency” as the top priority for corporate learning and development. If 2025 was about learning how to use AI, 2026 is shaping up to be about how to let AI to handle the drudge work so humans can focus on judgment and decision-making. Taking it further, 77% of organizations now report that formal mentorship is their most successful “continuing education” tool. Companies are seeing that the most valuable business education happens when senior leaders pass down “decision narratives” to the next generation. The tools will get better, the way we work more efficient, but we need each other to learn how to bring it all together.