The only business strategy that never fails
Ken.
Last week I introduced you to Ken Simpson, a 100% disabled Army vet fighting cancer while the VA community care system failed him at every turn. I told you I was going to document it.
This week, Ken reached out to me directly.
He and Katie have made the decision not to move forward with the project.
I’m not going to share the details of his message. That belongs to them. What I’ll tell you is this: Ken wrote to me himself, with complete clarity about who he is, what he needs, and what matters most to him and Katie right now.
I respect it without reservation.
Here’s what I want you to understand about what TSV actually stands for: real advocacy means the veteran always gets to say no. Their story, their terms. My job was never to extract something from them, it was to serve. And sometimes serving means stepping back so someone can live their life on their own terms.
That’s what Ken and Katie are choosing. And it’s exactly right.
Ken, Katie, strength, peace, and every good day ahead.
6 hours. One conversation. One theme.
Today I drove to Jacksonville to see my buddy Tony. He owns Solar Shade Window Tint, a veteran owned and operated shop. He gave me a full tour, walked me through his revenue streams, his future plans, introduced me to his employees. We talked for hours.
Six hours round trip. I’d do it again tomorrow.
Tony knows he needs AI. He knows his knowledge is fragmented. He knows I’ve been in this space since the beginning. So I told him what I tell every business owner I actually respect: I don’t want to just show up and sell you something. I want to come spend a day or two with your team, understand the whole operation, and then figure out where AI actually fits. He said yes. That visit is already in the works.
But here’s what kept coming up as we walked through everything, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.
Relationships.
Every revenue stream Tony has exists because someone trusted him. Every employee in that shop showed up because someone vouched for him. Every future plan he laid out is possible because of a reputation built over years. The business runs on relationships. The money is just a byproduct.
And I made a bold claim to him that I’ll make to you right now:
If you get good at building and maintaining authentic relationships, it will take you everywhere you want to go.
That’s the whole strategy.
AI doesn’t change that. It amplifies it. Tony can’t automate the trust he’s built with his customers or the culture he’s created with his team. But he can automate his follow-ups, his quotes, his scheduling, his content. And when he does, he gets more time to do the thing he’s actually great at.
Not AI instead of relationships. AI so you can have more of them.
The Intel This Week
While I was on the road, a few things dropped that you need to know about.
Mike Sarraille and Kirk Offel published a piece today in the Havok Journal that said something worth sitting with: “The biggest constraint on America’s digital future is not power or capital. It is people.” Google just committed $1 billion to expand data centers in North Carolina. They need execution ready talent. Veterans are the answer and most of them don’t know it yet.
A new report from Redeployable and Hire Heroes USA identified six careers where AI resistance, job growth, and veteran retention all converge: cybersecurity, healthcare, skilled trades, engineering, program management, and supply chain. These aren’t fallback options. They’re the backbone of the economy AI is building.
And the World Economic Forum projects 92 million jobs eliminated by 2030 with 170 million new ones created. Net positive. But only for the people who are positioned correctly right now.
The people who understand AI and can build authentic relationships in the spaces where it’s being deployed are going to be fine. The people who wait and see are not.
The week that kept proving the same point.
I didn’t realize it until today but this whole week has been saying the same thing.
I helped friends move. I sat with my Reiki friend Roger over single-origin light roast coffee, my absolute favorite, and we talked for hours. I used this platform to help three people who needed it. And I drove six hours to spend a day with a veteran I trust and who trusts me.
None of that was on a content calendar. All of it was worth it.
TSV is about the full transition. Not just the career pivot, but the human being who comes out the other side. The relationships you build after the uniform comes off are some of the most important ones you’ll ever have. Lean into them.
If you need help.
Three people in three days. That’s what this week looked like behind the scenes.
If you’re in a tough spot, a job search, a broken system, a situation you can’t get traction on alone, reply to this email. Tell me what’s going on. I can’t promise a miracle but I can promise I’ll put the network to work if I can. That’s what it’s there for.
This weekend.
I’m heading to South Carolina. A former soldier of mine, Rich Spala, invited me to spend Easter weekend with his family. He didn’t have to open his home to me and my dog Apollo. The fact that he did says everything.
Rich is also the founder of Ram’s Horn Coffee, a veteran owned craft roasting company. If you want to put your money behind a vet who built something real, go check them out.
Military Creator Con is two weeks out. April 16-18, Arlington TX. I’m on stage twice Saturday morning at 9am and 10am. If you’re going to be there, reply to this email. I’ll do my best.
Back in your inbox next Friday.
Find me on LinkedIn for daily field notes between issues.
My name is Adam Peters, and I’m here to unfuck the transition.
-- Adam