The Last Paradigm — Book One
The Alignment Tax
Why the gap between strategy and execution became existential — and how Fortune 500 leaders close it.
Publisher
Greenleaf Book Group
Release
Q4 2026
Format
Paperback (Hardcover Special Order) · Ebook · Audio (My Voice)
For decades, the separation between business strategy and technical execution made sense. AI collapsed the timeline that justified it. The organizations that recognize this first will set the pace for the next generation. The rest will pay the tax.
What the Book Argues
Three claims. Each one expensive to ignore.
— I —
The tax was always there. AI made it visible.
Every Fortune 500 has been paying for the gap between strategy and execution for decades. It was tolerable because execution was slow and predictable enough that the cost stayed off the P&L. Modern AI tools collapsed that timeline — and made the tax impossible to keep hiding.
— II —
The fix is not a faster execution arm. It is a different operating model.
Speeding up the handoff between strategy and execution does not eliminate the tax. It makes the friction louder. The organizations that close the gap restructure how strategy and execution relate — treating them as the same activity at different altitudes, not as sequential phases owned by different functions.
— III —
The window is narrower than most leaders think. And it does not reopen.
The organization’s restructuring now will set the pace for the next competitive cycle. The ones still planning to plan will spend the next decade trying to recover ground that compounds against them every quarter they wait. The book argues for the operating model, the moment demands, and the leadership work required to install it.
For Readers
Be the first to know when pre-orders open.
Get a single email when pre-orders go live in 2026. No newsletter spam — the regular writing lives on the newsletter. This list is for launch only.
For Organizations
Bring this to your leadership team.
The Alignment Tax is being adopted by Fortune 500 boards and executive teams as a strategic primer for the AI era. Bulk orders, executive briefings, and customized leadership sessions available through Greenleaf and the author.