Introducing Functional Intelligence: Systems Thinking for AI-Driven Growth

Why launch Functional Intelligence?

Because most “thought-leadership” still treats the business world like a tidy row of dominoes:

Add feature → get users → book revenue → profit.

That formula worked when markets moved at assembly-line speed. It collapses in an AI-saturated, hyper-connected marketplace where a supply-chain hiccup, a viral tweet, or an LLM hallucination can derail three departments overnight. These aren’t one-off glitches—they’re feedback-loop problems. And feedback-loop problems demand systems thinking.

Functional Intelligence is my home base for dissecting those loops and turning them into margin and momentum.

What systems thinking looks like in the real world

1. See the whole machine – Map relationships between tech, people, and incentives, not just the parts.
2. Expose the loops – Spot reinforcing flywheels (growth) and balancing brakes (bottlenecks).
3. Shift from events to patterns – Stop firefighting symptoms; redesign the structure that sparks them.
4. Find leverage points – Tiny tweaks to information flows or incentives can flip an entire system’s behavior.

(If that rings of Donella Meadows, you’re in the right neighborhood—just bring your GTM hat.)

What you’ll get here

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Zero fluff. If an idea bombs, I’ll autopsy it. If a tweak lifts gross margin 30 percent, I’ll show the data and the unintended side-effects.

Why listen to me?

• Director of AI & Strategic Sales Support, GO2 Partners – Leading AI adoption across a 165-employee ESOP—small enough to pivot fast, big enough to break spectacularly.
• Former paramedic (pre-Marine) plus Marine infantry & combat instructor – Nothing wires systemic awareness like coordinating air-evac one year and fire-team tactics the next.
• Classically trained vocalist & pianist turned tech exec – From Rachmaninoff to rock to retrieval-augmented prompts; expect the odd music analogy.

Different arenas, same lesson: master the system and you outperform silo geniuses every time.

A quick mental workout

Before the next post drops, audit a knotty problem you own:

1. Draw the loop – Sketch every actor, metric, or policy influencing the outcome.
2. Mark the sign – Is each arrow reinforcing (+) or balancing (–)?
3. Locate delay – Where does reality lag perception? Delays breed surprise.
4. Circle leverage – Identify the smallest intervention that bends the curve.

Try it. Email me your loop — or your frustration. I’ll feature a few reader diagrams soon.

Call to action

Subscribe, critique freely and forward this to one colleague swinging hammers at flywheels. Together we’ll swap linear playbooks for systemic advantage — and break a few things on purpose.

Welcome to Functional Intelligence.

— Noel

P.S. Next up: “AI as Ambient Infrastructure — Designing org charts for invisible assistants.” Don’t miss it.

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