ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
An AI-native strategy firmGlobal Advisors: a consulting leader in defining quantified strategy, decreasing uncertainty, improving decisions, achieving measureable results.
A Different Kind of Partner in an AI World
AI-native strategy
consulting
Experienced hires
We are hiring experienced top-tier strategy consultants
Quantified Strategy
Decreased uncertainty, improved decisions
Global Advisors is a leader in defining quantified strategies, decreasing uncertainty, improving decisions and achieving measureable results.
We specialise in providing highly-analytical data-driven recommendations in the face of significant uncertainty.
We utilise advanced predictive analytics to build robust strategies and enable our clients to make calculated decisions.
We support implementation of adaptive capability and capacity.
Our latest
Thoughts
Global Advisors’ Thoughts: Leading a deliberate life
By Marc Wilson
Marc is a partner at Global Advisors and based in Johannesburg, South Africa
Download this article at https://globaladvisors.biz/blog/2018/06/26/leading-a-deliberate-life/.
Picket fences. Family of four. Management position.
Mid-life crisis. Meaning. Purpose.
Someone once said that, “At 18, I had all the answers. At 35, I realised I didn’t know the question.”
Serendipity has a lot going for it. Many people might sail through life taking what comes and enjoying the moment. Others might be open to chance and have nothing go right for them.
Some people might strive to achieve, realise rare successes and be bitterly unhappy. Others might be driven and enjoy incredible success and fulfilment.
Perhaps the majority of us become beholden to the momentum of our lives.
We might study, start a career, marry, buy a dream house, have children, send them to a top school. Those steps make up components of many of our dreams. They are steps that may define each subsequent choice. As I discussed this with a friend recently, he remarked that few of these steps had been subject of deliberations in his life – increasingly these steps were the outcome of momentum. Each will shape every step he takes for the rest of his life. He would not have things any other way, but if he knew what he knows now, he might have been more deliberate about choice and consequence…..
Read more at https://globaladvisors.biz/blog/2018/06/26/leading-a-deliberate-life/
.
Strategy Tools
Strategy tools: Effective transfer pricing
So much has been written about transfer pricing. Yet it remains a bone of contention in almost every organisation. Transfer pricing is not merely a rational challenge – it often raises the emotions of internal service users and providers who argue regarding scope, quality, price and value.
We have found that effective transfer pricing relies on some fairly simple best practices and critical success factors.
Many organisations recover costs as a regular ‘below-the-line’ deduction from operating division income statements. In our experience, charge out is almost always preferable. This results in internal value judgements and negotiation regarding delivery happening closer to time of use.
We have typically seen that the realisation that internal pricing plays this role and the consequences of poor implementation are not well understood.
Results of poor transfer pricing implementation
Sub-optimal economic use decisions
Where costs / prices are higher than they should be, buyers pass this on as an inflated cost to their customers, experience margin squeeze, or utilise less of the service than they might have.
Strategically this can lead to incorrect decisions regarding the provision of services to the market and loss of market share.
Where costs / prices are lower than they should be, this can lead to overuse of a product or service and poor cost recovery from external customers.
Strategically this can result in the over promotion and sales of products and services that are achieving lower margins than thought, or that might even be making losses.
Sub-optimal investment and resourcing decisions
Incorrect pricing can lead to over- or under-investment in capacity and product or service quality. Further, the resourcing decisions will be incorrect should the price signal to the supplier be incorrect.
Political and emotional argument
Where buyers are unable to obtain assurance that an internal price is correct, there is typically resentment regarding the cost of the internal product and service and the sheltered position employees of the internal service provider occupy – in the buyer’s eyes free from commercial pressures.
Buyers and suppliers typically also argue regarding the quality of the service or product relative to the price paid.
Suppliers may react to criticism claiming their product or service is strategic in nature and refute its availability in the external markets.
Poor product / service quality
Poor price signals will result in lack of comparable product and service quality benchmarks. This can result in ‘gold-plating’ or poor-quality product and service provision.
Read more at https://globaladvisors.biz/2021/01/06/strategy-tools-effective-transfer-pricing/
Fast Facts
Fast Fact: The rate of technology adoption exploded in the 1990s
The 1990s were an inflection point in the adoption of new technologies. While radio showed fast adoption in the 1920s, new technologies introduced post 2010 had reached penetrations of more than 30% of the United States population within 3 years from launch. PCs...
Selected News
Term: Vibe coding
“Vibe coding is an AI-driven software development approach where users describe desired app features in natural language (the “vibe”), and a Large Language Model (LLM) generates the functional code.” – Vibe coding
Vibe coding is an AI-assisted software development technique where developers describe project goals or features in natural language prompts to a large language model (LLM), which generates the source code; the developer then evaluates functionality through testing and iteration without reviewing, editing, or fully understanding the code itself.1,2
This approach, distinct from traditional AI pair programming or code assistants, emphasises “giving in to the vibes” by focusing on outcomes, rapid prototyping, and conversational refinement rather than code structure or correctness.1,3 Developers act as prompters, guides, testers, and refiners, shifting from manual implementation to high-level direction—e.g., instructing an LLM to “create a user login form” for instant code generation.2 It operates in two levels: a tight iterative loop for refining specific code via feedback, and a broader lifecycle from concept to deployed app.2
Key characteristics include:
- Natural language as input: Builds on the idea that “the hottest new programming language is English,” bypassing syntax knowledge.1
- No code inspection: Accepting AI output blindly, verified only by execution results—programmer Simon Willison notes that reviewing code makes it mere “LLM as typing assistant,” not true vibe coding.1
- Applications: Ideal for prototypes (e.g., Andrej Karpathy’s MenuGen), proofs-of-concept, experimentation, and automating repetitive tasks; less suited for production without added review.1,3
- Comparisons to traditional coding:
| Feature | Traditional Programming | Vibe Coding |
|---|---|---|
| Code Creation | Manual line-by-line | AI-generated from prompts2 |
| Developer Role | Architect, implementer, debugger | Prompter, tester, refiner2,3 |
| Expertise Required | High (languages, syntax) | Lower (functional goals)2 |
| Speed | Slower, methodical | Faster for prototypes2 |
| Error Handling | Manual debugging | Conversational feedback2 |
| Maintainability | Relies on skill and practices | Depends on AI quality and testing2,3 |
Tools supporting vibe coding include Google AI Studio for prompt-to-app prototyping, Firebase Studio for app blueprints, Gemini Code Assist for IDE integration, GitHub Copilot, and Microsoft offerings—lowering barriers for non-experts while boosting pro efficiency.2,3 Critics highlight risks like unmaintainable code or security issues in production, stressing the need for human oversight.3,6
Best related strategy theorist: Andrej Karpathy. Karpathy coined “vibe coding” in February 2025 via a widely shared post, describing it as “fully giv[ing] in to the vibes, embrac[ing] exponentials, and forget[ting] that the code even exists”—exemplified by his MenuGen prototype, built entirely via LLM prompts with natural language feedback.1 This built on his 2023 claim that English supplants programming languages due to LLM prowess.1
Born in 1986 in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia), Karpathy earned a BSc in Physics and Computer Science from University of British Columbia (2009), followed by an MSc (2011) and PhD (2015) in Computer Science from University of Toronto under Geoffrey Hinton, a neural networks pioneer. His doctoral work advanced recurrent neural networks (RNNs) for sequence modelling, including char-RNN for text generation.1 Post-PhD, he was a research scientist at Stanford (2015), then Director of AI at Tesla (2017–2022), leading Autopilot vision—scaling ConvNets to massive video data for self-driving cars. In 2023, he co-founded OpenAI’s Supercluster team for GPT training infrastructure before departing in 2024 to launch Eureka Labs (AI education) and advise AI firms.1,3 Karpathy’s career embodies scaling AI paradigms, making vibe coding a logical evolution: from low-level models to natural language commanding complex software, democratising development while embracing AI’s “exponentials.”1,2,3
References
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibe_coding
2. https://cloud.google.com/discover/what-is-vibe-coding
4. https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/vibe-coding
5. https://aistudio.google.com/vibe-code
7. https://uxplanet.org/i-tested-5-ai-coding-tools-so-you-dont-have-to-b229d4b1a324
Polls
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
Services
Global Advisors is different
We help clients to measurably improve strategic decision-making and the results they achieve through defining clearly prioritised choices, reducing uncertainty, winning hearts and minds and partnering to deliver.
Our difference is embodied in our team. Our values define us.
Corporate portfolio strategy
Define optimal business portfolios aligned with investor expectations
BUSINESS UNIT STRATEGY
Define how to win against competitors
Reach full potential
Understand your business’ core, reach full potential and grow into optimal adjacencies
Deal advisory
M&A, due diligence, deal structuring, balance sheet optimisation
Global Advisors Digital Data Analytics
14 years of quantitative and data science experience
An enabler to delivering quantified strategy and accelerated implementation
Digital enablement, acceleration and data science
Leading-edge data science and digital skills
Experts in large data processing, analytics and data visualisation
Developers of digital proof-of-concepts
An accelerator for Global Advisors and our clients
Join Global Advisors
We hire and grow amazing people
Consultants join our firm based on a fit with our values, culture and vision. They believe in and are excited by our differentiated approach. They realise that working on our clients’ most important projects is a privilege. While the problems we solve are strategic to clients, consultants recognise that solutions primarily require hard work – rigorous and thorough analysis, partnering with client team members to overcome political and emotional obstacles, and a large investment in knowledge development and self-growth.
Get In Touch
16th Floor, The Forum, 2 Maude Street, Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa
+27114616371