This morning I got an email from the Chief Customer Officer of a major airline. New seatback screens. 4K picture. Bluetooth. USB-C charging. High-speed Wi-Fi. More premium seats.
It read like a celebration. It’s actually a confession.
A few weeks ago on this show, I made an argument: execution is free now. AI, faster manufacturing, faster software — the stuff that used to separate a great company from an average one is now table stakes. Everybody can ship it.
That airline email is the receipt.
Every major U.S. carrier is either matching or about to match every single item on that list. New screens. Better Wi-Fi. More legroom in a few extra rows. None of it is a competitive advantage — it’s a catch-up letter. And if you’re a business owner reading your own version of that list — the features you just shipped, the upgrade you’re proud of — I want you to ask the same question I’m about to ask about this airline: Is this actually different, or is this just current?
Here’s the trap. When execution gets cheap, most companies respond by executing harder. Faster releases. More features. Bigger specs. It feels like progress because it’s visible and it’s measurable.
But a screen is a screen. Wi-Fi is Wi-Fi. Once every competitor has it, it stops being a reason to choose you and becomes a reason not to be embarrassed. What’s new today is boring tomorrow — and spec sheets age faster than almost anything else in business.
The thing that doesn’t commoditize is the part a competitor can’t copy, such as how a customer is treated, remembered, and made to feel like more than a seat number. That’s not a feature. That’s a relationship. And relationships don’t fit on a spec sheet.
I’ve watched this play out with a client, Daniel Goodwin, who works in a highly technical, highly regulated corner of real estate investment and wealth generation. Nothing about his industry rewards flash. But instead of competing on the mechanics of the transaction — the part every competitor can also execute — he built an Amazon #1 bestselling book and a video Masterclass series that put his thinking, not his service, in front of the audience.
That’s the difference between shipping a feature and creating an experience worth talking about. A book, a Masterclass, and a great user experience on his website don’t scale like a seatback screen. They don’t need to. They do something a screen can’t: They make the audience feel like they know him before they ever hire him.
So here’s the audit. Look at the last thing you shipped, launched, or upgraded in your business. Ask yourself if this is something only you could have made — or is this something any competitor with a budget could copy by next quarter?
If it’s copyable, it’s not your edge. It might still be necessary — sometimes you have to match the spec sheet just to be in the game — but don’t mistake it for what wins the game.
Then ask this harder question — Where in your business could you replace a feature with a relationship? A note instead of a notification. A story instead of a spec. A voice instead of a screen. A decision engine instead of a generic form.
Screens can sell a seat. They can’t sell a memory. That’s still yours to build.
Thanks so much for listening. I appreciate all the emails from listeners over the last few weeks about this podcast. Please keep them coming. They are inspiring. I hope to see you tomorrow.
American Airlines just proved that execution is free. Here’s what still isn’t.
THE EMAIL THAT WAS ACTUALLY A CONFESSION
Heather Garboden, American Airlines’ Chief Customer Officer, sent a note this week announcing a wave of upgrades: 4K seatback screens across the narrowbody fleet by 2028, Bluetooth headphone pairing, USB-C charging, more First Class and Main Cabin Extra seats, and continued investment in Starlink Wi-Fi, onboard dining, and lounge upgrades.
Framed as a celebration of the airline’s centennial, the letter reads as an act of generosity. Read closely, it’s closer to a confession: this is a list of features every major U.S. carrier is racing to match. None of it is a durable competitive advantage. It’s the cost of staying in the conversation.
Once every competitor has it, a feature stops being a reason to choose you and becomes a reason not to be embarrassed.
EXECUTION GOT CHEAP.
THAT CHANGES THE GAME.
This isn’t a knock on American Airlines specifically — it’s a pattern showing up across nearly every industry. AI, faster manufacturing, and faster software development have made execution inexpensive.
Features that once took years and enormous capital to ship now take quarters. That’s good news for consumers and terrible news for anyone who was relying on “we shipped it first” as their moat.
When execution is free, everyone eventually converges on the same spec sheet. A 4K screen is a 4K screen no matter whose logo is on the tray table. The businesses still separating themselves aren’t the ones executing hardest — they’re the ones building something a spec sheet can’t capture.
When execution is free, everyone eventually converges on the same spec sheet.
This is one of the best written, most informative email newsletters I’ve ever read!
Thank you for sharing your expertise, and hope you’re doing well.
Beth Zimmerman
Founder, Executive Director
WHAT DOESN’T COMMODITIZE
The part of a business that resists commoditization is almost never technical. It’s relational: how a customer is treated, remembered, and made to feel like more than a transaction. A personal video, a handwritten note, a piece of original thinking published under your own name — none of that scales the way a hardware upgrade does. That’s exactly why it still works as a differentiator.
originality over infrastructure
Daniel Goodwin, founder of Provident 1031, works in one of the least glamorous corners of real estate: 1031 tax-deferred exchanges. It’s a technical, regulated field where the mechanics of the transaction are the same no matter who handles it.
Rather than competing on execution — the part every competitor can also deliver — Goodwin built a #1 Amazon bestselling book and a video Masterclass series that puts his thinking in front of his audience long before a transaction ever begins.
That body of work doesn’t scale the way a seatback screen does. It isn’t supposed to. It does something infrastructure can’t — it builds familiarity and trust before the first conversation happens.
The Audit
Look at the last thing your business shipped, launched, or upgraded. Ask honestly whether a well-funded competitor could copy it by next quarter. If the answer is yes, it may still be necessary — some upgrades are simply the price of staying current — but it isn’t your edge.
Then ask where in your business a feature could be replaced with a relationship. A note instead of a notification. A story instead of a spec. A voice instead of a screen. Screens can sell a seat. They can’t sell a memory.
Source: American Airlines announcement referenced from an email communication sent by Heather Garboden, Chief Customer Officer, to American AAdvantage members (August 2026); paraphrased, not quoted verbatim, and credited in writing per show convention — not read on-air. See screenshot near top of page.
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