This week felt seismic. What happens when elite engineers get their hands on tools like Codex and suddenly compress four weeks of work into four hours?

This is not about AI replacing developers. It is about AI amplifying the great ones and what that means for agencies, pricing, value, and the next 6 to 18 months of client services.

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In this episode of You Can’t Lose!, we break down the real-world impact of OpenAI Codex and advanced AI coding tools on software development agencies, product teams, and custom client services. This is not theoretical. This is boots-on-the-ground feedback from elite engineering leaders who are using AI to radically compress timelines and increase output quality

If you run a digital agency, software consultancy, product studio, or internal dev team, this conversation is required listening.

We explore:

• How senior engineers are completing four weeks of work in four hours using AI-assisted development

• Why AI coding tools disproportionately benefit top-tier engineers rather than average developers

• What this means for pricing models, hourly billing, and value-based engagement

• How agencies can dramatically increase impact without increasing headcount

• Why engineering leaders should be “hair-on-fire excited” about these tools

• What happens if your team is afraid instead of energized

The core thesis: AI does not flatten talent. It amplifies it. Put Codex in the hands of a world-class engineer and you do not get marginal gains. You get exponential leverage. The gap between average and exceptional is widening.

For agency founders, technical leads, and business development leaders, this episode reframes how to think about:

AI in software development

AI for agencies

Value creation in client services

The future of engineering leadership

AI and competitive advantage

AI productivity in product teams

If your developers are not experimenting aggressively with AI tooling, that is not a neutral signal. It is a strategic one.

The past year has been an AI gold rush. This feels like a corner turned. A deeper acceleration. A shift from novelty to force multiplier. If you build digital products, websites, apps, internal tools, SaaS platforms, or custom software, this conversation is about the next 12 months of your business.

For more on business development strategy, agency growth frameworks, and how to position your firm for asymmetric advantage in the AI era, visit:

www.thatwasclutch.com

This is You Can’t Lose!

If someone is telling you that positioning is the best way for all agencies to improve sales, they probably sell positioning consulting. There are some universal truths, but they require a lot more hard work, and you can't pay someone to do it for you. Beware of experts, they're usually most expert at selling to you and people like you...

Hopefully y'all are experiencing what I am demanding all of my clients call a 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 with an uncommon rash of sales opportunities and energy at 11:59 of the year 2025. This is bonkers. Here's some quick context and advice before EOY.

New plans & big plans for You Can't Lose! in 2026, as well as a tease for some more updates from Richard to follow about exciting new Second Harvest things too!

Joe and Richard unpack why creative work, and life, is more about steady contact than home runs. They explore the art of doing less but better, resisting the urge to please everyone, and finding meaning in risk, friction, and imperfection.

In this episode, Richard joins fresh off his Second Harvest retreat in Spain to talk about the myth of constant creativity, Joe talks about the beauty of the “average Thursday,” and Richard speaks to why resistance is the doorway to real growth. We trade stories about chasing the thrill of deadline chaos, the grind versus the high of agency life, and the trap of mistaking busyness for progress. Richard breaks down how Second Harvest helps people confront fear, embrace stillness, and integrate deep reflection into daily life, not just during a retreat, but back home amid kids, clients, and chaos. It’s a conversation about cycles of work and rest, the illusion of endless optimization, and learning to find meaning in the 80% of life that’s not the highlight reel.

This week Richard and Joe are still unpacking Second Harvest leading to some insights into the concept of hospitality as a skill. Convening the right people, the right way, and letting uncommon outcomes happen is a skill both Richard and Joe have developed over decades and applying these ideas to clients and relationships can yield profound outcomes.

Richard and Devon launched Second Harvest in Austria successfully and he's here to spill a ton of behind the scenes details, insights into the event, deeper dives into the unique philosophy behind Second Harvest, how it went, and where it goes from here.

This is a must-listen if you've followed this event at all along the way!

https://www.secondharvest.co/

In this episode, Joe and Richard explore the difference between community and alliance: “An alliance is going someplace… it has direction.” They trade time-travel hypotheticals, reflect on the problem-solving joy of The Martian and The Last of Us, and debate whether their businesses are behaving like nouns or verbs. “Do something with this,” Joe insists, as they revisit lessons from the Philadelphia Experiment. Along the way, they ask: what if your lease is your marketing strategy?

While Richard was away Joe catches up with Anthony Colangelo, partner at Pine Works, host of Main Engine Cut Off & cohost of Off-Nominal, engineering leader, iOS product developer, birds fan, dad, and Joe's spiritual nephew.

Anthony has grown a space flght, exploration, and policy podcast empire rooted in his sincere passion and strong opinions re: the topic. They discuss the MECO origin story, how Anthony's vision drove the growth of the podcast, the power of authenticity, and the impact this project has on Anthony's life and career.

Also it's a love fest.