From iron curtain to AI frontier: Lessons in velocity from the edge of history

The business world of 2025 is often described in terms of unprecedented chaos. We speak of market volatility, technological disruption, and the dizzying speed of Generative AI. We call this the Chaos Economy, where traditional strategic planning—the rigid, five-year map—is obsolete almost before it’s printed.

Yet, this state of chaos is not unfamiliar territory. For those of us who grew up and began our professional lives navigating the rapid, irreversible geopolitical and economic transformation following the fall of the Iron Curtain, the current technological upheaval echoes a deeply lived experience. It was a time when the strategic stakes were existential, and adaptation was not a skill; it was a pure mechanism of survival.

My journey—spanning two continents, multiple languages, and every major digital paradigm shift from early SEO to modern AI—has instilled one non-negotiable strategic principle: Velocity isn’t a luxury—it’s the light that guides you through the darkness of uncertainty.

This perspective is not theoretical. It is battle-tested. It is the core of the High-Velocity, High-Impact (HVHI) philosophy, which recognizes that the skills needed to master today’s exponential tech shifts were forged in the genuine, high-stakes chaos of yesterday’s historical pivots.

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Lesson 1: the value of compressed time (the iron curtain shock)

The first and most enduring lesson of geopolitical change is the sudden, non-negotiable value of time.

• historical context: The transition from a planned, state-controlled economy to a ruthless, free-market system in the early 1990s was irreversible and instantaneous. There were no six-month strategic audits. Companies and individuals had to build systems, establish logistics, and create business models now. Time was not merely a resource; it was the ultimate competitive bottleneck.
• the strategic insight: This era instilled the High-Velocity principle: bureaucratic lag is not just inefficient; it is structurally dangerous. The organizational paralysis inherent in slow decision-making (the traditional consulting model) mirrored the obsolete, centralized thinking of the past. Success went to those who could collapse the strategic planning cycle and move to action instantly.
• mapping to AI: This historical shock is directly applicable to the AI era. A traditional consulting engagement, taking 6 to 12 months, fails because it attempts to impose a slow, bureaucratic framework onto a challenge that requires an immediate, agile response. The strategy must be engineered for instant execution.

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Lesson 2: the code of global synthesis (the multilingual strategist)

Navigating geopolitical borders requires a fluid understanding of human systems, which provides a unique advantage in deciphering complex global business problems.

• historical context: Growing up and working across Central European boundaries—dealing with German precision, Austrian market sensibilities, and Hungarian agility—demanded mastering multiple cultural codes and strategic languages. One learns that a problem that looks unique in Budapest might be a common pattern already solved five years ago in Vienna or London.
• the strategic insight: This experience creates the Multilingual Strategist—a mindset that views a business problem from multiple cultural and economic perspectives simultaneously. This capacity for instant cross-cultural synthesis is invaluable in the age of global data. It allows the consultant to instantly filter out local bias and focus on the universal business pattern underneath.
• mapping to AI: In global AI strategy, local compliance (GDPR in Germany, CCPA in California) and cultural nuance (chatbot tone, personalized messaging) are critical failure points. The cross-cultural strategic synthesis of experience allows the HVHI model to instantly identify the critical local adaptation point necessary for global scale, bypassing months of expensive, localized research.

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Lesson 3: resilience built on data (the unforgiving stopwatch)

The ultimate grounding mechanism in the face of chaos is objective, measurable data, a lesson deeply ingrained by the discipline of elite athletics.

• historical context: When ideological and economic systems collapse, trust shifts from narratives to objective metrics. The personal commitment to the rigorous, unforgiving discipline of track and field—where the stopwatch is the sole judge—reinforces this mindset. In elite sport, time, metrics, and objectivity are the only true currencies. Effort is irrelevant; only performance counts.
• the strategic insight: This translates into the Data-Driven Discipline of the HVHI model. Strategy is not built on intuition or subjective opinions; it is built on objective evidence that generates a measurable outcome. This rigor ensures that the strategic output is actionable and verifiable.
• mapping to AI: The AI era is ruled by data. The work of an expert like Miklos Roth involves treating strategy like a complex equation where the answer must be precise. The model’s insistence on measurable KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and immediate ROI is the direct application of the stopwatch mentality: the goal is not to try hard, but to win.

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The velocity vanguard (from survival to shaping the future)

The skills forged in historical volatility are the skills required for technological disruption. The transition from managing geopolitical crisis to commanding strategic velocity is the essence of the modern expert.

• the 20-minute synthesis: The 20-Minute Insight delivered by the HVHI model is the ultimate distillation of these historical and professional lessons. It is not a superficial analysis; it is the instantaneous output of decades of strategic learning. The expert’s internal archive of solved problems eliminates the need for the client to fund external, slow data searching.
• eliminating analysis paralysis: The traditional reliance on a slow audit is a symptom of strategic fear. The HVHI model provides the immediate clarity needed to break this paralysis, transforming the overwhelming Decision Vortex into a clear, single strategic imperative: the Minimum Viable Action (MVA).
• the final promise: By surviving and mastering crises across continents and algorithms, the consultant offers a strategic roadmap built on a foundation of proven resilience, not just academic theory. The HVHI model is the structural solution that ensures the company’s strategies are engineered for survival and success in the Chaos Economy.

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A commitment to actionable speed

The traditional strategic model is a relic that fails to respect the most critical asset of the modern enterprise: time.

The Velocity Mandate requires leaders to adopt a strategy built for speed and disciplined action. The HVHI model is the blueprint for this new corporate standard, challenging the obsolete notion that depth requires duration.

Choose a strategic partner whose expertise was forged in the fire of real change and who provides the immediate clarity needed to dominate the future. The ultimate measure of strategic competence is the speed and precision of execution.