The battle beneath the surface
Cloudflare named and shamed Perplexity for using fake bots to bypass content blocking. Content creators who spend time writing websites about topics like Roth IRA conversions now find AI answer engines vacuuming up their information to inform responses without compensation. Perplexity set up fake bots to access sites that had explicitly denied them access.
For the first time in internet history, bot activity now outstrips human activity online. AI traffic accounts for 50% of all traffic, and malicious bots comprise 37% of internet traffic. Some content providers are signing licensing agreements with OpenAI and Perplexity, but smaller content creators have no such options.
John Pal’s path to fractional
John Pal spent his career at Rexel, Caterpillar, and Grainger before transitioning to fractional consulting. After leaving Rexel, he was looking for a full-time role when a friend pulled him into consulting engagements. He quickly realized that fractional opportunities were real, that he enjoyed guiding multiple organizations, and that his experience applied more broadly than he expected.
I quickly realized that fractional opportunities were real. There were people making a phenomenal living and having a great impact. I realized my experience applied to a broader set of organizations than I expected.
John Pal, E3 Omni Advisory
The gig economy at scale
John now works on seven different engagements simultaneously, ranging from $50 million companies to $9 billion enterprises. He works with CEOs and e-commerce managers at every level in between. The biggest challenge is context switching between organizations with different cultures, sizes, and priorities.
Looking forward, John predicted that fractional arrangements will extend beyond executive levels to individual contributors. Workers can be 10 hours per week at four different companies rather than 40-60 hours at one, creating value across multiple organizations simultaneously.
AI as the force multiplier
John created his own LLM with his branding, tone, and work examples. His agentic AI asks questions about project needs, hours worked, and rates before generating invoices and other documents. Tasks that would have required a project coordinator, administrative assistant, and accounting support can now be automated.
The hosts noted that 20 years ago, similar work would have been possible but far less efficient. Modern connectivity allows access to resources across the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Europe on a moment’s notice. AI combined with these networks enables individual practitioners to operate at scale.
I have created my own LLM with my branding, with my tone, plus real examples of my work. It supports me with a lot of the administrative work.
John Pal, E3 Omni Advisory
Finding the next engagement
John leverages his network of former colleagues spread throughout the industry, participates at events, delivers speaking engagements, and writes white papers. He proactively monitors LinkedIn for CEOs hiring digital roles and reaches out to offer interim support. He positions himself to build roadmaps and pull quick wins so new hires can accelerate into value realization.
These interstitial engagements typically last three to six months. A recent 90-day engagement involved setting up a multiyear roadmap for a company, analyzing current processes and maturity levels, and identifying quick wins to demonstrate value immediately.
The wisdom advantage
The hosts concluded that ChatGPT can provide step-by-step processes, but plans must be pressure tested and battle tested. Problems run around the edges when point one does not go according to plan and points two, three, and four must be adjusted. Fractional executives bring wisdom from similar situations to help companies navigate these challenges faster than they could alone.
We help them solve problems faster than they would have been able to do on their own. We can take that eight-month learning and bring it down to 90 days.
John Pal, E3 Omni Advisory