Contents

Reader’s Guide · How to Use the Book’s Dashboards

Prologue · Three Counterintuitive Bets

Part I · Money: Capital Cycles and the Physics of Profit

1. The Deflation Sandwich: Why stronger intelligence leaves less profit in the middle
2. The Capital Supercycle: Investment, or the most expensive depreciation race in history?
3. Circular Financing: When suppliers, customers, and investors are the same institutions
4. The Profit Pool Map: Where the money is now, and where it moves next

Part II · The Nine Layers: Which layer is worth owning?

1. Upstream: Why scarcity gets paid first, and how long each scarcity lasts
2. The Model Layer: An arena, not an industry
3. Data and Feedback Loops: Most data moats are fake
4. Platforms and Distribution: Aggregation theory returns, but the object has changed
5. Agents and Workflows: When software carries cost of goods sold
6. Applications: Gold rushes, shovel sellers, and why most apps are thin wrappers
7. The Truth About Demand: Why enterprise ROI is slow, and how that shapes profit flow

Part III · The Three Price Setters: Physics, Politics, and Law

1. Physics: Power is the wall that keeps scarcity scarce
2. Politics: Who is allowed to own scarcity?
3. Law: How deep lock-in can go, and how long it can last

Part IV · Execution: Turning judgment into decisions

1. The Investor’s Playbook: Barbell exposure, discounts, mismatches, and two lifelines
2. The Founder’s Playbook: Do not die in the middle

Part V · Operating System and Field Manual

1. The Operating System of the Value Map
2. Operating Templates
3. Chapter Implications at a Glance

Conclusion · After Intelligence Becomes Abundant, What Is Still Scarce?

Back Matter
Glossary
Source Notes