AI helps tomorrow's companies stay vigilantly successful.Deposit PhotosMuch (digital) ink has been spilled about the Renting Economy. As Mike Craig Matambo, CEO/Founder of Rent Rocket, writes for LinkedIn: With inflation and rising costs, renting offers a way to access goods without heavy financial commitments.Netflix is a strong example of the Renting Economy. Once upon a time, people owned physical media, including DVDs and before them, VHS tapes. Ah The good old days when you could flip on the TV to watch poignant directors commentary from the likes of David Lynch explaining Eraserhead.Such talking head interviews have moved to YouTubeif they exist at all. Something similar has happened with physical media. Most people stopped buying Blu-ray discs about the time Netflix switched its distribution method from mailers to streaming. These days its rare to observe someone watching a movie they physically own. Like someone still using their cars tape deck.What should I watch on Netflix tonight? Okay, Seinfeld it is.Deposit PhotosTruthfully, I am not a fan of this modern phenomenon.Its not just that most streaming platforms tend to have poor content. (Where are all the classic movies, guys?) Rather, I dislike being at the mercy of streamers licensing agreements. Example: a few years back, you could catch AMCs Mad Men on Netflix.MORE FOR YOUNot anymore.And yet the Renting Economy offers an insight applicable to our AI Age. My Mad Men reference demonstrates the impermanence of this model. Again, consumers are at the mercy of market forces beyond their control when they do not own their own media. They are reliant on providers.But if you stop to think about it, life itself is a kind of renting phenomenon. Nothing is permanent or for certain. You might think you own your health. You do not. You rent it. Should you do the right things: eat healthy, exercise, sleep well, you will enjoy good health.But not forever.If you live long enough, you will eventually lose your health. Mother Nature will inevitably reclaim that once pristine body of yours. This process is much like Max (formerly HBO) removing Westworld from its content lineup. Even our minds are subject to forces beyond our control. The children of aging parents suffering from dementia knows this sad fact all too well.The Renting Economy nature of existence forces every living being into a use-it-or lose it imperative. No matter what creature you are, you must acquire resources to stay alive another day.This lion knows what I'm talking about.Deposit PhotosThis reality also extends to businesses. Companies cannot rest on their laurels. Those that do not grow, die. This is the thesis of former Intel CEO Andy Goves book: Only the Paranoid Survive: How to Exploit the Crisis Points That Challenge Every Company.Unfortunately, too many businesses do not heed Goves advice. Instead, companieslike peopleallow themselves to stagnate. To atrophy. Until its too late to reverse all that perpetual coasting.But we do not just live in the Renting Economy in 2025. We also exist in the AI age. That fact has pertinent ramifications. The foremost is this: companies that do not evolve, that do not work on themselves, will perish. Adaptability is mission critical to keep up with the changing times. Otherwise, ones competitors, especially those who harness AI, will eat our lunch.Deep Change Management and AI consultant Gerardo Kerik knows this well. His business, We Simplify the Internet (WSI), fosters continual growth and learning initiatives around artificial intelligence for its small to medium sized businesses.To me, it goes beyond just implementing AI tools or tweaking workflows. Its about helping organizations fundamentally rethink how they operate, adapt, and grow in a world thats constantly shifting, Kerik told me when we sat down for an interview. Its about leadership setting the tone for how company-wide change is embraced, empowering employees to feel like active participants in the learning process, ensuring the right structures are in place to support deep and lasting transformation.To illustrate this idea in action, Kerik described a recent success story. He works with a janitorial services company that had grown to 150 locations through acquisitions. Despite recent expansions, inefficient systems plagued this business. Multiple invoicing platforms, legacy accounting tools, and antiquated workflows slowed cash flow, draining resources.Kerik explains how the WSI team identified the challenge. On the surface, it looked like a technical problem. But we quickly realized it was a deeper issue: they needed to rebuild how they approached problem-solving and decision-making company-wide.It wasnt enough to align leadership with cutting edge AI tools to address efficiencies. If only the C-Suite bought into such change management, the fix would be superficialnot deep.This is akin to a fad diet in human terms. Sure, you might lose a few pounds initially. But as for the long-term? If you dont adopt new, sustainable routines you can expect to gain the weight back. Why? Again, because we rent our healthjust like we rent our business success. If we lack vigilance, if we dont go deep into changing either ourselves or our companies, we will backslide.Knowing all this, Kerik upskilled the organization with an eye toward continuous improvement, reminiscent of Kaizen, the vaunted business practice originating in Japan. The WSI team conducted workshops to show how AI could manage repetitive tasks, freeing both rank and file to focus on the work that really matters.It wasn't merely about teaching tools; it was about transforming mindsets, Kerik explained. Together, we looked at the company workflows to figure out where AI could make the biggest impact. Invoicing was the obvious choiceit was taking weeks to process payments. By implementing an AI solution, we cut that time by 40%, improving cash flow and reducing team strain.Zooming out, its clear that the kind of Deep Change Management Kerik is pioneering will soon become an organizational necessity. We are at the cusp of an inflection point not unlike the Internets commercial arrival in the 1990s. The web has transformed nearly every aspect of how businesses now operate.The same thing will be true with AI in the coming years.Companies cannot afford to think they own their success in the AI age. Its rented. And it can all vanish just as quicklyand devastatinglyas ones health. As stories like this reveal, the way to stay on top is to lean into Deep Change Management with eternal vigilance.After all, lifes only certainty is more uncertainty.