My June 2026 best business reads roundup

/if you have to read one thing

Understanding Is the New Bottleneck – Geoffrey Litt

The goal isn't to automate coding or thinking. It's to think better. Notion's Geoffrey Litt explains why all this talk about agents and ADLC is so polarizing: those who understand will keep having the next big idea. Those who delegate understanding will be replaced by the agent they depend on.

/AI, Systems & Creativity

Your Token Bill Is an Architecture Review – Mark Demeny

Longer prompts are pointless. Build systems, components and content supply chains. Let models assemble. Don't make them write everything from scratch.

Are we raising the floor just to lower the roof? – Gabby Lord

The smartest reporting from Figma Config 2026 I came across. A thoughtful question sits at the center: what happens when we optimize creativity for scale? Is this even an issue?

/Humans & AI

The People Who Will Thrive in the AI Age – David Brooks, The Atlantic

Two ideas stayed with me:

1. Our relationship with mental effort may become one of the defining advantages of the AI era.

2. Intelligence used to define humanity. But as AI gets better at solving problems, some of the most human traits may become our desire to pursue things that cannot be reduced to optimization.

Bonus read:

The Theory That Explains Trump’s UFC Fight – Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic

Possibly the only piece you'll read that interprets a White House UFC event through the lens of Roland Barthes. Definitely worth your time.

(Video of the month: on June 16th, Snap opened preorders for its new AR glasses. The Specs cost $2,195 and will start shipping this fall – if you are brave enough to wear them)

Originally shared as a LinkedIn post. Check it out here.