The Anxiety
Do you also feel like you're falling behind because a new technology emerges every month?
In January 2025, I had just assumed the role of Head of Technology at Monest. I had budget to double the team, a rough plan, and one question on my mind: where should I allocate these new people?
One month before, Anthropic had launched MCP.
My LinkedIn exploded. "The future of AI integration." Everyone talking. Everyone implementing. Everyone except us.
Monest is an AI company. And we didn't have MCP.
The anxiety hit. Should I stop everything and have the team explore this?
The Question That Calmed Me
I forced myself to think: Does MCP invalidate our strategy, or is it something we can incorporate later?
It was the second option.
Six months later, we implemented MCP. But not as our main product. Our Business Developers use it to consult insights from our collection operations.
We innovated where it made sense, and the rest of our energy went toward scaling our AI for collections — where we grew 4x the number of voice and WhatsApp conversations in 2025.
If I had stopped everything in January, none of that would have happened.
No Technology Consolidates Overnight
React launched in 2013. Netflix and Airbnb only adopted it in 2015. It became mainstream in 2016. Three years.
Docker launched in 2013. By 2017, adoption in companies was 20%. Only in 2021 did it exceed 90%. Eight years.
Technology changes things. But at its own pace, not at hype speed.
Not About Ignoring the New
I'm not saying to pretend new technology doesn't exist. I'm saying to balance it.
What works for me:
Separate signal from noise. If people I respect are discussing something, I pay attention. If it's just sponsored posts and shallow tutorials, I ignore it.
Study before implementing. I conducted internal POCs of MCP before deciding where to use it.
Ask: Does this solve a real problem for us right now? MCP didn't solve our January problem. It would create new work without delivering immediate value.
The Lesson
The anxiety about falling behind is real. But most technologies take years to consolidate.
You have time.
Innovation isn't about adopting everything first. It's knowing where to direct energy for real results.
This is the third post in a series about lessons I learned during my first year as Head of Technology.