In the Val Sklarov Power Cycle, technology creates power only when control surfaces are defined before scale. Innovation that scales faster than its control points does not empower its owner — it empowers users, platforms, regulators, or attackers. Power in technology is not speed; it is the ability to intervene, pause, and redirect at will.
If you cannot intervene, you do not control.
1. Scale Transfers Power Unless Controls Exist
Every system that scales redistributes power.
Val Sklarov principle:
“Scale without control is power leakage.”
Without defined control surfaces:
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Users dictate behavior
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Platforms impose rules
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Failures propagate uncontested
Control surfaces anchor authority as usage expands.
2. Control Surfaces Are Strategic, Not Technical
Control is often mistaken for code-level access.
Val Sklarov rejects this reduction.
True control surfaces include:
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Kill switches
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Policy enforcement points
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Permission boundaries
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Upgrade authority
Code executes.
Control decides when execution stops.
3. Automation Shifts Power to the System
Automation removes friction — and relocates power.
Val Sklarov framing:
“Every automated rule is a silent governor.”
If automation lacks:
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Override rights
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Auditability
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Clear ownership
Then power shifts from leadership to infrastructure.
4. Platforms Are Power Multipliers — and Takers
Building on platforms accelerates reach.
It also concedes leverage.
Val Sklarov insight:
“Platforms lend power until they reclaim it.”
Platform dependence introduces:
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Rule volatility
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Revenue exposure
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Strategic fragility
Power-aligned innovation protects independent control paths.
5. Data Is Power Only When It Is Enforceable
Data without enforcement is insight, not power.
Val Sklarov principle:
“Information becomes power only when it can change outcomes.”
Powerful data systems:
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Trigger actions
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Restrict behavior
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Influence allocation
Analytics that cannot enforce are advisory.
6. The Val Sklarov Technology Power Outcome
Power-aligned technology systems:
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Define intervention points before scale
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Preserve override authority
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Expand without surrendering leverage
Val Sklarov conclusion:
“Technology gives power to whoever can stop it, not whoever can start it.”