Jay Nakagawa’s book becomes an international bestseller

By AI, Created 5:47 AM UTC, May 27, 2026, /AGP/ – SAICI Co-Executive Director Jay Nakagawa’s The UnConventional Strategist reached No. 1 in nine categories across the U.S., Canada and the U.K. within weeks of release. The milestone gives added momentum to SAICI’s push to redefine competitive intelligence for an AI-driven era.

Why it matters: - The book’s early bestseller run gives SAICI a high-profile proof point for its broader push to modernize competitive intelligence. - The response suggests Nakagawa’s ideas on strategy, judgment and AI-era decision-making are resonating beyond the CI field. - The momentum also supports SAICI’s effort to promote a new professional standard built around human judgment and AI-native capability.

What happened: - SAICI said Jay Nakagawa’s The UnConventional Strategist: Building, Keeping, and Thriving in Your Career reached international bestseller status within weeks of release. - The book hit No. 1 in nine categories and topped bestseller charts in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. - SAICI is the Society for AI in Competitive Intelligence, a microsociety of the American Institute of Artificial Intelligence. - Nakagawa serves as SAICI co-executive director.

The details: - The book draws on more than four decades of cross-functional leadership and competitive intelligence experience. - Nakagawa spent more than 14 years as Director of Competitive Intelligence at Dell Technologies. - At Dell, Nakagawa built a global intelligence organization supporting more than $100 billion in annual revenue and more than 50,000 sales professionals worldwide. - The book argues for what Nakagawa calls “real strategy, not strategic theater.” - The book focuses on spotting strategic opportunities before competitors, avoiding career autopilot, making decisions during chaos and innovating in environments that do not reward creativity. - The UnConventional Strategist is available on Amazon and through Barnes & Noble. - SAICI also promotes the CGENAI® in Competitive Intelligence certification and its broader AI CI community. - Professionals can learn more at saici.ai.

Between the lines: - The bestseller status functions as validation for SAICI’s thesis that competitive intelligence is being rebuilt around AI. - Nakagawa’s message centers on a simple competitive claim: “you can’t outspend your competitors, but you can outsmart them.” - Dr. Al Naqvi, founder and CEO of the American Institute of Artificial Intelligence, said AIAI builds the professional infrastructure, credentials and societies that turn emerging AI capabilities into mature disciplines. - Naqvi also said the competitive intelligence profession is being rebuilt around AI and that Nakagawa has the operating experience and strategic mind to help shape its future. - Nakagawa said strategy comes through “awkward starts, wrong turns, and hard-earned scars.” - Nakagawa said the book is aimed at practitioners who refuse to operate on autopilot.

What’s next: - SAICI is likely to use the book’s reception to support its certification and professional-development efforts. - The organization is continuing to build around a GenAI in Competitive Intelligence professional model. - Interest in the book may help broaden SAICI’s reach beyond traditional competitive intelligence practitioners.

The bottom line: - Nakagawa’s book is more than a publishing win; SAICI is using it as evidence that the market is ready for a new, AI-shaped competitive intelligence profession.