Nepal, Aug. 8 -- Last year I sat across from the managing partner of a small advisory firm while he named a fear most people in his seat keep to themselves. His partners are in their 70s and 80s. Almost all of the firm's revenue runs through two individuals' personal relationships. There is no real mechanism for anyone else to bring in work. He put it plainly: If one of them leaves, does the firm just crumble?

That question stayed with me for a year. Here is where it landed after around 125 conversations with owners and partners at small expert firms, and the advisors who work with them: In a world of AI, relationships matter more, not less. The cheaper the machines make everything else, the more the relationship becomes the thing a clie...