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Having a seat at the table. Nice. Being heard? Nicer.
For decades, IT leaders have been the backbone of defensible business growth, solving problems that could cripple a business often before anyone noticed.
We know this world.
The late nights. The firefights.
The impossible deadlines that somehow got met.
IT Professionals don’t just fix.
They fortify.
They’re the frontline heroes fighting an improbable battle
thriving where others break,
armed with a resilience the strongest military leaders consider simply another day safeguarding the world.
When things get rough, you’re indispensable.
When everything’s humming like a well-oiled Tesla,
you’re the hidden engine of progress, often asked
to do the extraordinary.
And one of the toughest parts? Being hunted by short-term sales reps chasing quotas, pushing shiny solutions they “know” you need… but you know you don’t.
What if you could work with those who have sat in your seat, been precisely where you are? You can.
That’s right: We’ve been there.
Negotiating partnerships, being pitched by vendors across the table, and standing on the frontlines of IT.
That’s why we built a platform where IT leaders are amplified, not sidelined.
Not just “another platform.”
In fact, three in one.
A triple-threat to the industry norm.
Doing to IT what the iPhone did to the Blackberry
redefining the game (and expectations) forever.
And to be clear, we refuse to be part of
the “Hype Cycle” and inflated expectations.
Which is why we’ve perfected a proven model
that elevates you, the IT leader. Just ask our clients.
The first piece?
A podcast, not just a show.
A platform where IT pros share hard-earned truths, not corporate scripts.
The second piece?
A community where peers (real ones) have sophisticated conversations—without vendors lurking in the corner.
The final component?
An advisory with only one agenda: your performance and sanity, so you make smarter vetted choices without the sales circus.
Think of us as your backstage pass to whoever you need to meet to eliminate headaches and accelerate resolutions.
The kind of exclusive pass that gains you access to our ecosystem with $1.2 billion in buying power.
When we knock, the door’s already unlocked.
And here’s the kicker:
We make vendors fund your success.
What about vendor-neutrality?
If we were any more neutral, we’d be beige.
Our triple-threat model doesn’t just transform how we do business.
It transforms the impact you have on a
day-to-day basis and on a year-over-year basis.
It’s how you balance innovation with stability.
Where you not only have a seat at the table,
but get invited to speak.
And be listened to.
And there’s one final point that makes everything work:
We don’t disappear when you need us. Ever.
We stay. We escalate. We stand with you.
We are anti-spin. Anti-transactional. Pro-IT leader.
Your resilience is our resilience.
Because when IT leaders rise…
so does everything else.
Welcome to the platform.
Welcome to the movement.
Join the next wave of IT leadership.
Welcome to You’ve Been Heard.
*****DISCLAIMER***** All views, opinions, and statements made by guests on this show do not represent the beliefs of the host Phil Howard, or any entity whatsoever with which the show has been, is now, or will be affiliated. Any statements, views, random thoughts, or opinions expressed by the hosts and guests do not necessarily reflect the personal beliefs (could easily be misconstrued) and are not the official policy/position of our company, agency, podcast, and affiliated partners. Finally, because human beings are characteristically prone to flaws and mistakes, we warn all listeners to think critically for yourself and seek true knowledge before taking action upon anything.
For decades, IT leaders have been the backbone of defensible business growth, solving problems that could cripple a business often before anyone noticed.
We know this world.
The late nights. The firefights.
The impossible deadlines that somehow got met.
IT Professionals don’t just fix.
They fortify.
They’re the frontline heroes fighting an improbable battle
thriving where others break,
armed with a resilience the strongest military leaders consider simply another day safeguarding the world.
When things get rough, you’re indispensable.
When everything’s humming like a well-oiled Tesla,
you’re the hidden engine of progress, often asked
to do the extraordinary.
And one of the toughest parts? Being hunted by short-term sales reps chasing quotas, pushing shiny solutions they “know” you need… but you know you don’t.
What if you could work with those who have sat in your seat, been precisely where you are? You can.
That’s right: We’ve been there.
Negotiating partnerships, being pitched by vendors across the table, and standing on the frontlines of IT.
That’s why we built a platform where IT leaders are amplified, not sidelined.
Not just “another platform.”
In fact, three in one.
A triple-threat to the industry norm.
Doing to IT what the iPhone did to the Blackberry
redefining the game (and expectations) forever.
And to be clear, we refuse to be part of
the “Hype Cycle” and inflated expectations.
Which is why we’ve perfected a proven model
that elevates you, the IT leader. Just ask our clients.
The first piece?
A podcast, not just a show.
A platform where IT pros share hard-earned truths, not corporate scripts.
The second piece?
A community where peers (real ones) have sophisticated conversations—without vendors lurking in the corner.
The final component?
An advisory with only one agenda: your performance and sanity, so you make smarter vetted choices without the sales circus.
Think of us as your backstage pass to whoever you need to meet to eliminate headaches and accelerate resolutions.
The kind of exclusive pass that gains you access to our ecosystem with $1.2 billion in buying power.
When we knock, the door’s already unlocked.
And here’s the kicker:
We make vendors fund your success.
What about vendor-neutrality?
If we were any more neutral, we’d be beige.
Our triple-threat model doesn’t just transform how we do business.
It transforms the impact you have on a
day-to-day basis and on a year-over-year basis.
It’s how you balance innovation with stability.
Where you not only have a seat at the table,
but get invited to speak.
And be listened to.
And there’s one final point that makes everything work:
We don’t disappear when you need us. Ever.
We stay. We escalate. We stand with you.
We are anti-spin. Anti-transactional. Pro-IT leader.
Your resilience is our resilience.
Because when IT leaders rise…
so does everything else.
Welcome to the platform.
Welcome to the movement.
Join the next wave of IT leadership.
Welcome to You’ve Been Heard.
*****DISCLAIMER***** All views, opinions, and statements made by guests on this show do not represent the beliefs of the host Phil Howard, or any entity whatsoever with which the show has been, is now, or will be affiliated. Any statements, views, random thoughts, or opinions expressed by the hosts and guests do not necessarily reflect the personal beliefs (could easily be misconstrued) and are not the official policy/position of our company, agency, podcast, and affiliated partners. Finally, because human beings are characteristically prone to flaws and mistakes, we warn all listeners to think critically for yourself and seek true knowledge before taking action upon anything.
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George Hicker, Vice President of Information Technology (IT) and Business Transformation at Ronnoco Beverage Solutions, joins Mike Kelley to explain what happens when AI lets employees build useful tools in hours. Fast results can hide weak security, missing instructions, unclear ownership, and problems that appear when more people use the tool. George offers a practical response: bring the technology team in early, write down the plan, have experienced developers check the code, test with safe data, limit access, keep backups, and make people responsible for the result. He also explains why skilled software designers and developers become more valuable as AI creates work faster.
Jeff Hobbs, Director of IT at SV Labs Corporation, joins Mike Kelley to discuss the leadership skills that matter beyond technical expertise. Jeff explains how he uses Copilot to tailor communication for different stakeholders, examine unfamiliar security questions, troubleshoot Intune issues, and help a small team close knowledge gaps. He also discusses the limits: AI output needs review, paid licenses need measures, and easy access to public tools creates data-protection risk. The conversation returns to one idea throughout: technical ability can get a leader noticed, but influence, relationships, and business judgment move the work forward.
Scott Holleran, CIO of Altus Fire & Life Safety, joins Phil Howard to discuss what gives technology leaders real influence inside the business. Scott shares lessons from the Army and three private equity-backed technology roles, including why leaders should walk the floor, ride with frontline teams, and map the full process before choosing a system. He explains how to frame difficult requests through cost, time, return, and tradeoffs; why business-specific data expertise belongs close to operations; how clear behavioral scorecards help teams perform; and why AI will strengthen specialists rather than erase the value of expertise.
Dr. Michael Barr has worked across military communications, infantry leadership, university teaching, research operations, and healthcare IT. In this conversation with Doug Camin, he explains how that range changed the way he leads. They discuss connecting technology to operations, preparing people for work beyond their current role, making decisions with incomplete information, and building a succession pipeline before a key absence exposes the gap. Michael closes with a direct challenge for emerging leaders: study the parts of the business that sit outside your technical comfort zone.
Mason Herbel describes the shift from an AI startup to Parallel Systems, where the first questions were about governance and company data. Some employees already used AI. Others had barely started. His advice for IT leaders: give people a clear route to approved tools, then make that route easy enough to use at work.He suggests company enterprise plans, agreements about data handling, and a trial period for tools employees request. After the trial, check actual usage and whether another paid app already does the job. Blocking a website has limits when someone can reach for a personal phone. Mason puts it plainly: “So you may as well make it easy for people to use in a secured manner.” This is his proposed approach, rather than a report of a completed company-wide AI rollout.We also get into choosing infrastructure one workload at a time. Mason recounts moving an engineering firm away from aging local servers after checking its remaining applications and Microsoft licenses. At an AI company, he argued for examining owned GPUs as API bills grew. He describes that proposal and the conversations around it; he does not claim verified savings from a completed GPU deployment.For IT leaders trying to get a useful idea heard, Mason explains how he kept discussing the GPU proposal with a principal engineer. He also recalls asking to join a server installation early in his first job and learning by doing when the lead technician had to leave. The practical thread: ask how the work gets done, bring colleagues into the decision, and keep everyday IT needs covered while taking on new projects.
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