Claim OwnershipYou've Been Heard
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Description
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.
421 Episodes
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Piotr Mlodecki spent years watching business leaders hide behind software limitations. Then AI removed all the excuses and exposed the real problem: bad process architecture.
Piotr Mlodecki is Chief Transformation Officer at SOL-MILLENNIUM Medical Group, where he's learned that AI's biggest threat isn't replacing humans—it's exposing bad business design. For years, companies could blame slow software delivery for operational failures. Not anymore. "The ROI does not come from the question answered. It comes from a task executed, the job done." Piotr argues that most companies are treating AI like a faster layer on top of broken processes instead of rebuilding how the business actually operates. We get into why feasibility is no longer the bottleneck, how to design agents like real employees with KPIs, and why your data architecture determines whether AI transformation succeeds or becomes expensive automation theater. The prediction? In 18 months, we'll be competing on who built the better agentic enterprise, not whether we should use AI at all.
Key takeaways: ROI comes from tasks executed, not questions answered; Design agents like employees with job descriptions and KPIs; Data architecture determines AI success more than the models
Stephen Salaka has a PhD in psychology and builds nuclear weapons systems. Then he learned the hardest truth in tech: AI can't fix what humans won't adopt.
Stephen Salaka wanted to build nuclear bombs. A lab accident sent him to computer science. A stint in Japan taught him his real superpower: making humans actually use the technology he builds. Now he's a CTO with a PhD in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. That combination makes him dangerous to every AI myth floating around C-suites. "The biggest fundamental misconception is AI is going to be a panacea for everything," he says. "The real trouble most organizations face is the people." We get into why UPS's maintenance system failed for years until Stephen added change management, how vibe coding should stop at the prototype stage, and why the AI bubble collapse is coming faster than anyone thinks. Plus his framework for bringing order to chaos without mandates. The payoff: Stephen's lived at the fault line between brilliant technology and stubborn humans. He knows which one wins.
Key takeaways: Change management isn't optional - it's the actual product you're delivering; Vibe coding works for prototypes, then convert to proper backend components; Smooth processes first, then speed follows - not the other way around
Andrew Rosenblatt has been CIO at three PE-backed healthcare companies. Then he learned the hardest truth about IT leadership: "You're perpetually selling and you need to convince them that it's actually not your idea. It's their idea."
Tim Armstrong runs IT for a construction company with a team of four serving 175 staff. His take on the biggest mistake IT makes: gatekeeping support behind ticket systems instead of helping people first.
Tim Armstrong is 90 days into his role as Manager of IT at PROCON, a design-build construction company in Hooksett, NH. With a four-person team serving 175 staff, he has had to build trust fast, deploy Kanban sprints from scratch, navigate shadow AI, and figure out what technology means at a company that builds buildings for a living. His philosophy: IT exists to serve, not to gatekeep.
Key takeaways: Not everything requires a ticket. Help first, document later.; Deliberately undercommit on your first sprint to calibrate real velocity.; IT leaders need to know enough to have an intelligent conversation, not enough to do everything themselves.
Nathan Kaufman built CMMC compliance from scratch at a defense contractor with SSH open to the internet and no Active Directory. Then he learned the hard way that technical wins mean nothing if you can't communicate your value.
Nathan Kaufman walked into a $100 million defense contractor with 80 employees, zero IT infrastructure, and two years to become CMMC Level 2 compliant or lose all DoD contracts. No Active Directory. SSH open to the internet. Engineers buying equipment with personal credit cards. A flat network running on unpatched switches. He built it all from the ground up. Deployed CrowdStrike across 350+ endpoints. Migrated to Azure GCC High. Survived a merger, acquisition, and divestiture simultaneously. Grew the team from one person (him) to five across three locations and 260 employees. Passed the CMMC audit in November 2025. Then he got fired in August. We get into the technical path for CMMC compliance, why "permission to play" became his rallying cry with executives, and the SBI framework for communicating IT value. Nathan shares his biggest lesson: you can have amazing technical skills, but if you don't advocate for yourself, nobody else will. The brutal truth about building compliance infrastructure while life happens around you.
Key takeaways: "Permission to play" - compliance isn't optional for DoD contractors; SBI framework: Situation, Behavior, Impact for communicating IT value; Technical wins mean nothing without executive communication skills
Stephen Chen spent seven years learning digital transformation isn't about technology. Then he discovered the business problem you choose to own defines your entire career.
Bill Markut, IT Director at Gränges Americas, built a five-year roadmap to transform manufacturing IT. From the Department of No to the Department of No, But. And why AI won't fix a decade of infrastructure neglect.
Bill Markut spent 36 years avoiding management, preferring hands-on technical work. Then he became IT Director at a manufacturing company running 25 years behind the tech curve and discovered something that changed everything: the power of getting IT and OT to actually talk to each other.
Key takeaways: Manufacturing IT runs 20-25 years behind the technology curve. That gap is the opportunity.; The event storm exercise gets IT and OT in one room. That is where silos actually break.; Hire for initiative, not just technical skill. Addition by subtraction is real.
Michael Murray manages 120 project candidates but calls them exactly that—candidates, not projects. Then he learned why the Department of No should actually be the Department of Why.
Roy Cherian spent 25 years watching IT leaders pretzel themselves explaining budgets to executives who don't speak tech. Then he learned why 95% of AI deployments fail: everyone's picking tools before finding use cases.
Josh Tanner runs IT and cybersecurity solo at a Goldman Sachs-backed behavioral health company. 350 users. PHI everywhere. His argument: stop checking boxes and start building an actual security program
Thomas J. Sweet runs IT for a PE-backed company with eight acquisitions and three people. His most reliable hiring signal? Home labs beat credentials every time.
Karl Weber spent 30 years in technology sales before becoming CIO at Rolfson Oil. His biggest insight: stop selling to the CIO and start solving the business problem.
Brian Rowe got hired to build security at a 100+ year old manufacturing company. Then he discovered the real problem: you can't bolt security onto IT that's still running like a mom-and-pop shop.
David Williams spent years thinking his CIO title made him a leader. Then he learned the difference between managing and leading: 'The title that you have does not make you a leader. It can make you a manager.'
Bryan Shanafelt manages IT across 8 offices with just 4 people. Then he learned the secret to building teams that solve impossible problems: hire for personality, not just skills.
Craig Gehrke consolidated 14 ERPs into one and won the 2025 ORBIE Award. Then he learned the secret to getting IT heard: 'Move their cheese occasionally.'
Bradley Stokes has done six private equity turnarounds using the same five-step IT playbook. His secret: stop being the department that keeps the lights on and become the business partner that drives value creation.
Dana Kline built an IT team from 1 to 11 at a PE-backed energy company. Then he created a vendor scorecard so tough that an Oracle VP said 'nobody ever measures us like this.'
Sandeep Shenoy has spent seventeen years integrating AI into medical devices at Viant Medical. He's not anti-AI. He builds it every day. But he's watched the industry rush to deploy systems trained on data sets that were never designed to be fair.The problem isn't the technology. It's the history baked into the data. "When AI makes a mistake in finance, you lose money. When it makes a mistake in healthcare, you could lose a life." Early fitness trackers failed to read female heart rate patterns because of biased training data. That already happened.We get into bias audits as continuous process, fairness by design principles, and accountability frameworks. Plus why ethics needs to move out of the compliance box and into business value.The uncomfortable truth: patients have zero say in how these devices work. They just know a doctor told them they need it. By then, discrimination might already be built in.
Shane Petty works in midstream oil and gas where margins are tight and every dollar counts. He inherited a 30-year-old ERP that only twelve people in the country could support. Leadership thought SAP was running the show. Reality? One guy with an Excel spreadsheet was keeping everything alive."If I don't have that opportunity to speak into those things, well, then I'm just a robot, making sure that people are getting their monthly cybersecurity training," Shane says about working without executive vision.We get into the three things IT sits at the center of, why walking leadership to the shop floor beats PowerPoint presentations, and how Shane saved $350,000 annually by replacing legacy systems. Plus his framework for getting heard when leadership has no vision.The biggest takeaway? IT leaders aren't just the department of IT anymore. They're at the junction of leadership, processes, and people. That's where the real power is.
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