Episodes

  • Calculus of IT - Episode 34 - 10/2/2024 - "The Next-Gen IT Paradigm - Part 2"
    Oct 3 2024

    Kevin Dushney and Joel Nichols joined Mike and me again to discuss whether or not the IT Paradigm should be changed and how we might do that if we wanted to. We discussed:

    1. Evolving IT Leadership Roles
      • The changing role of the CIO - why do we still need a traditional CIO and where is this role going?
        1. Chief Digital Officer (CDO) - is this even/was it ever a thing that could sustain itself?
        2. Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) - will any CISO want to move into this role?
        3. None of the above/something else entirely
    2. Innovative Ideas for IT Department Transformation
      • IT as an true internal consultant beyond the typical MSP model - been there done that but it could really really work well if there was some additional components not yet tried
      • Citizen development and low-code/no-code platforms and how much IT could theoretically be pushed back into the enterprise - this really dovetails wonderfully into decentralized IT - your leader is a policy maker/security wonk and everyone else is responsible for IT in the company (e.g., turning shadow IT into company-wide IT)
    3. So how are we going to do all of this?
      • Assessing current IT capabilities and then plotting a delta between now and then - imagination probably wont be too far from reality
      • Developing a transformation roadmap beyond simply going digital because in doing so you will become digital by default (you have to) and you can go on to what is next beyond that - we cant keep having a digital transformation plan every single fucking year - eventually we have to go to the next thing.

    Bottom line - what will the leader of tomorrow look like, be called, be expected to do? What will IT be called? What will IT do?

    It was an awesome episode and though we left a lot of questions unanswered, we did cover some significant ground. Key points:

    1 - To run IT requires the evolved ability to handle a significant amount of complexity all at once.
    2 - Relationship building is at the heart of everything.
    3 - You have to know what's going on everywhere, all of the time.
    4 - You have to be able to constantly gauge time and emplace buffers before things even happen.
    5 - You need an enterprise view of the data no matter what.
    6 - The types of people we hire will dictate the strategy whether we want them to or not.
    7 - Employee Experience management will be instrumental to success of any strategy.

    Support the show

    The Calculus of IT website - https://www.thecoit.us
    "The New IT Leader's Survival Guide" Book - https://www.longwalk.consulting/library
    "The Calculus of IT" Book - https://www.longwalk.consulting/library
    The COIT Merchandise Store - https://thecoit.myspreadshop.com
    Buy us a Beer!! - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thecalculusofit
    Youtube - @thecalculusofit
    TikTok - @thecalculusofit
    Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thecalculusofit/
    Discord - https://discord.com/invite/A5grWHyH
    Email - nate@thecoit.us
    Email - mike@thecoit.us

    Show More Show Less
    2 hrs and 32 mins
  • Calculus of IT - Episode 33 - 9/25/2024 - "The Next-Gen IT Paradigm - Part 1"
    Sep 26 2024

    This is Part 1 of a 2-part series on the future of the "IT Paradigm." In Part 1, Mike and Nate, along with their two special guests Kevin Dushney and Joel Nichols, set the stage for how we arrived at this moment in time for the "corporate IT function" and the IT Leadership historically needed to run the show. You cannot begin to explore the future of the IT Paradigm until you can understand how it has evolved over the last 25 years or so to where we are today. Join us next week, as we explore Part 2 where we take a look at the future and what the possible new paradigms will look like.

    Support the show

    The Calculus of IT website - https://www.thecoit.us
    "The New IT Leader's Survival Guide" Book - https://www.longwalk.consulting/library
    "The Calculus of IT" Book - https://www.longwalk.consulting/library
    The COIT Merchandise Store - https://thecoit.myspreadshop.com
    Buy us a Beer!! - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thecalculusofit
    Youtube - @thecalculusofit
    TikTok - @thecalculusofit
    Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thecalculusofit/
    Discord - https://discord.com/invite/A5grWHyH
    Email - nate@thecoit.us
    Email - mike@thecoit.us

    Show More Show Less
    2 hrs and 38 mins
  • Calculus of IT - Episode 32 - 9/17/2024 - "The Pros and Cons of Citizen Developers"
    Sep 18 2024

    Mike and Nate, along with very special guest Bill Bartlett, parse the pros and cons of citizen developers in the organization. We discuss the guardrails and risks and the benefits of having employees take the reins of development for their improvements. It's a lot more complicated than you think, and the answer is not to simply prevent the behavior of citizen innovation and development. Listen along and pick up some handy tips for working with folks who are apt to make things better (and worse). We also discuss Nickelback and IT Budgets.

    Support the show

    The Calculus of IT website - https://www.thecoit.us
    "The New IT Leader's Survival Guide" Book - https://www.longwalk.consulting/library
    "The Calculus of IT" Book - https://www.longwalk.consulting/library
    The COIT Merchandise Store - https://thecoit.myspreadshop.com
    Buy us a Beer!! - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thecalculusofit
    Youtube - @thecalculusofit
    TikTok - @thecalculusofit
    Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thecalculusofit/
    Discord - https://discord.com/invite/A5grWHyH
    Email - nate@thecoit.us
    Email - mike@thecoit.us

    Show More Show Less
    2 hrs and 6 mins
  • Calculus of IT - Episode 31 - 9/10/2024 - "Using GAI for IT Decision Making"
    Sep 13 2024

    Mike and Nate are back! We went to a bar near Mike's office and didn't get the best sound quality as we hoped but that's what it is. In this episode, we asked the question - "How are we (and should we be) using GAI for IT strategic and operational decision-making?" We spent some time digging into this not so much to try and find nascent value in GAI (spoiler alert, there really isn't any) but to see if we could improve our worlds by using GAI to rub off some of the sharper corners. We also talked about our obsession for Andres Desplat and other shenanigans.

    Support the show

    The Calculus of IT website - https://www.thecoit.us
    "The New IT Leader's Survival Guide" Book - https://www.longwalk.consulting/library
    "The Calculus of IT" Book - https://www.longwalk.consulting/library
    The COIT Merchandise Store - https://thecoit.myspreadshop.com
    Buy us a Beer!! - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thecalculusofit
    Youtube - @thecalculusofit
    TikTok - @thecalculusofit
    Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thecalculusofit/
    Discord - https://discord.com/invite/A5grWHyH
    Email - nate@thecoit.us
    Email - mike@thecoit.us

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 54 mins
  • Calculus of IT - We are taking a brief break!
    Aug 21 2024

    Hi all - Mike and I will be taking a short break due to a massive amount of scheduling conflicts between now and mid-September. We will be back with a kickass set of episodes for the Fall and should be resuming our normal Wednesday night schedule again. Stay tuned!

    Support the show

    The Calculus of IT website - https://www.thecoit.us
    "The New IT Leader's Survival Guide" Book - https://www.longwalk.consulting/library
    "The Calculus of IT" Book - https://www.longwalk.consulting/library
    The COIT Merchandise Store - https://thecoit.myspreadshop.com
    Buy us a Beer!! - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thecalculusofit
    Youtube - @thecalculusofit
    TikTok - @thecalculusofit
    Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thecalculusofit/
    Discord - https://discord.com/invite/A5grWHyH
    Email - nate@thecoit.us
    Email - mike@thecoit.us

    Show More Show Less
    1 min
  • Calculus of IT - Episode 30 - 8/7/2024 - "Harness the ultimate power of the Mighty Intranet"
    Aug 9 2024

    In episode 30, Nate and Mike ask the question "Why Intranet?" and then ask the question "Why not Intranet?" and then answer both. It is a riveting discussion on the almighty Intranet's past, present, and future. If you are an Intranet wizard, this episode is for you. If you have ptsd nightmares of Intranet management, be warned that this episode contains multiple references to the way it was. We also talk about hot dogs.

    Support the show

    The Calculus of IT website - https://www.thecoit.us
    "The New IT Leader's Survival Guide" Book - https://www.longwalk.consulting/library
    "The Calculus of IT" Book - https://www.longwalk.consulting/library
    The COIT Merchandise Store - https://thecoit.myspreadshop.com
    Buy us a Beer!! - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thecalculusofit
    Youtube - @thecalculusofit
    TikTok - @thecalculusofit
    Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thecalculusofit/
    Discord - https://discord.com/invite/A5grWHyH
    Email - nate@thecoit.us
    Email - mike@thecoit.us

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 46 mins
  • Calculus of IT - Episode 29 - 7/17/2024 - "Why do we give everyone Editor rights?"
    Jul 18 2024

    Episode 29 is our first episode where we break away from reviewing the New IT Leader's Survival Guide (since we completed its review in episode 28) and switch to a topically focused podcast model where we will tackle concepts and questions that impact today and tomorrow's IT Leaders. We have a very in-depth list of episodes coming in the next few months, and, in some cases, we will be revisiting prior topics, such as Employee Experience, to bring new discussion points to light.

    In tonight's episode, we discussed why we provide every user in our companies with the default rights to create documents with no other specific guardrails or proof of technology understanding to get these rights. It was only one generation ago that companies had clear delineation between who could create new documents and who could only review and comment on those documents. Why have we provided such freedom, and what are the risks and benefits of having or not having it? We did our best to scratch the surface of this topic, but we still have a ways to go.

    We also covered some AI nonsense along with the usual banter.

    Support the show

    The Calculus of IT website - https://www.thecoit.us
    "The New IT Leader's Survival Guide" Book - https://www.longwalk.consulting/library
    "The Calculus of IT" Book - https://www.longwalk.consulting/library
    The COIT Merchandise Store - https://thecoit.myspreadshop.com
    Buy us a Beer!! - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thecalculusofit
    Youtube - @thecalculusofit
    TikTok - @thecalculusofit
    Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thecalculusofit/
    Discord - https://discord.com/invite/A5grWHyH
    Email - nate@thecoit.us
    Email - mike@thecoit.us

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 56 mins
  • Calculus of IT - Episode 28 - 7/10/2024 - "New IT Leader's Survival Guide - Years 2 and 3 - Training and Education"
    Jul 11 2024

    Welcome to Episode 28!! Mike Crispin and I take some time to discuss Training and Education in Years 2 and beyond. The discussion ranges from measuring the effectiveness of training to incorporating training and education into IT strategic goals. Without question, having a plan in place to address training and keeping the company up to speed on the latest technologies are both paramount to the optimal employee experience and the positive effectiveness of the deployment of new technologies.

    We also take some time to discuss the latest in GenAI fear, LinkedIn's new games functionality, and tapeworms.

    Support the show

    The Calculus of IT website - https://www.thecoit.us
    "The New IT Leader's Survival Guide" Book - https://www.longwalk.consulting/library
    "The Calculus of IT" Book - https://www.longwalk.consulting/library
    The COIT Merchandise Store - https://thecoit.myspreadshop.com
    Buy us a Beer!! - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thecalculusofit
    Youtube - @thecalculusofit
    TikTok - @thecalculusofit
    Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thecalculusofit/
    Discord - https://discord.com/invite/A5grWHyH
    Email - nate@thecoit.us
    Email - mike@thecoit.us

    Show More Show Less
    2 hrs and 22 mins