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Everybody, welcome to IT Happens, the podcast where business leaders learn what really goes on behind the scenes in IT and how to turn technology into a profit center instead of just overhead.
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I'm your host, Veronica Sands, and on this show, our IT experts Eddie Clark of Susolvite and John O'Weiler of Century Technology Solutions talk about the IT decisions that quietly shape your security, your operations, and your bottom line.
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No tech jargon, no scale tactics, just real stories, real lessons, and practical insights to help you grow your business.
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Today's guest is Joe Forget, co-founder of Igniting Momentum and a strategy and growth advisor, helping leadership teams align, scale, and create enterprise value.
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Joe works with business owners and leadership teams navigating growth, change, succession, and value creation.
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His work focuses on helping companies create stronger alignment, clearer priorities, healthier communication, and better execution so the business can grow with more clarity and confidence.
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Today, Joe brings a business owner perspective to the IT conversation, especially around how leadership alignment impacts technology decisions, operational efficiency, growth, and long-term business value.
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Which fits perfectly with today's topic because IT is not just the computer stuff anymore.
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It touches sales, finance, ops, HR, client experience, risk, and eventually the value of the business itself.
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So today we're talking about how leadership alignment affects technology decisions, growth and valuation, both short term and long term.
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So let's get into it.
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We're going to start with our latest happenings.
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Uh, what's going on in the news?
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John, what do you think is the top IT news story business leaders should be paying attention to this month?
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Um, it's not necessarily the top IT business story.
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I know you've covered a lot of AI stories and stuff lately, but it's something a little bit more uh keep it simple.
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Um, I read a report recently about mainly about, but in that report, and the the graph also had Sonic Wall, Watch Guard, and a few others about the level of vulnerabilities that are coming out, known vulnerabilities and severe vulnerabilities, chronicle vulnerabilities for each of these different types of systems, and how they're kind of an archaic way of going about it, and that most companies still rely heavily on their firewall.
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And what I found interesting about it is we have graduated to uh more of a software to to a sassy solution, secure access service edge, along with cloud brokering.
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And I guess in my mind, um I thought a lot of other companies had too, but I guess it looks like from this these industry reports that most companies still rely on a hub and spoke with firewalls or some type of mesh firewall VPN network for a lot of their data versus say maybe like you know some other ways of going about it.
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And so I just some of the pros and cons around some of that that most people live in the cloud, most operations happen in the cloud, most people are using Salesforce and HubSpot and and all these other different systems that live in the cloud.
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And the firewall doesn't necessarily protect you unless you're behind it or you're VPN through it.
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So there's a lot of failure points that can happen, and there's a lot of better ways to go about it.
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And I just found it interesting that this was still a pretty heavy news, and I think it was like 70% of companies are are affected by these.
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Um, and like I said, it was the the article was mainly about Fortinet than and Fortagate, but I noticed that SonicWall actually had a higher rate on the graph than what Fortinet did, and it made me think, oh man, we're actually talking to somebody right now with a SonicWall firewall.
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And I don't, you know, having a proper layer approach of no longer relying on VPNs or relying on a single firewall device and feeding everything through the cloud.
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There are a lot of other security levels to it that you don't necessarily have to rely just on the firewall anymore.
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Um, some of it resides on the M and some of it resides in the cloud, and but it's all integrated with these newer type systems.
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And some of the firewall companies like Palo Alto, and some of them are coming out with Sassy style solutions and orchestration type solutions that can lock down a client if there's something wrong with it or can direct you um going somewhere without being behind a physical firewall.
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And I just think it's important for business owners to know that there's a better way to go about it and that if you're still relying on your firewall in the closet, especially if you have remote workers or in the field workers, you may want to be talking about um what the future looks like because that to my mind is the past.
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We've graduated past that.
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I guess just 70% of other companies haven't.
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Uh, Eddie, what are your thoughts on something like that?
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Well, yeah, the uh development of SASE-based security is um it's been kind of revolutionary in our industry and very timely topic now with um the the latest capabilities from anthropic to find vulnerabilities within microseconds.
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Um you just can't afford to not keep your systems patched at any at any level.
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But um the layered security approach has been a pretty solid one.
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And um, you know, I think uh if you're if you're not looking at something like that um for your technology stack, then um you're really looking to potentially shoot yourself in the foot down the road.
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Yeah, agreed.
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And if the pandemic taught us anything, it's that you know, folks are not going to be sitting behind a firewall for the rest of their lives.
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You know, it's not we're not limited to inside the office, you know, it's it's you're at the mercy of whatever they have at home.
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And uh they may not take security as seriously over there.
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So um, so a lot of that makes sense.
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Thanks for bringing that up, John.
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We appreciate it.
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Security perimeter is now all over the place.
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It's it's work anywhere, from anywhere, do anything, can't be exactly defined by four walls.
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Yep.
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Exactly.
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All right.
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Well, up next we have our hot takes and cool fixes.
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Today we're talking with Joe Forge about where the IT fits into bigger business pictures because IT decisions are not just technical decisions.
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They can affect how fast your company grows, how smoothly it operates, how much risk you carry, and eventually what your business is worth.
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A business can be growing on paper while still building on shaky ground behind the scenes.
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Maybe departments are buying their own tools, maybe nobody knows who owns what, or maybe the leadership team is moving fast, but not necessarily in the same direction.
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So we're very fortunate to have Joe uh with us today.
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So um, Joe, come on in, chat with us for a little bit.
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Hey everybody, thank you for having me out today.
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Absolutely.
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Welcome.
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Uh so Joe, when you look at growing companies, where do you usually see the misalignment show up first?
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Well, that's a great question.
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Uh uh a lot of times people think they're aligned and and you know, kind of keep having the same um recurring issues or they come back over and over.
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Um, you know, uh, or the owner is still the glue in the room.
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And so um, you know, I mean, there's there's so many signs, you know, decisions are made in silos.
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Uh, one that's very relevant for today, uh, technology decisions are really reactive versus proactive.
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So uh there's many for sure.
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So it sounds like it it just it it varies um from company to company.
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And yeah, so from from the IT side, Eddie and John, um, where does poor alignment usually show up first?
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Because I feel like that might be a little bit more of a unified front there.
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Well, I think it um, you know, IT is really there to support the business.
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Um, and a lot of IT folks have that backwards.
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Um, but it it is a strategic roadmap.
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Uh, we can't really advise on technology if we don't know where the company is headed.
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And so uh where I struggle in advising our clients is um you know uncovering that, okay.
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Well, what is your growth plan like?
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Are you trying to build this business up to sell?
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Are you trying to build this business up?
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Like what is your what is your legacy planning here?
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Um, and we we struggle getting that information from some of the leaders and our clients.
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And, you know, it's uh uh it's almost like IT is an afterthought, really, and and we need to be integrated into the overall strategy of the business.
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So that that's where where I struggle most.
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Yeah, I I 100% agree with that.
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Um we see a lot of times where a decision is made to maybe open a new department or move to a new location or shut down a division or something like that.
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And um, IT isn't always brought in uh when they should be.
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And then they're like, well, why can't we get this going, or why isn't this working, or why do we have cost overruns in this area for technology?
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And a lot of times, if you had talked to IT beforehand, um, you would have gotten there.
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I'll give you a great example.
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We have a client um that we've been working with off and on, and they're you their HR department brought in Workday.
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Workday is a is an HR system, right?
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Um, they didn't talk to us beforehand, and they didn't really talk to other departments, and they got some stuff of workday going, but then um their security and PE money and stuff found out that they were bringing this in and started asking about, well, how are you managing users?
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How are you doing this?
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Well, then they wanted us to integrate it with Office 365.
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And then, you know, a few months later, well, we had a huge problem integrating it with 365 because they'd already provisioned users a whole bunch of other things like that.
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But then a few months later, we get a weird email from the HR director about like, hey, I want to be able to, you know, receive and kind of almost like have a ticketing system for our HR complaints and stuff like that.
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You know, they have four people on HR.
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And I was like, isn't that one of the key modules within workday?
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Like, why are you not using workday for that?
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And it's just again, it was all reactive after the fact.
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Where if they had just sat down with us beforehand, we could have been like, Yeah, you know, you could do that through workday, or hey, workday can do X, Y, and Z for you.
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You could start these processes and fire off automations and stuff for you based on you know how you classify an employee and you know, things of that nature, they aren't using any of that.
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So now they've bought a Cadillac and um aren't getting the value out of.
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Yeah, I'll I'll also say when it comes to detection, since the original question was like, how do you tell misalignment?
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He's involved in every single piece of your business.
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Like when when I worked for Vista before Century, when I was an internal CIO, I knew what was going on in all the offices way more than any of the other executives.
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I was the only executive that had gone to like the Virginia office on a yearly basis.
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Some of the other executives hadn't ever been there in five or six years, right?
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Um, we talked to the people, they call us when they have their problems, and we talk to people at the lowest levels all the way up to the highest executive level.
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So usually I can see the disconnect, they feel the disconnect because someone in a remote office three states away is saying X, Y, and Z, but you know that there was an executive decision made that goes a different direction, and it's like, where was that breakdown?
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Yeah, but we see that type of stuff all the time um within operations, with within everything.
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Like if you really want to know how a company's doing, go to their IT department and they'll tell you all about it, probably.
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Not their HR department.
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Their HR department probably doesn't have the same level of access to all the individual users that IT does.
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Yeah, that's that that's exactly it.
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It sounds like you're saying that it if you if you want to know something, you know, check check on the nerds.
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They they see that stuff day in and day out and can actually see the holes that that are coming up.
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So uh Joe, go ahead.
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Yeah, I think John, you touched on something.
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You talked about, you know, from a software implementation standpoint.
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Have they spoken to you first, you know, then maybe you could have mapped out um more of the the the how behind the you know deployment.
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Um it's interesting from a business perspective, right?
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When teams aren't aligned and they're not thinking about uh three years from now, five years from now, where are we going?
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It's really hard to plan in advance if we're being very reactive and living day to day fire to fire, right?
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And so um just like from an IT perspective, I mean, if you understand where you're going as a team and you're aligned of where you're going as a team, then you can look at, okay, what technology shifts do we need to make as an organization to actually uh improve performance, right?
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I mean, the big thing that everybody wants to talk about is AI and how it's gonna change everything in the business.
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But, you know, it's kind of uh, you know, use the adage garbage in, garbage out.
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If we don't really have a plan on how we're gonna use it, then it's it's it's multiplying mistakes.
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It's you know, bad processes being run through AI uh, you know, uh ultimately amplify bad processes, right?
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You know, because the the human intervention in the middle uh actually says, hey, we don't we don't follow the process exactly the way we've defined the process.
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And as soon as you automate it, it's like, wow, okay, we just multiplied the mistakes.
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And so really uh teams that you know alignment uh only happens if we're sitting down and talking about where are we going?
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You know, why do we do what we do?
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Where where are we going?
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Uh what are our big initiatives and and you know, ultimately uh where are our biggest challenges?
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And are we willing to look in the mirror and and really acknowledge that hey, maybe we're growing, um, but we're not growing in a scalable fashion, right?
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And the two are not the same.
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So right.
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You're you're you've got some interesting uh statistics out on your website at igniting momentum um regarding how to how to drive value in a company.
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Um that uh you know aligned teams perform better and they also sell for more.
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So, you know, not all business owners are building something to sell, but I think every business owner would want to build build value in their business so that if it ever comes to that, you're well positioned for it.
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Um, what are some of the key factors that that business owners or business leaders who are wanting to build value in their business should take into consideration, particularly as it relates to technology?
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Okay.
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Um, well, I mean, from a business owner perspective, obviously, the more involved you're you are in the day-to-day decision making and operation of the business, the I'll say the the less valuable your business is, right?
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Because ultimately, um, if they're buying your business, they have to buy you in order for the business to continue to operate.
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And so the more the the the stronger the team, the better the vision, the the um I mean the structure of your agreements and and and contracts.
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I mean, obviously uh a lot of companies are doing business with people on you know managed service agreements and and therefore monthly recurring revenue.
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Um those all add uh value to the business.
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But when the business is you, right, you're the face of the business and you're involved in every day-to-day decision, then you know, they if you're gonna sell the company, uh either, you know, and oftentimes people make the decision to sell their business when they want to get out of their business because they're just tired or they're or they're looking for what's next, and and ultimately the business doesn't have that same valuation because you are so heavily involved in that business, right?
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So yeah, I read a book called Buy Back Your Time, and uh it's a really interesting concept about how, yeah, business owners can um or should kind of buy back their time, literally, because what you're doing is passing your work off to others into your team.
00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:18.639
It seems like that aligns really well with what what you just said.
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Well, and you know, oftentimes delegation is difficult if you don't trust your team, right?
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And how is trust built and how is trust earned?
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It's by ensuring we're on the same page.
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And so uh the more frequent, you know, conversation around our strategy and our vision and where we're going, and and not just telling them the vision and the strategy, but you know, making the leadership team a part of creating where are we going and why.
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Uh, you know, that's that's where you really start to see how people think.
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Um, and ultimately by agreeing, here's our priorities, we're gonna we're gonna do this before we do this, because we know we in order to get to our destination or to our you know, uh our end goal, that's uh, you know, these are the sequences or the steps, and we can only do so much.
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Most companies, you know, you're trying to actually operate the day-to-day business.
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And so the more objectives you put on top of a team that has has an actual daily function, you know.
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Um that that, you know, the more we try.
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I mean, we used to use the term at uh at work, uh, you know, we're trying to boil the ocean, right?
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Yeah.
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And it's really, it's you know, uh, the more we focused we can get and truly understand um these are our greatest priorities and wide, and we have to actually fix this before we do this.
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That allows the team to actually, you know, agree and and and and work together to get to that end goal.
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But from a valuation perspective and from a business owner perspective, it's hard to delegate when you don't have trust.
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And and you'll sometimes hear from business owners, I don't have the right people.
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And you're like, okay, how do you know that?
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You can change that.
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Yes, but yeah, but but honestly, the crazy thing is often you do it to the right people.
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You're just not including them in the conversation.
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And and many people require context to perform, right?
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They're not just tell me what to do, I'm gonna go do it.
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And and honestly, from a leadership perspective, most people that you hire to be a leader of a team, you know, a department inside the organization, what have you, um, probably aren't great order takers.
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That's how they got to be leaders.
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And so without context as to why are we doing what we're doing, you know, uh the average people hate to change, but it's not so much they don't like to change, they're being don't like being told to change.
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And so, you know, yeah, um, the the more the team's able to talk through topics and debate topics and get on the same page, the higher they're gonna, you know, uh higher performing they'll be.
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And so yeah, yeah, I've experienced that just in in platform adoption, right?
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When you're going from one major platform to another, if you don't have the people on the ground involved in the conversation from the beginning, they don't feel like they have a stake in its success.
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For sure.
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The same same type concept applies here.
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Well, and if you don't actually understand why you're doing, you know, the if the teams don't understand why you're implementing the the technology, then it's just changing their day-to-day and creates and oftentimes I'll say more work, right?
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But if they understand why, why are we doing what we're doing, why are we in embracing this technology or bringing it into the organization?
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Uh that learning curve, you know, I've been involved with several large technology deployments in my career uh in the uh early 2000s, like huge SAP implementation at uh my one of my early employers.
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And uh the productivity of the team when that went live probably went 30% backwards, right?
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Before it propelled forward.
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I mean, you know, you go from one software system to another.
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It no matter how much you train in advance, there's you know, just that that comfort level with the old systems, right?
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And frustration and yeah, you know, and in order to fight through it, you have to see the big picture at the end, right?
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Yeah, that's that's that's where communication and cohesion come in.
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I think what I see uh is actually it's kind of funny.
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I was just with some of the AI systems and all that, context is key.
00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:37.680
And I love how you put that because a lot of people I think that's why a lot of AI implementations fail, is um not just do the humans not have the context, the AI system doesn't have the context.
00:20:37.920 --> 00:20:45.599
And I think that's just a huge failure in a lot of the medium-sized, the the second stage size businesses is they aren't relaying the context.
00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:51.359
It's not necessarily the step-by-step how to do something or the uh, you know, the the process as much.
00:20:51.519 --> 00:20:53.599
I mean, yes, and there's there are process failures.
00:20:53.680 --> 00:20:55.839
There are times where the process could be better, right?
00:20:55.920 --> 00:20:58.079
Or the process hasn't really been proven.
00:20:58.400 --> 00:21:02.000
But the context behind it, I see that on both sides of the fence.
00:21:02.160 --> 00:21:05.759
The employees just don't have the context and the AI doesn't have the context.
00:21:06.079 --> 00:21:08.000
It's kind of interesting the way you put it there.
00:21:08.079 --> 00:21:13.200
Because I it it I see it from both sides, from the technology side and the humanistic side.
00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:14.880
Yeah, for sure.
00:21:15.119 --> 00:21:20.240
And you know, got context plays the big part in uh getting people on the same page.
00:21:20.480 --> 00:21:28.640
And and if you think about it, right, there's so much opportunity to innovate on an idea if you bring people into it.
00:21:29.119 --> 00:21:47.519
So the initial idea when talked through with uh a team of five to seven uh people that have different subject matter expertise and have different purview inside the organization, you bring them together, you know, instead of fighting the ideas, talking about all the ways we can make it better.
00:21:47.680 --> 00:21:49.119
You know, I love that, John.
00:21:49.279 --> 00:21:51.759
And if we did this, it would make it better, you know.
00:21:52.079 --> 00:21:57.119
And it's it's bringing everybody into the loop and and having that conversation.
00:21:57.359 --> 00:21:59.759
Um, they're just significant products.
00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:05.759
Activity increases over having, you know, people be a part of the conversation and really wrap their minds around why.
00:22:06.960 --> 00:22:17.599
And uh essentially, you know, uh unclear ownership uh plays a huge role in in a lot of this, where a lot of you guys are saying the same thing where it's just you need that North Star.
00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:28.559
And especially if you're bringing AI or technology into the conversation, you know, AI has the ability to look back, but it doesn't have the ability to look forward like humans can, right?
00:22:28.720 --> 00:22:32.480
And you're talking about getting people in a room and hashing it out.
00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:34.960
No, I think it should be this way, no, it should be this way.
00:22:35.119 --> 00:22:40.480
And, you know, there's that strife and that pushback, but a lot of that can lead to some gold, it sounds like.
00:22:40.799 --> 00:22:45.440
Well, I think for sure that debating the topics is key.
00:22:45.599 --> 00:22:52.240
I think having your IT leadership in leadership conversations is necessary, right?
00:22:52.480 --> 00:23:01.279
You know, I I've heard some companies talking about how they have plans around how they're going to use AI in the business, and it's they're just leaving it to the IT team.
00:23:01.359 --> 00:23:04.880
And while due respect to the IT team, you know what I mean?
00:23:05.039 --> 00:23:11.759
They don't necessarily see everything the same way the the people in the and so it's not one or the other, right?
00:23:11.839 --> 00:23:16.480
It'd be terrible if the if the leadership team just pushed this is how we're gonna do it, right?
00:23:16.559 --> 00:23:33.200
And at the same time, uh, you know, leaving it to a team of people to to solve big picture challenges without the um knowledge and and you know um interaction of the others, right?
00:23:33.359 --> 00:23:34.000
Yeah, yeah.
00:23:34.640 --> 00:23:38.640
Yeah, I think um, you know, personal attitude has a lot to do with that too.
00:23:38.720 --> 00:23:59.680
When you're gathering people in a room to talk about objectives and long-term strategy, um, I've heard you know, pushback expressed in the form of, well, we can't do that because when really what leadership wants to hear is, well, if we're going to do that, this is the best way to accomplish that, right?
00:24:00.160 --> 00:24:05.519
So having that positive attitude, I think, is uh critical.
00:24:05.680 --> 00:24:10.559
But that again is having the right people in the room with the right motivations.
00:24:10.720 --> 00:24:11.039
Yeah.
00:24:11.119 --> 00:24:14.400
I I think uh I've been on both sides of that seat, obviously.
00:24:14.480 --> 00:24:21.200
Now I'm I'm working with leadership teams, and so it's uh always a unique uh viewpoint.
00:24:21.359 --> 00:24:30.400
I'm the one asking questions and and you know, listening to and interacting and conversations, and and and like that from that perspective, it's definitely interesting.
00:24:30.559 --> 00:24:44.480
Um on the other side though, you know, prior to that I was in senior leadership roles, and and really um I don't know that any senior leadership people want to say, you know, but we can't do that, right?
00:24:44.640 --> 00:24:52.480
You know, there there's always um, I think the attitude around, okay, how can we is always uh better received.
00:24:52.559 --> 00:24:57.200
So even if we don't have the answers, and and that's another huge part of leadership, right?
00:24:57.279 --> 00:25:03.119
Just because you started the company doesn't mean you're always gonna have all the answers, and your team's not looking at leaders.
00:25:03.440 --> 00:25:16.880
So it's also you know that vulnerability to to know, uh hey guys, I know we need to embrace technology, you know, AI is the the the common conversation today, you know, like every day.
00:25:17.039 --> 00:25:19.759
Um, but technology as a whole, right?
00:25:19.839 --> 00:25:38.160
Like, you know, I um I was in our in a conversation last week and I was talking about if you if you had asked HVAC companies 10 years ago, 15 years ago, did you think do you think your techs can use a point of sale device on their calls?
00:25:38.319 --> 00:25:40.960
You know, they would have all told you you're you're crazy.
00:25:41.119 --> 00:25:43.599
And now you get an AC tech, you know.
00:25:43.759 --> 00:25:46.799
I live in Florida, so AC techs are common here.
00:25:46.880 --> 00:25:51.920
But you know, I mean, it's like literally they come out, they diagnose the issue, they're showing it to you.
00:25:52.559 --> 00:26:00.559
You, you know, you're you're seeing what the estimate is, and and in real time, you know, the homeowner is signing off on the job.
00:26:00.720 --> 00:26:03.920
If there were parts in inventory, the parts are coming out inventory.
00:26:04.079 --> 00:26:09.119
The ownership knows exactly how much revenue they've generated at that point in the day.
00:26:09.279 --> 00:26:15.359
I mean, and though those are huge technology advancements that really aren't that complicated to embrace.
00:26:15.519 --> 00:26:23.839
But if you had asked them 10 years ago if they thought that was reality or a possibility, I'm sure you would have heard a lot of doubt from many companies.
00:26:23.920 --> 00:26:29.519
And so uh we're capable of so much more than we allow ourselves to feel.
00:26:29.680 --> 00:26:37.839
And so sometimes, you know, pushing ourselves out of that comfort zone as a team and saying, okay, we don't know how we're gonna bring this into the organization.
00:26:38.079 --> 00:27:04.960
We know we need to, and then starting that conversation and looking at, okay, hey, you know, what are the areas that we could, you know, make the largest impact if we were just to automate this one process or we were to, you know, bring this in here and just start the conversation because uh, you know, change is is uncomfortable and you know, growth is uncomfortable and and you know, uh people are kind of often stuck in their ways.
00:27:05.039 --> 00:27:16.880
And so technology pushes people out of their comfort zone, and that's understandable, but to to say we're not gonna do it, you know, is is crazy too, because you're you're gonna lose a tremendous advantage to your competition.
00:27:17.119 --> 00:27:18.240
It's it's like a muscle, right?
00:27:18.559 --> 00:27:20.720
It's atrophies if you don't use it, you know.
00:27:20.960 --> 00:27:22.319
Uh go ahead, John.
00:27:22.559 --> 00:27:23.920
Yeah, let me ask you a quick question on that.
00:27:24.079 --> 00:27:33.359
Um, how much do you see the leadership teams that you've been working with lately embrace uh training and upscaling their own employees?
00:27:33.519 --> 00:27:38.319
Like, are you seeing that as something they're really looking at or how to do that?
00:27:38.559 --> 00:27:42.960
I find that a lot of technology adoption and especially the AI adoptions lately fail.
00:27:43.200 --> 00:28:01.119
Uh, big portion is because there may be a small team at the corporate office that really understands what's going on, but they don't actually have a great way to train the rest of the employees on how to do what needs to get done or why, like you said, the context of why is important too, but the how sometimes is an issue.
00:28:01.200 --> 00:28:05.839
And I'm curious how are you how you're seeing leadership teams address that and how that's kind of working.
00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:06.240
Yeah.
00:28:06.480 --> 00:28:28.480
I mean, I honestly maybe it's because companies that engage me um believe in in developing themselves and therefore the team, but uh, you know, it's not typically a conversation around it's usually more the the conversations around when can we do these things, right?
00:28:28.559 --> 00:28:34.880
You know, because they understand that it's a it's an investment in the technology, it's an investment in their team.
00:28:35.039 --> 00:28:42.480
Um, you know, and as I said earlier, everybody's got their day-to-day, you know, uh role to focus on.
00:28:42.559 --> 00:28:46.960
And so adding these different things on top of it, it's like, okay, hey, how do we do it?
00:28:47.200 --> 00:28:48.160
When can we do it?
00:28:48.240 --> 00:28:52.319
And how we do it at the minimal disruption to the to the organization.
00:28:52.480 --> 00:28:59.440
But I did have a conversation with uh someone last week that uh uh they estimated they could improve.
00:28:59.599 --> 00:29:11.039
Um, you know, that they spent the they they spend about 35 to 50 percent of their time uh trying to get answers to information that really could be in a centralized uh system.
00:29:11.839 --> 00:29:27.839
And so just if you think about it from that perspective, that you know, a team like that could increase productivity at least 50%, if not 100%, uh, you know, uh just by automating some things and having one centralized source of truth, right?
00:29:27.920 --> 00:29:51.680
And so um, but the decision to push forward with such an initiative is you know, there's upfront resources and capital expenses to to build things out before you can then turn around to trade people on them, and then you know what's the productivity stall in the beginning, if you will, as people are learning new things, and so um that's really it's more balancing how and when um versus should they.
00:29:52.079 --> 00:30:01.519
So if we're looking at this from and taking a step back, uh what are if if you're a business owner listening, what's one practical takeaway?
00:30:01.839 --> 00:30:05.200
What is one conversation that they should have with their leadership team this week?
00:30:05.440 --> 00:30:06.480
That's a tough one.
00:30:06.720 --> 00:30:10.400
Um they should have with their leadership team this week.
00:30:10.640 --> 00:30:18.079
Well, I'm gonna hope that they're having a weekly leadership team meeting and that they're all on the same page solving problems together.
00:30:18.240 --> 00:30:36.559
Um, but uh I I'd probably take a step back and and ask, um, you know, what are the the pieces of our business that uh uh could be um automated or um uh made more efficient?
00:30:36.799 --> 00:30:40.720
Um, you know, growth is not scaling, right?
00:30:40.799 --> 00:30:43.839
You can be a growing company and not be scalable.
00:30:44.000 --> 00:30:51.279
And so really looking at it and saying, okay, um, what are the areas of our business that we could just make better, right?
00:30:51.440 --> 00:31:12.400
Even their manual processes, automated processes, and and um and just uh look at how do we simplify what we're doing and automate it as best we can so that uh I mean ultimately you'd be increasing the value of your business if you can uh simplify it and and make it more repeatable and scalable.
00:31:12.640 --> 00:31:12.880
Yeah.
00:31:13.359 --> 00:31:13.599
Yeah.
00:31:13.839 --> 00:31:26.240
So it sounds like it's more of uh, you know, keep the conversations going no matter what, and keep that line of communication open and uh don't be afraid of change uh when when it's needed.
00:31:26.400 --> 00:31:28.480
So um thank you so much for your time, Joe.
00:31:28.559 --> 00:31:29.759
We really appreciate it.
00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:41.920
Um we'll um we would love to have you back for uh a part two here because I know that there's a couple things that we definitely didn't get to, um, but I know that uh our listeners would love to hear.
00:31:42.079 --> 00:31:45.599
So um thanks again for your time and uh we'll chat you up soon.
00:31:45.839 --> 00:31:46.319
Sounds great.
00:31:46.400 --> 00:31:47.279
Thank you for having me on today.
00:31:47.440 --> 00:31:48.000
Thank you, Joe.
00:31:48.319 --> 00:31:50.559
All right, so it is now tool time.
00:31:50.720 --> 00:31:53.759
Let's go ahead and get our tool time for the month.
00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:55.359
Eddie, what do you have for us?
00:31:55.680 --> 00:32:04.880
Well, I have uh noticed, and probably everyone on the planet has noticed, that uh every browser under the sun is pushing AI.
00:32:04.960 --> 00:32:16.079
Uh, and there's been some concern, and rightly so, that uh, you know, are they using my searches and my information to train these AI mechanisms?
00:32:16.319 --> 00:32:26.640
Um and so I got I started doing a little digging, and you know, there are ways to disable the use of your information when training AI.
00:32:26.720 --> 00:32:35.680
Um, but it seems as though most of the browsers, once they get an update, they they all say, well, it could be reset without you being made aware of it.
00:32:35.920 --> 00:33:12.000
So that was a little frustrating, and then I saw um, well, you know, I know Firefox has a uh higher leaning towards security, so it seems to be a little bit easier on Firefox, but then Duck DuckGoon just released one called No AI, and I uh I'm in the process of ticking the tires on that a little bit, but it it seems to me like um for those who are wanting to avoid um in any way, shape, or form, or certainly having your your private searches and data used uh to train AI, that that seems like a good option.
00:33:12.160 --> 00:33:15.759
So, you know, this is not a commercial, just kind of let up experience.
00:33:16.319 --> 00:33:17.440
Yeah, absolutely.
00:33:17.599 --> 00:33:20.160
And it's good that folks have that option, right?
00:33:20.319 --> 00:33:25.759
Because AI is pretty much being rammed down our throats with just about everything and everywhere else.
00:33:25.920 --> 00:33:33.599
So to have an alternative that you know, Pinky promises not to not to use AI and stuff like that, um, it's definitely worth uh checking out.
00:33:33.759 --> 00:33:34.880
So thanks a lot for that.
00:33:34.960 --> 00:33:35.519
We appreciate it.
00:33:35.839 --> 00:33:39.039
All right, that wraps up this episode of Sh IT Happens.
00:33:39.519 --> 00:33:48.480
Today's conversation is a good reminder that most IT problems do not start with crashes or hacks, they start with small business decisions that quietly add up over time.
00:33:49.039 --> 00:33:55.440
A subscription no one knows about, a system no one reviews, a process that only works because one person knows the workaround.
00:33:56.240 --> 00:34:03.359
The goal of this show is to help you spot those moments earlier, ask better questions, and use technology to support your business growth rather than slow it down.
00:34:04.079 --> 00:34:13.840
If you want help applying what you heard today, or you are dealing with something that feels like it might turn into a bigger issue, you can reach out to Eddie Clark at SolveIT or at Sentry Technology Solutions.
00:34:13.920 --> 00:34:14.719
So thanks for listening.
00:34:14.960 --> 00:34:15.519
We'll see you next time.
00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:11.199
Everybody, welcome to IT Happens, the podcast where business leaders learn what really goes on behind the scenes in IT and how to turn technology into a profit center instead of just overhead.
00:00:11.919 --> 00:00:26.000
I'm your host, Veronica Sands, and on this show, our IT experts Eddie Clark of Susolvite and John O'Weiler of Century Technology Solutions talk about the IT decisions that quietly shape your security, your operations, and your bottom line.
00:00:26.719 --> 00:00:33.359
No tech jargon, no scale tactics, just real stories, real lessons, and practical insights to help you grow your business.
00:00:33.759 --> 00:00:44.399
Today's guest is Joe Forget, co-founder of Igniting Momentum and a strategy and growth advisor, helping leadership teams align, scale, and create enterprise value.
00:00:45.119 --> 00:00:51.920
Joe works with business owners and leadership teams navigating growth, change, succession, and value creation.
00:00:52.719 --> 00:01:03.600
His work focuses on helping companies create stronger alignment, clearer priorities, healthier communication, and better execution so the business can grow with more clarity and confidence.
00:01:04.480 --> 00:01:15.680
Today, Joe brings a business owner perspective to the IT conversation, especially around how leadership alignment impacts technology decisions, operational efficiency, growth, and long-term business value.
00:01:16.159 --> 00:01:21.280
Which fits perfectly with today's topic because IT is not just the computer stuff anymore.
00:01:21.840 --> 00:01:28.879
It touches sales, finance, ops, HR, client experience, risk, and eventually the value of the business itself.
00:01:29.519 --> 00:01:37.680
So today we're talking about how leadership alignment affects technology decisions, growth and valuation, both short term and long term.
00:01:37.840 --> 00:01:38.879
So let's get into it.
00:01:39.280 --> 00:01:41.519
We're going to start with our latest happenings.
00:01:41.680 --> 00:01:43.280
Uh, what's going on in the news?
00:01:43.439 --> 00:01:49.040
John, what do you think is the top IT news story business leaders should be paying attention to this month?
00:01:49.439 --> 00:01:52.239
Um, it's not necessarily the top IT business story.
00:01:52.319 --> 00:01:57.599
I know you've covered a lot of AI stories and stuff lately, but it's something a little bit more uh keep it simple.
00:01:57.840 --> 00:02:24.479
Um, I read a report recently about mainly about, but in that report, and the the graph also had Sonic Wall, Watch Guard, and a few others about the level of vulnerabilities that are coming out, known vulnerabilities and severe vulnerabilities, chronicle vulnerabilities for each of these different types of systems, and how they're kind of an archaic way of going about it, and that most companies still rely heavily on their firewall.
00:02:24.719 --> 00:02:36.240
And what I found interesting about it is we have graduated to uh more of a software to to a sassy solution, secure access service edge, along with cloud brokering.
00:02:36.400 --> 00:02:58.080
And I guess in my mind, um I thought a lot of other companies had too, but I guess it looks like from this these industry reports that most companies still rely on a hub and spoke with firewalls or some type of mesh firewall VPN network for a lot of their data versus say maybe like you know some other ways of going about it.
00:02:58.159 --> 00:03:10.560
And so I just some of the pros and cons around some of that that most people live in the cloud, most operations happen in the cloud, most people are using Salesforce and HubSpot and and all these other different systems that live in the cloud.
00:03:10.719 --> 00:03:16.400
And the firewall doesn't necessarily protect you unless you're behind it or you're VPN through it.
00:03:16.560 --> 00:03:21.439
So there's a lot of failure points that can happen, and there's a lot of better ways to go about it.
00:03:21.680 --> 00:03:30.000
And I just found it interesting that this was still a pretty heavy news, and I think it was like 70% of companies are are affected by these.
00:03:30.240 --> 00:03:44.479
Um, and like I said, it was the the article was mainly about Fortinet than and Fortagate, but I noticed that SonicWall actually had a higher rate on the graph than what Fortinet did, and it made me think, oh man, we're actually talking to somebody right now with a SonicWall firewall.
00:03:44.719 --> 00:03:53.520
And I don't, you know, having a proper layer approach of no longer relying on VPNs or relying on a single firewall device and feeding everything through the cloud.
00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:59.919
There are a lot of other security levels to it that you don't necessarily have to rely just on the firewall anymore.
00:04:00.080 --> 00:04:06.240
Um, some of it resides on the M and some of it resides in the cloud, and but it's all integrated with these newer type systems.
00:04:06.319 --> 00:04:23.920
And some of the firewall companies like Palo Alto, and some of them are coming out with Sassy style solutions and orchestration type solutions that can lock down a client if there's something wrong with it or can direct you um going somewhere without being behind a physical firewall.
00:04:24.160 --> 00:04:41.040
And I just think it's important for business owners to know that there's a better way to go about it and that if you're still relying on your firewall in the closet, especially if you have remote workers or in the field workers, you may want to be talking about um what the future looks like because that to my mind is the past.
00:04:41.199 --> 00:04:42.480
We've graduated past that.
00:04:42.639 --> 00:04:44.720
I guess just 70% of other companies haven't.
00:04:44.879 --> 00:04:46.800
Uh, Eddie, what are your thoughts on something like that?
00:04:47.360 --> 00:05:08.480
Well, yeah, the uh development of SASE-based security is um it's been kind of revolutionary in our industry and very timely topic now with um the the latest capabilities from anthropic to find vulnerabilities within microseconds.
00:05:08.639 --> 00:05:14.879
Um you just can't afford to not keep your systems patched at any at any level.
00:05:15.120 --> 00:05:19.600
But um the layered security approach has been a pretty solid one.
00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:32.879
And um, you know, I think uh if you're if you're not looking at something like that um for your technology stack, then um you're really looking to potentially shoot yourself in the foot down the road.
00:05:33.040 --> 00:05:33.600
Yeah, agreed.
00:05:33.839 --> 00:05:39.120
And if the pandemic taught us anything, it's that you know, folks are not going to be sitting behind a firewall for the rest of their lives.
00:05:39.199 --> 00:05:46.000
You know, it's not we're not limited to inside the office, you know, it's it's you're at the mercy of whatever they have at home.
00:05:46.240 --> 00:05:49.439
And uh they may not take security as seriously over there.
00:05:49.600 --> 00:05:52.079
So um, so a lot of that makes sense.
00:05:52.240 --> 00:05:53.439
Thanks for bringing that up, John.
00:05:53.600 --> 00:05:54.160
We appreciate it.
00:05:54.720 --> 00:05:56.720
Security perimeter is now all over the place.
00:05:56.800 --> 00:06:03.199
It's it's work anywhere, from anywhere, do anything, can't be exactly defined by four walls.
00:06:03.360 --> 00:06:03.600
Yep.
00:06:03.839 --> 00:06:04.240
Exactly.
00:06:04.480 --> 00:06:04.879
All right.
00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:08.720
Well, up next we have our hot takes and cool fixes.
00:06:08.879 --> 00:06:18.000
Today we're talking with Joe Forge about where the IT fits into bigger business pictures because IT decisions are not just technical decisions.
00:06:18.160 --> 00:06:25.439
They can affect how fast your company grows, how smoothly it operates, how much risk you carry, and eventually what your business is worth.
00:06:25.759 --> 00:06:30.560
A business can be growing on paper while still building on shaky ground behind the scenes.
00:06:30.800 --> 00:06:40.560
Maybe departments are buying their own tools, maybe nobody knows who owns what, or maybe the leadership team is moving fast, but not necessarily in the same direction.
00:06:40.800 --> 00:06:44.319
So we're very fortunate to have Joe uh with us today.
00:06:44.480 --> 00:06:47.439
So um, Joe, come on in, chat with us for a little bit.
00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:49.519
Hey everybody, thank you for having me out today.
00:06:49.839 --> 00:06:50.079
Absolutely.
00:06:52.079 --> 00:06:52.879
Welcome.
00:06:53.120 --> 00:07:00.800
Uh so Joe, when you look at growing companies, where do you usually see the misalignment show up first?
00:07:01.120 --> 00:07:02.639
Well, that's a great question.
00:07:02.879 --> 00:07:11.920
Uh uh a lot of times people think they're aligned and and you know, kind of keep having the same um recurring issues or they come back over and over.
00:07:12.160 --> 00:07:16.399
Um, you know, uh, or the owner is still the glue in the room.
00:07:16.560 --> 00:07:22.240
And so um, you know, I mean, there's there's so many signs, you know, decisions are made in silos.
00:07:22.639 --> 00:07:29.839
Uh, one that's very relevant for today, uh, technology decisions are really reactive versus proactive.
00:07:30.079 --> 00:07:32.639
So uh there's many for sure.
00:07:33.040 --> 00:07:36.800
So it sounds like it it just it it varies um from company to company.
00:07:36.959 --> 00:07:44.319
And yeah, so from from the IT side, Eddie and John, um, where does poor alignment usually show up first?
00:07:44.480 --> 00:07:48.319
Because I feel like that might be a little bit more of a unified front there.
00:07:48.800 --> 00:07:54.079
Well, I think it um, you know, IT is really there to support the business.
00:07:54.319 --> 00:07:57.600
Um, and a lot of IT folks have that backwards.
00:07:57.839 --> 00:08:01.439
Um, but it it is a strategic roadmap.
00:08:01.519 --> 00:08:05.600
Uh, we can't really advise on technology if we don't know where the company is headed.
00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:14.240
And so uh where I struggle in advising our clients is um you know uncovering that, okay.
00:08:14.319 --> 00:08:16.160
Well, what is your growth plan like?
00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:19.120
Are you trying to build this business up to sell?
00:08:19.439 --> 00:08:21.680
Are you trying to build this business up?
00:08:21.759 --> 00:08:24.399
Like what is your what is your legacy planning here?
00:08:24.639 --> 00:08:30.639
Um, and we we struggle getting that information from some of the leaders and our clients.
00:08:30.959 --> 00:08:40.879
And, you know, it's uh uh it's almost like IT is an afterthought, really, and and we need to be integrated into the overall strategy of the business.
00:08:41.039 --> 00:08:43.279
So that that's where where I struggle most.
00:08:43.519 --> 00:08:45.679
Yeah, I I 100% agree with that.
00:08:45.919 --> 00:08:56.559
Um we see a lot of times where a decision is made to maybe open a new department or move to a new location or shut down a division or something like that.
00:08:56.799 --> 00:09:01.200
And um, IT isn't always brought in uh when they should be.
00:09:01.279 --> 00:09:07.039
And then they're like, well, why can't we get this going, or why isn't this working, or why do we have cost overruns in this area for technology?
00:09:07.279 --> 00:09:11.919
And a lot of times, if you had talked to IT beforehand, um, you would have gotten there.
00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:12.960
I'll give you a great example.
00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:18.480
We have a client um that we've been working with off and on, and they're you their HR department brought in Workday.
00:09:18.799 --> 00:09:21.679
Workday is a is an HR system, right?
00:09:22.080 --> 00:09:37.759
Um, they didn't talk to us beforehand, and they didn't really talk to other departments, and they got some stuff of workday going, but then um their security and PE money and stuff found out that they were bringing this in and started asking about, well, how are you managing users?
00:09:37.840 --> 00:09:38.399
How are you doing this?
00:09:38.480 --> 00:09:41.200
Well, then they wanted us to integrate it with Office 365.
00:09:41.360 --> 00:09:48.799
And then, you know, a few months later, well, we had a huge problem integrating it with 365 because they'd already provisioned users a whole bunch of other things like that.
00:09:48.960 --> 00:10:00.080
But then a few months later, we get a weird email from the HR director about like, hey, I want to be able to, you know, receive and kind of almost like have a ticketing system for our HR complaints and stuff like that.
00:10:00.159 --> 00:10:01.919
You know, they have four people on HR.
00:10:02.159 --> 00:10:05.919
And I was like, isn't that one of the key modules within workday?
00:10:06.080 --> 00:10:08.080
Like, why are you not using workday for that?
00:10:08.240 --> 00:10:12.240
And it's just again, it was all reactive after the fact.
00:10:12.320 --> 00:10:19.039
Where if they had just sat down with us beforehand, we could have been like, Yeah, you know, you could do that through workday, or hey, workday can do X, Y, and Z for you.
00:10:19.120 --> 00:10:29.120
You could start these processes and fire off automations and stuff for you based on you know how you classify an employee and you know, things of that nature, they aren't using any of that.
00:10:29.279 --> 00:10:33.840
So now they've bought a Cadillac and um aren't getting the value out of.
00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:39.279
Yeah, I'll I'll also say when it comes to detection, since the original question was like, how do you tell misalignment?
00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:42.399
He's involved in every single piece of your business.
00:10:42.559 --> 00:10:52.159
Like when when I worked for Vista before Century, when I was an internal CIO, I knew what was going on in all the offices way more than any of the other executives.
00:10:52.399 --> 00:10:57.519
I was the only executive that had gone to like the Virginia office on a yearly basis.
00:10:57.679 --> 00:11:01.840
Some of the other executives hadn't ever been there in five or six years, right?
00:11:02.240 --> 00:11:11.039
Um, we talked to the people, they call us when they have their problems, and we talk to people at the lowest levels all the way up to the highest executive level.
00:11:11.360 --> 00:11:25.840
So usually I can see the disconnect, they feel the disconnect because someone in a remote office three states away is saying X, Y, and Z, but you know that there was an executive decision made that goes a different direction, and it's like, where was that breakdown?
00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:32.320
Yeah, but we see that type of stuff all the time um within operations, with within everything.
00:11:32.480 --> 00:11:38.960
Like if you really want to know how a company's doing, go to their IT department and they'll tell you all about it, probably.
00:11:39.039 --> 00:11:40.080
Not their HR department.
00:11:40.240 --> 00:11:46.799
Their HR department probably doesn't have the same level of access to all the individual users that IT does.
00:11:47.039 --> 00:11:49.440
Yeah, that's that that's exactly it.
00:11:49.519 --> 00:11:55.360
It sounds like you're saying that it if you if you want to know something, you know, check check on the nerds.
00:11:55.519 --> 00:12:00.559
They they see that stuff day in and day out and can actually see the holes that that are coming up.
00:12:00.720 --> 00:12:02.080
So uh Joe, go ahead.
00:12:02.320 --> 00:12:04.000
Yeah, I think John, you touched on something.
00:12:04.159 --> 00:12:07.600
You talked about, you know, from a software implementation standpoint.
00:12:07.840 --> 00:12:17.279
Have they spoken to you first, you know, then maybe you could have mapped out um more of the the the how behind the you know deployment.
00:12:17.440 --> 00:12:20.159
Um it's interesting from a business perspective, right?
00:12:20.240 --> 00:12:26.399
When teams aren't aligned and they're not thinking about uh three years from now, five years from now, where are we going?
00:12:26.559 --> 00:12:33.360
It's really hard to plan in advance if we're being very reactive and living day to day fire to fire, right?
00:12:33.519 --> 00:12:52.480
And so um just like from an IT perspective, I mean, if you understand where you're going as a team and you're aligned of where you're going as a team, then you can look at, okay, what technology shifts do we need to make as an organization to actually uh improve performance, right?
00:12:52.639 --> 00:12:57.600
I mean, the big thing that everybody wants to talk about is AI and how it's gonna change everything in the business.
00:12:57.759 --> 00:13:01.600
But, you know, it's kind of uh, you know, use the adage garbage in, garbage out.
00:13:01.679 --> 00:13:06.159
If we don't really have a plan on how we're gonna use it, then it's it's it's multiplying mistakes.
00:13:06.320 --> 00:13:14.320
It's you know, bad processes being run through AI uh, you know, uh ultimately amplify bad processes, right?
00:13:14.399 --> 00:13:23.120
You know, because the the human intervention in the middle uh actually says, hey, we don't we don't follow the process exactly the way we've defined the process.
00:13:23.200 --> 00:13:27.519
And as soon as you automate it, it's like, wow, okay, we just multiplied the mistakes.
00:13:27.600 --> 00:13:35.519
And so really uh teams that you know alignment uh only happens if we're sitting down and talking about where are we going?
00:13:35.600 --> 00:13:36.879
You know, why do we do what we do?
00:13:36.960 --> 00:13:38.080
Where where are we going?
00:13:38.240 --> 00:13:43.840
Uh what are our big initiatives and and you know, ultimately uh where are our biggest challenges?
00:13:43.919 --> 00:13:53.919
And are we willing to look in the mirror and and really acknowledge that hey, maybe we're growing, um, but we're not growing in a scalable fashion, right?
00:13:54.080 --> 00:13:55.440
And the two are not the same.
00:13:55.519 --> 00:13:56.000
So right.
00:13:57.519 --> 00:14:07.759
You're you're you've got some interesting uh statistics out on your website at igniting momentum um regarding how to how to drive value in a company.
00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:14.799
Um that uh you know aligned teams perform better and they also sell for more.
00:14:14.960 --> 00:14:29.200
So, you know, not all business owners are building something to sell, but I think every business owner would want to build build value in their business so that if it ever comes to that, you're well positioned for it.
00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:44.399
Um, what are some of the key factors that that business owners or business leaders who are wanting to build value in their business should take into consideration, particularly as it relates to technology?
00:14:44.720 --> 00:14:45.039
Okay.
00:14:45.279 --> 00:14:58.879
Um, well, I mean, from a business owner perspective, obviously, the more involved you're you are in the day-to-day decision making and operation of the business, the I'll say the the less valuable your business is, right?
00:14:59.039 --> 00:15:06.000
Because ultimately, um, if they're buying your business, they have to buy you in order for the business to continue to operate.
00:15:06.159 --> 00:15:16.320
And so the more the the the stronger the team, the better the vision, the the um I mean the structure of your agreements and and and contracts.
00:15:16.480 --> 00:15:25.440
I mean, obviously uh a lot of companies are doing business with people on you know managed service agreements and and therefore monthly recurring revenue.
00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:28.960
Um those all add uh value to the business.
00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:58.000
But when the business is you, right, you're the face of the business and you're involved in every day-to-day decision, then you know, they if you're gonna sell the company, uh either, you know, and oftentimes people make the decision to sell their business when they want to get out of their business because they're just tired or they're or they're looking for what's next, and and ultimately the business doesn't have that same valuation because you are so heavily involved in that business, right?
00:15:58.080 --> 00:16:14.480
So yeah, I read a book called Buy Back Your Time, and uh it's a really interesting concept about how, yeah, business owners can um or should kind of buy back their time, literally, because what you're doing is passing your work off to others into your team.
00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:18.639
It seems like that aligns really well with what what you just said.
00:16:18.960 --> 00:16:23.919
Well, and you know, oftentimes delegation is difficult if you don't trust your team, right?
00:16:24.080 --> 00:16:27.200
And how is trust built and how is trust earned?
00:16:27.440 --> 00:16:29.919
It's by ensuring we're on the same page.
00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:44.480
And so uh the more frequent, you know, conversation around our strategy and our vision and where we're going, and and not just telling them the vision and the strategy, but you know, making the leadership team a part of creating where are we going and why.
00:16:44.720 --> 00:16:48.480
Uh, you know, that's that's where you really start to see how people think.
00:16:48.720 --> 00:17:05.359
Um, and ultimately by agreeing, here's our priorities, we're gonna we're gonna do this before we do this, because we know we in order to get to our destination or to our you know, uh our end goal, that's uh, you know, these are the sequences or the steps, and we can only do so much.
00:17:05.599 --> 00:17:08.960
Most companies, you know, you're trying to actually operate the day-to-day business.
00:17:09.039 --> 00:17:14.720
And so the more objectives you put on top of a team that has has an actual daily function, you know.
00:17:14.880 --> 00:17:17.680
Um that that, you know, the more we try.
00:17:17.759 --> 00:17:23.119
I mean, we used to use the term at uh at work, uh, you know, we're trying to boil the ocean, right?
00:17:23.279 --> 00:17:23.440
Yeah.
00:17:23.599 --> 00:17:35.039
And it's really, it's you know, uh, the more we focused we can get and truly understand um these are our greatest priorities and wide, and we have to actually fix this before we do this.
00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:41.759
That allows the team to actually, you know, agree and and and and work together to get to that end goal.
00:17:41.839 --> 00:17:49.839
But from a valuation perspective and from a business owner perspective, it's hard to delegate when you don't have trust.
00:17:49.920 --> 00:17:54.160
And and you'll sometimes hear from business owners, I don't have the right people.
00:17:54.319 --> 00:17:57.200
And you're like, okay, how do you know that?
00:17:57.680 --> 00:17:58.720
You can change that.
00:17:59.039 --> 00:18:04.160
Yes, but yeah, but but honestly, the crazy thing is often you do it to the right people.
00:18:04.400 --> 00:18:06.559
You're just not including them in the conversation.
00:18:06.720 --> 00:18:11.680
And and many people require context to perform, right?
00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:14.799
They're not just tell me what to do, I'm gonna go do it.
00:18:14.880 --> 00:18:25.519
And and honestly, from a leadership perspective, most people that you hire to be a leader of a team, you know, a department inside the organization, what have you, um, probably aren't great order takers.
00:18:25.599 --> 00:18:27.599
That's how they got to be leaders.
00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:38.880
And so without context as to why are we doing what we're doing, you know, uh the average people hate to change, but it's not so much they don't like to change, they're being don't like being told to change.
00:18:39.039 --> 00:18:50.000
And so, you know, yeah, um, the the more the team's able to talk through topics and debate topics and get on the same page, the higher they're gonna, you know, uh higher performing they'll be.
00:18:50.079 --> 00:18:55.200
And so yeah, yeah, I've experienced that just in in platform adoption, right?
00:18:55.279 --> 00:19:06.000
When you're going from one major platform to another, if you don't have the people on the ground involved in the conversation from the beginning, they don't feel like they have a stake in its success.
00:19:06.799 --> 00:19:07.279
For sure.
00:19:07.680 --> 00:19:10.319
The same same type concept applies here.
00:19:10.640 --> 00:19:25.200
Well, and if you don't actually understand why you're doing, you know, the if the teams don't understand why you're implementing the the technology, then it's just changing their day-to-day and creates and oftentimes I'll say more work, right?
00:19:25.359 --> 00:19:32.720
But if they understand why, why are we doing what we're doing, why are we in embracing this technology or bringing it into the organization?
00:19:33.119 --> 00:19:48.319
Uh that learning curve, you know, I've been involved with several large technology deployments in my career uh in the uh early 2000s, like huge SAP implementation at uh my one of my early employers.
00:19:48.559 --> 00:19:55.200
And uh the productivity of the team when that went live probably went 30% backwards, right?
00:19:55.440 --> 00:19:57.279
Before it propelled forward.
00:19:57.440 --> 00:20:00.720
I mean, you know, you go from one software system to another.
00:20:00.880 --> 00:20:08.079
It no matter how much you train in advance, there's you know, just that that comfort level with the old systems, right?
00:20:08.559 --> 00:20:14.319
And frustration and yeah, you know, and in order to fight through it, you have to see the big picture at the end, right?
00:20:14.640 --> 00:20:18.720
Yeah, that's that's that's where communication and cohesion come in.
00:20:19.039 --> 00:20:22.000
I think what I see uh is actually it's kind of funny.
00:20:22.160 --> 00:20:26.319
I was just with some of the AI systems and all that, context is key.
00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:37.680
And I love how you put that because a lot of people I think that's why a lot of AI implementations fail, is um not just do the humans not have the context, the AI system doesn't have the context.
00:20:37.920 --> 00:20:45.599
And I think that's just a huge failure in a lot of the medium-sized, the the second stage size businesses is they aren't relaying the context.
00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:51.359
It's not necessarily the step-by-step how to do something or the uh, you know, the the process as much.
00:20:51.519 --> 00:20:53.599
I mean, yes, and there's there are process failures.
00:20:53.680 --> 00:20:55.839
There are times where the process could be better, right?
00:20:55.920 --> 00:20:58.079
Or the process hasn't really been proven.
00:20:58.400 --> 00:21:02.000
But the context behind it, I see that on both sides of the fence.
00:21:02.160 --> 00:21:05.759
The employees just don't have the context and the AI doesn't have the context.
00:21:06.079 --> 00:21:08.000
It's kind of interesting the way you put it there.
00:21:08.079 --> 00:21:13.200
Because I it it I see it from both sides, from the technology side and the humanistic side.
00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:14.880
Yeah, for sure.
00:21:15.119 --> 00:21:20.240
And you know, got context plays the big part in uh getting people on the same page.
00:21:20.480 --> 00:21:28.640
And and if you think about it, right, there's so much opportunity to innovate on an idea if you bring people into it.
00:21:29.119 --> 00:21:47.519
So the initial idea when talked through with uh a team of five to seven uh people that have different subject matter expertise and have different purview inside the organization, you bring them together, you know, instead of fighting the ideas, talking about all the ways we can make it better.
00:21:47.680 --> 00:21:49.119
You know, I love that, John.
00:21:49.279 --> 00:21:51.759
And if we did this, it would make it better, you know.
00:21:52.079 --> 00:21:57.119
And it's it's bringing everybody into the loop and and having that conversation.
00:21:57.359 --> 00:21:59.759
Um, they're just significant products.
00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:05.759
Activity increases over having, you know, people be a part of the conversation and really wrap their minds around why.
00:22:06.960 --> 00:22:17.599
And uh essentially, you know, uh unclear ownership uh plays a huge role in in a lot of this, where a lot of you guys are saying the same thing where it's just you need that North Star.
00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:28.559
And especially if you're bringing AI or technology into the conversation, you know, AI has the ability to look back, but it doesn't have the ability to look forward like humans can, right?
00:22:28.720 --> 00:22:32.480
And you're talking about getting people in a room and hashing it out.
00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:34.960
No, I think it should be this way, no, it should be this way.
00:22:35.119 --> 00:22:40.480
And, you know, there's that strife and that pushback, but a lot of that can lead to some gold, it sounds like.
00:22:40.799 --> 00:22:45.440
Well, I think for sure that debating the topics is key.
00:22:45.599 --> 00:22:52.240
I think having your IT leadership in leadership conversations is necessary, right?
00:22:52.480 --> 00:23:01.279
You know, I I've heard some companies talking about how they have plans around how they're going to use AI in the business, and it's they're just leaving it to the IT team.
00:23:01.359 --> 00:23:04.880
And while due respect to the IT team, you know what I mean?
00:23:05.039 --> 00:23:11.759
They don't necessarily see everything the same way the the people in the and so it's not one or the other, right?
00:23:11.839 --> 00:23:16.480
It'd be terrible if the if the leadership team just pushed this is how we're gonna do it, right?
00:23:16.559 --> 00:23:33.200
And at the same time, uh, you know, leaving it to a team of people to to solve big picture challenges without the um knowledge and and you know um interaction of the others, right?
00:23:33.359 --> 00:23:34.000
Yeah, yeah.
00:23:34.640 --> 00:23:38.640
Yeah, I think um, you know, personal attitude has a lot to do with that too.
00:23:38.720 --> 00:23:59.680
When you're gathering people in a room to talk about objectives and long-term strategy, um, I've heard you know, pushback expressed in the form of, well, we can't do that because when really what leadership wants to hear is, well, if we're going to do that, this is the best way to accomplish that, right?
00:24:00.160 --> 00:24:05.519
So having that positive attitude, I think, is uh critical.
00:24:05.680 --> 00:24:10.559
But that again is having the right people in the room with the right motivations.
00:24:10.720 --> 00:24:11.039
Yeah.
00:24:11.119 --> 00:24:14.400
I I think uh I've been on both sides of that seat, obviously.
00:24:14.480 --> 00:24:21.200
Now I'm I'm working with leadership teams, and so it's uh always a unique uh viewpoint.
00:24:21.359 --> 00:24:30.400
I'm the one asking questions and and you know, listening to and interacting and conversations, and and and like that from that perspective, it's definitely interesting.
00:24:30.559 --> 00:24:44.480
Um on the other side though, you know, prior to that I was in senior leadership roles, and and really um I don't know that any senior leadership people want to say, you know, but we can't do that, right?
00:24:44.640 --> 00:24:52.480
You know, there there's always um, I think the attitude around, okay, how can we is always uh better received.
00:24:52.559 --> 00:24:57.200
So even if we don't have the answers, and and that's another huge part of leadership, right?
00:24:57.279 --> 00:25:03.119
Just because you started the company doesn't mean you're always gonna have all the answers, and your team's not looking at leaders.
00:25:03.440 --> 00:25:16.880
So it's also you know that vulnerability to to know, uh hey guys, I know we need to embrace technology, you know, AI is the the the common conversation today, you know, like every day.
00:25:17.039 --> 00:25:19.759
Um, but technology as a whole, right?
00:25:19.839 --> 00:25:38.160
Like, you know, I um I was in our in a conversation last week and I was talking about if you if you had asked HVAC companies 10 years ago, 15 years ago, did you think do you think your techs can use a point of sale device on their calls?
00:25:38.319 --> 00:25:40.960
You know, they would have all told you you're you're crazy.
00:25:41.119 --> 00:25:43.599
And now you get an AC tech, you know.
00:25:43.759 --> 00:25:46.799
I live in Florida, so AC techs are common here.
00:25:46.880 --> 00:25:51.920
But you know, I mean, it's like literally they come out, they diagnose the issue, they're showing it to you.
00:25:52.559 --> 00:26:00.559
You, you know, you're you're seeing what the estimate is, and and in real time, you know, the homeowner is signing off on the job.
00:26:00.720 --> 00:26:03.920
If there were parts in inventory, the parts are coming out inventory.
00:26:04.079 --> 00:26:09.119
The ownership knows exactly how much revenue they've generated at that point in the day.
00:26:09.279 --> 00:26:15.359
I mean, and though those are huge technology advancements that really aren't that complicated to embrace.
00:26:15.519 --> 00:26:23.839
But if you had asked them 10 years ago if they thought that was reality or a possibility, I'm sure you would have heard a lot of doubt from many companies.
00:26:23.920 --> 00:26:29.519
And so uh we're capable of so much more than we allow ourselves to feel.
00:26:29.680 --> 00:26:37.839
And so sometimes, you know, pushing ourselves out of that comfort zone as a team and saying, okay, we don't know how we're gonna bring this into the organization.
00:26:38.079 --> 00:27:04.960
We know we need to, and then starting that conversation and looking at, okay, hey, you know, what are the areas that we could, you know, make the largest impact if we were just to automate this one process or we were to, you know, bring this in here and just start the conversation because uh, you know, change is is uncomfortable and you know, growth is uncomfortable and and you know, uh people are kind of often stuck in their ways.
00:27:05.039 --> 00:27:16.880
And so technology pushes people out of their comfort zone, and that's understandable, but to to say we're not gonna do it, you know, is is crazy too, because you're you're gonna lose a tremendous advantage to your competition.
00:27:17.119 --> 00:27:18.240
It's it's like a muscle, right?
00:27:18.559 --> 00:27:20.720
It's atrophies if you don't use it, you know.
00:27:20.960 --> 00:27:22.319
Uh go ahead, John.
00:27:22.559 --> 00:27:23.920
Yeah, let me ask you a quick question on that.
00:27:24.079 --> 00:27:33.359
Um, how much do you see the leadership teams that you've been working with lately embrace uh training and upscaling their own employees?
00:27:33.519 --> 00:27:38.319
Like, are you seeing that as something they're really looking at or how to do that?
00:27:38.559 --> 00:27:42.960
I find that a lot of technology adoption and especially the AI adoptions lately fail.
00:27:43.200 --> 00:28:01.119
Uh, big portion is because there may be a small team at the corporate office that really understands what's going on, but they don't actually have a great way to train the rest of the employees on how to do what needs to get done or why, like you said, the context of why is important too, but the how sometimes is an issue.
00:28:01.200 --> 00:28:05.839
And I'm curious how are you how you're seeing leadership teams address that and how that's kind of working.
00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:06.240
Yeah.
00:28:06.480 --> 00:28:28.480
I mean, I honestly maybe it's because companies that engage me um believe in in developing themselves and therefore the team, but uh, you know, it's not typically a conversation around it's usually more the the conversations around when can we do these things, right?
00:28:28.559 --> 00:28:34.880
You know, because they understand that it's a it's an investment in the technology, it's an investment in their team.
00:28:35.039 --> 00:28:42.480
Um, you know, and as I said earlier, everybody's got their day-to-day, you know, uh role to focus on.
00:28:42.559 --> 00:28:46.960
And so adding these different things on top of it, it's like, okay, hey, how do we do it?
00:28:47.200 --> 00:28:48.160
When can we do it?
00:28:48.240 --> 00:28:52.319
And how we do it at the minimal disruption to the to the organization.
00:28:52.480 --> 00:28:59.440
But I did have a conversation with uh someone last week that uh uh they estimated they could improve.
00:28:59.599 --> 00:29:11.039
Um, you know, that they spent the they they spend about 35 to 50 percent of their time uh trying to get answers to information that really could be in a centralized uh system.
00:29:11.839 --> 00:29:27.839
And so just if you think about it from that perspective, that you know, a team like that could increase productivity at least 50%, if not 100%, uh, you know, uh just by automating some things and having one centralized source of truth, right?
00:29:27.920 --> 00:29:51.680
And so um, but the decision to push forward with such an initiative is you know, there's upfront resources and capital expenses to to build things out before you can then turn around to trade people on them, and then you know what's the productivity stall in the beginning, if you will, as people are learning new things, and so um that's really it's more balancing how and when um versus should they.
00:29:52.079 --> 00:30:01.519
So if we're looking at this from and taking a step back, uh what are if if you're a business owner listening, what's one practical takeaway?
00:30:01.839 --> 00:30:05.200
What is one conversation that they should have with their leadership team this week?
00:30:05.440 --> 00:30:06.480
That's a tough one.
00:30:06.720 --> 00:30:10.400
Um they should have with their leadership team this week.
00:30:10.640 --> 00:30:18.079
Well, I'm gonna hope that they're having a weekly leadership team meeting and that they're all on the same page solving problems together.
00:30:18.240 --> 00:30:36.559
Um, but uh I I'd probably take a step back and and ask, um, you know, what are the the pieces of our business that uh uh could be um automated or um uh made more efficient?
00:30:36.799 --> 00:30:40.720
Um, you know, growth is not scaling, right?
00:30:40.799 --> 00:30:43.839
You can be a growing company and not be scalable.
00:30:44.000 --> 00:30:51.279
And so really looking at it and saying, okay, um, what are the areas of our business that we could just make better, right?
00:30:51.440 --> 00:31:12.400
Even their manual processes, automated processes, and and um and just uh look at how do we simplify what we're doing and automate it as best we can so that uh I mean ultimately you'd be increasing the value of your business if you can uh simplify it and and make it more repeatable and scalable.
00:31:12.640 --> 00:31:12.880
Yeah.
00:31:13.359 --> 00:31:13.599
Yeah.
00:31:13.839 --> 00:31:26.240
So it sounds like it's more of uh, you know, keep the conversations going no matter what, and keep that line of communication open and uh don't be afraid of change uh when when it's needed.
00:31:26.400 --> 00:31:28.480
So um thank you so much for your time, Joe.
00:31:28.559 --> 00:31:29.759
We really appreciate it.
00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:41.920
Um we'll um we would love to have you back for uh a part two here because I know that there's a couple things that we definitely didn't get to, um, but I know that uh our listeners would love to hear.
00:31:42.079 --> 00:31:45.599
So um thanks again for your time and uh we'll chat you up soon.
00:31:45.839 --> 00:31:46.319
Sounds great.
00:31:46.400 --> 00:31:47.279
Thank you for having me on today.
00:31:47.440 --> 00:31:48.000
Thank you, Joe.
00:31:48.319 --> 00:31:50.559
All right, so it is now tool time.
00:31:50.720 --> 00:31:53.759
Let's go ahead and get our tool time for the month.
00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:55.359
Eddie, what do you have for us?
00:31:55.680 --> 00:32:04.880
Well, I have uh noticed, and probably everyone on the planet has noticed, that uh every browser under the sun is pushing AI.
00:32:04.960 --> 00:32:16.079
Uh, and there's been some concern, and rightly so, that uh, you know, are they using my searches and my information to train these AI mechanisms?
00:32:16.319 --> 00:32:26.640
Um and so I got I started doing a little digging, and you know, there are ways to disable the use of your information when training AI.
00:32:26.720 --> 00:32:35.680
Um, but it seems as though most of the browsers, once they get an update, they they all say, well, it could be reset without you being made aware of it.
00:32:35.920 --> 00:33:12.000
So that was a little frustrating, and then I saw um, well, you know, I know Firefox has a uh higher leaning towards security, so it seems to be a little bit easier on Firefox, but then Duck DuckGoon just released one called No AI, and I uh I'm in the process of ticking the tires on that a little bit, but it it seems to me like um for those who are wanting to avoid um in any way, shape, or form, or certainly having your your private searches and data used uh to train AI, that that seems like a good option.
00:33:12.160 --> 00:33:15.759
So, you know, this is not a commercial, just kind of let up experience.
00:33:16.319 --> 00:33:17.440
Yeah, absolutely.
00:33:17.599 --> 00:33:20.160
And it's good that folks have that option, right?
00:33:20.319 --> 00:33:25.759
Because AI is pretty much being rammed down our throats with just about everything and everywhere else.
00:33:25.920 --> 00:33:33.599
So to have an alternative that you know, Pinky promises not to not to use AI and stuff like that, um, it's definitely worth uh checking out.
00:33:33.759 --> 00:33:34.880
So thanks a lot for that.
00:33:34.960 --> 00:33:35.519
We appreciate it.
00:33:35.839 --> 00:33:39.039
All right, that wraps up this episode of Sh IT Happens.
00:33:39.519 --> 00:33:48.480
Today's conversation is a good reminder that most IT problems do not start with crashes or hacks, they start with small business decisions that quietly add up over time.
00:33:49.039 --> 00:33:55.440
A subscription no one knows about, a system no one reviews, a process that only works because one person knows the workaround.
00:33:56.240 --> 00:34:03.359
The goal of this show is to help you spot those moments earlier, ask better questions, and use technology to support your business growth rather than slow it down.
00:34:04.079 --> 00:34:13.840
If you want help applying what you heard today, or you are dealing with something that feels like it might turn into a bigger issue, you can reach out to Eddie Clark at SolveIT or at Sentry Technology Solutions.
00:34:13.920 --> 00:34:14.719
So thanks for listening.
00:34:14.960 --> 00:34:15.519
We'll see you next time.
