WEBVTT
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Grab a mug, settle in, let the conversation begin.
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Talking public sector tech, keeping all the systems
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checked. Tech Talk with Tim. Greetings, and welcome
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to Tech Talks with Tim. My name is Tim Galuzzi,
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and I have the honor of serving as the State
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Chief Information Officer for the State of Nevada.
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This is our second episode of Tech Talks with
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Tim, and we have a special guest today, the Director
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of our Office of Project Management here at the
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State of Nevada, Director Brian Bowles. Welcome,
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Brian. Thank you, Tim. Why don't you go ahead
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and give us an introduction of yourself and tell
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us a little bit about your role and how you came
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to... Rise up to it. Thanks. To start, I was
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born right here in Carson City, Nevada. My family
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goes back, depending on which side you go, four
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or five generations here in northern Nevada.
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So I was raised in Reno, so I'm a local kid.
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Graduated high school in the 19th century and
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promptly jumped into hotel management jobs. College
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wasn't the thing for me at the time. Even though
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I really loved it, I was way more interested
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in doing other things. That brought me into deciding
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to go have an adventure and enlist in the United
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States Coast Guard, which I did when I was in
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my 20s. I had an amazing whirlwind time learning
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about myself, learning about my country, service
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to my country, chasing drug smugglers in the
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Caribbean, doing search and rescue off of New
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York City and in the sound out there. It was
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an amazing time. I came back to raise my family
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back home and was lucky enough to get a job with
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the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. in the
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Compliance Enforcement Division as a sworn law
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enforcement officer. I stayed there for 13 years
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doing investigations in ivy theft and fraud and
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the vehicle industry, regulating that, and that
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brought me to getting back to my love of boats
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and search and rescue and saving people when
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a job with the Nevada Department of Wildlife
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came up as a boating law administrator for the
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state of Nevada. As a game warden, so both law
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enforcement and then being able to run search
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and rescue and boating law enforcement for the
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state, I had the privilege of then re -liazing
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with the United States Coast Guard, who pays
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for that grant across the nation and becoming
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the state's representative to the Coast Guard
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to ensure that that mission gets fulfilled in
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the state of Nevada. From there, I got a call
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one day from one of my former bosses. And they
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said, we need some help and somebody who can
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run an office. I know you can run an office,
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but you don't need to know anything about the
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technical aspects of what's going on. You just
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need to come in here and make sure that the budget
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is handled and that you can do the HR stuff.
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And I need you here on Monday. And I showed up
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at the Office of Project Management within 72
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hours ready to tackle a new challenge. And it
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happened to be the... state's ERP implementation,
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which at that point in time was called SMART
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21. That's kind of the short story of how I got
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in this chair today. What an incredible journey
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of service, right? So first service to your nation
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and then service to the state of Nevada, right?
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I think that there's definitely some similarities.
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on both of our paths there, right? I think in
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episode one, I talked a little bit about my journey
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into state service and it followed a similar
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path through the Marine Corps and my call to
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service there that led me to the state of Nevada.
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So how much of an adjustment was it for you going
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from the Department of Wildlife into leading
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a role that was really heading up an office?
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that was in charge of one of the largest IT implementations
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across the entire executive branch? Well, it
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was whiplash, to put it mildly. And if I had
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known what I was getting into, it would have
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felt even stronger. Because I think I didn't
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suffer from a whole lot of understanding of the
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breadth of what I was getting myself into. I
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was coming in to do what I thought was a relatively
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smaller job than the one that I eventually took
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on. And that was just to maintain an office for
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the state, kind of hold down the administrative
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side of things while the technical folks got
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on with their business of doing the project.
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And as it turned out, that turned out to be something
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that I needed to move into. We had some leadership
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challenges and personnel challenges early on.
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I think we'll probably talk about later the whole
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evolution of the state's process through this
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ERP implementation. I was quickly plunged into
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the leading role with a vacuum in leadership,
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and I had to learn from day one everything to
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do with the tech world, what is an ERP, what
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is it that the state is trying to do here, and
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then build my team and go. Yeah, so I guess that's
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a beautiful segue into that question. What is
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an ERP? Yeah. You know, we have a pretty broad
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audience. And, you know, an ERP, it might be
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a foreign concept. So why don't you kind of dive
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into what exactly is an ERP? Sure. So ERP stands
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for Enterprise Resource Planning. And it's a
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designation for, I have now learned, a broad
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range of software products that allow companies
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or agencies, jurisdictions, whether they be at
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the state level or municipal, to manage their
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resources, whether they be human resources or
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fiscal resources. and all of the different ways
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in which we do that at the state level or at
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any level, really. Money's always coming in.
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Money's going out. And you have to track every
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dime. You have to track everything that you do
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with all of your people. You need to hire people.
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You need to fire people sometimes. You're promoting
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them. You're doing all of the things that involve
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everything that a state runs on. It's truly a
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piece of software that is the backbone of any
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organization because it's how they pay the bills.
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And that's how they think keep things coming
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in and out on a daily basis and you know, I think
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that really speaks particularly to the government
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mission, right? Because we live on transparency
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and being able to really articulate what is happening
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to the resources that we're entrusted to protect,
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right? And that key resource that we're entrusted
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to protect by our constituency is those taxpayer
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dollars. And ERP really just enables us to do
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that. Absolutely. It enables us to do it in like
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one spot in one system. As public servants, we
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are given the public trust and charged with shepherding
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all of those dollars and all of these people
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that we have to do that work in order to meet
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that public trust and provide service to our
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constituents and make Nevada a better place.
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So while an ERP isn't really sexy in the... grand
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scheme of things, it's not really on the tip
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of the spear of providing that service, whether
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it's a cop showing up to a hot call or whether
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it's a social worker providing aid for a family
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in need. The ERP is the tool that allows the
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support of all of those functions across the
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entire state enterprise. I think it's sometimes
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lost on people that Those operational type duties,
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whether it be providing direct services to constituents,
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either in law enforcement or social services,
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there's a business behind all of that that needs
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to be conducted, whether that business is the
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business of IT or more of the traditional business
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of accounting and finance and whatnot that really
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needs to be supported. The state has... I wouldn't
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want to say a tumultuous history when it comes
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to ERP implementations, but it's definitely a
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colorful one. There was a not so successful former
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implementation with Smart 21. And so there was
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a lot of pressure on you and your team to get
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this right. So can you talk to me a little bit
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about that and what it was like kind of coming
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into this office, coming into this role and kind
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of the... How you approach that as you kind of
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drove into your phase one alpha and the planning
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that led up to that? Certainly. So that was in
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the beginning of 2023 when I first came into
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the Office of Project Management. And at that
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time, the Smart 21 project had been languishing
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for about a year. If your listeners don't know,
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that was the state's first try at replacing our
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old legacy payroll, HR, accounting systems. And
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it was not going well. I guess to call it a failure
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is just to call it what it was. It was a failure
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at that point. And it was up to me and the new
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leadership team that was supporting me and my
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team to make the determination about Smart 21.
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Is this something that we try to finish out or
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is it too far gone and we need to start over?
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And eventually we made the decision to start
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over, which is a tough decision to make. because
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we had to roll back to those legacy systems and
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rely on them and those are the very things we
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were trying to trying to replace that summer
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we were in a spot where we were rolling out of
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a contract with a vendor that had its challenges
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and we didn't have a vendor on the horizon we
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didn't have a procurement vehicle in order to
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you know legally go and get a new software company
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engaged for the state and You may remember at
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the time we had to downsize our office because
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there wasn't all that project implementation
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work to do. I found myself in the summer of 2023
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with myself and seven other staff members trying
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to figure that all out. And the main thing that
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I did, because I was in a learning space and
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I knew a lot of my team was in a learning space,
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was we're all going back to school. And the thing
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that I felt had been lacking in the previous
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iteration was... reliance on bedrock project
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management principles and so I sent myself and
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a bunch of our other leaders through project
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management class and a bunch of us got certified
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we are all speaking the same language and then
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we just started pushing and ended up getting
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in contract by that September and away we went
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nice all right getting that project management
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foundational experience. I think that, you know,
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level setting, at least the vernacular across
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that core team, I think that probably set a solid
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foundation for you guys to kind of build off
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of and help the rest of your team moving forward.
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You had already had made the decision at that
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point that we needed to look for a new solution,
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but whatever we were going to do, we had to move
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fast. Yes. And, you know, in the military, We're
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taught slow is smooth, smooth is fast, and now
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we're kind of flipping that on its head because
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now we have to move fast, but we also have to
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get it right. And so were there any changes that
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you had to really envision on the way that the
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next iteration of this project was really governed
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and managed versus the first attempt? Yes. The
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first and most important decision the state made
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was in the right partner. with that vendor coming
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on. And while I wasn't intimately involved in
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selecting that partner, I got to say my colleagues
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on that committee got it right. And thankfully,
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the one major change that we had to do, I think,
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is we had to break a few rules early on. Normally,
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there would be a large lead up to a project of
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this type where you gather requirements and et
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cetera. But as you say, our timeline did not
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allow us that luxury. We had to go in. intentionally
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and treat our vendor as our equal partner, which
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often doesn't happen in public service. You see
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vendors being treated as if they are just someone
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who's providing you a good or service, not somebody
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whose opinion matters equally. And the state
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was in a position where we had to trust that
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vendor and that product to give us that functionality
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day one with their out -of -the -box solution,
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and we had to put ourselves in their hands, so
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to speak. and treat them equally with that collaboration
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and trust. And that's the kind of bedrock that
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I began our relationship with our vendor. And
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that thankfully has paid off dividends for the
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state because we have managed to be successful
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throughout that. Yeah. And, you know, across
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the states, we're starting to see a shift when
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it comes to procurement of IT solutions in our
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vendor community. And there are states that are
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doing it really well where it's We're going to
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the vendor community and understanding that state
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governments, local governments, we don't have
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millions of dollars to spend on research and
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development. So we're really beginning to understand
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that we need to lean on our vendor community
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to provide that research and development for
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us. You cannot modernize. state and local government
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IT systems by writing RFPs based off of the way
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that we've done it for the past 20 years. If
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you're going through legacy applications step
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by step and saying and using those steps to write
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your RFPs, all you're going to get is a shiny
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new version of what you've had for the past 20
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years. And my standpoint is let's let the vendor
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community figure out how to modernize these systems.
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Yes. The end state needs to be really dictated
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by the government, by our requirements. Yes,
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there are still going to be cybersecurity requirements
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to protect state data, state infrastructure.
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Yes, there might be some integration requirements
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that we can hold the vendor to. Writing requirements
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to your old processes is just paving the cow
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path. That's exactly what we did with our old
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system that we were replacing. We just used our
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old paper process and paved it over into digital
00:14:06.659 --> 00:14:09.059
form. And that's what we were not trying to do
00:14:09.059 --> 00:14:12.700
this time. And so I'm sure that that didn't make
00:14:12.700 --> 00:14:15.740
a lot of friends across the departments around
00:14:15.740 --> 00:14:17.580
the state that had kind of married themselves
00:14:17.580 --> 00:14:19.879
to the way that they've always done things. And
00:14:19.879 --> 00:14:22.600
that's very true. But at the same time, I think
00:14:22.600 --> 00:14:24.720
everybody in the state knew that it was time
00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:27.360
for a change, that we were struggling with the
00:14:27.360 --> 00:14:30.730
old solution. and we needed something new. There
00:14:30.730 --> 00:14:32.769
were a lot of leaders that were very proactive
00:14:32.769 --> 00:14:35.230
in saying, we know this is going to hurt, and
00:14:35.230 --> 00:14:37.509
it might hurt for a while, but we need to rip
00:14:37.509 --> 00:14:39.769
the Band -Aid off and do something new. On the
00:14:39.769 --> 00:14:42.570
other hand, there were resistors that were upsetting
00:14:42.570 --> 00:14:45.830
their entire career's worth of experience, essentially.
00:14:46.110 --> 00:14:49.090
And that's understandable. If you work 25 years
00:14:49.090 --> 00:14:51.210
doing the same thing with the same tools, and
00:14:51.210 --> 00:14:53.330
someone comes along and rips those out of your
00:14:53.330 --> 00:14:55.980
hand, you're going to be upset. But thankfully,
00:14:56.100 --> 00:14:58.539
with the leadership alignment we've had here
00:14:58.539 --> 00:15:00.700
in the state, we've been able to push past that.
00:15:00.879 --> 00:15:03.600
Right. And you obviously mentioned leadership
00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:07.539
alignment are up to the very top, right? So Governor
00:15:07.539 --> 00:15:12.059
Lombardo has definitely set as one of his tenets,
00:15:12.059 --> 00:15:15.320
one of his visions is that we operate as one
00:15:15.320 --> 00:15:18.379
Nevada, as one employer, as one organization.
00:15:19.419 --> 00:15:23.539
And, you know, I think a platform like a... ERP
00:15:23.539 --> 00:15:27.279
really highlights that. Absolutely. We actually
00:15:27.279 --> 00:15:30.419
took that slogan from the governor and co -opted
00:15:30.419 --> 00:15:35.700
it into our own marketing and OCM effort, Organizational
00:15:35.700 --> 00:15:37.720
Change Management, for those of you who don't
00:15:37.720 --> 00:15:41.259
know that acronym. The ERP is the perfect platform
00:15:41.259 --> 00:15:43.740
for One Nevada because it really is a central
00:15:43.740 --> 00:15:46.899
system in which all of the agencies of the executive
00:15:46.899 --> 00:15:50.820
branch for the state participate in. And all
00:15:50.820 --> 00:15:53.669
of us doing the same thing. in the same way and
00:15:53.669 --> 00:15:55.789
that standardization effort is going to bring
00:15:55.789 --> 00:15:58.350
more efficiency for the state and we hope in
00:15:58.350 --> 00:16:00.009
turn that's going to provide more efficiency
00:16:00.009 --> 00:16:03.470
for the services that we provide yeah and when
00:16:03.470 --> 00:16:07.830
i'm looking at my statewide i .t strategy an
00:16:07.830 --> 00:16:11.029
erp is really in line with that as well one of
00:16:11.029 --> 00:16:14.049
the things that we're looking at as as far as
00:16:14.720 --> 00:16:17.659
our it strategy statewide and this is in alignment
00:16:17.659 --> 00:16:19.700
with our cyber security strategies we're trying
00:16:19.700 --> 00:16:22.639
to reduce complication we're trying to reduce
00:16:22.639 --> 00:16:25.519
the amount of disparate tools that we have across
00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:27.799
the executive branch to really just simplify
00:16:27.799 --> 00:16:32.379
our it landscape to ensure that if if an individual
00:16:32.379 --> 00:16:34.840
gets promoted from one department to another
00:16:34.840 --> 00:16:37.600
department that they have the same common toolkit
00:16:38.509 --> 00:16:40.610
when they move on from one department to another,
00:16:40.789 --> 00:16:42.970
so they have less time that they have to ramp
00:16:42.970 --> 00:16:45.429
up and learn a new toolkit. In our world, we
00:16:45.429 --> 00:16:47.809
want those cybersecurity practitioners, those
00:16:47.809 --> 00:16:51.090
IT practitioners to be efficient and effective
00:16:51.090 --> 00:16:54.049
in their new department, their new agency as
00:16:54.049 --> 00:16:56.509
rapidly as possible. I'm sure in the world of
00:16:56.509 --> 00:16:59.909
ERP, we want those fiscal agents, those HR agents
00:16:59.909 --> 00:17:03.009
to be just as efficient and effective in the
00:17:03.009 --> 00:17:05.609
same way. Absolutely. When you set a standard
00:17:05.609 --> 00:17:07.910
for how a process is going to go, an accounting
00:17:07.910 --> 00:17:11.009
process, for example, and then you give every
00:17:11.009 --> 00:17:13.410
accountant or accounting assistant in the state
00:17:13.410 --> 00:17:16.609
the exact same tool and the exact same playbook,
00:17:16.789 --> 00:17:19.490
then you can pick them up out of one agency and
00:17:19.490 --> 00:17:21.670
put them down in another agency as they get promoted
00:17:21.670 --> 00:17:24.049
in their career and they know exactly what to
00:17:24.049 --> 00:17:26.730
do and where to go and who to call and how to
00:17:26.730 --> 00:17:28.910
make that system really put it through its paces
00:17:28.910 --> 00:17:32.089
to get their job done from day one. So you're
00:17:32.089 --> 00:17:34.230
not having to relearn that new tool set, like
00:17:34.230 --> 00:17:36.230
you say. It's definitely a way that we're going
00:17:36.230 --> 00:17:38.859
to get more efficient. Yeah. And, you know, obviously
00:17:38.859 --> 00:17:41.920
I don't think there's too many people that don't
00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:44.420
know about our cybersecurity challenges over
00:17:44.420 --> 00:17:46.779
the past year. But for us, one of the reasons
00:17:46.779 --> 00:17:49.079
that we want to simplify is because it actually
00:17:49.079 --> 00:17:51.579
reduces the amount of potential attack vectors
00:17:51.579 --> 00:17:54.759
when it comes to cybersecurity threats. If we
00:17:54.759 --> 00:17:57.279
reduce the amount of attack vectors, it makes
00:17:57.279 --> 00:18:00.799
protecting the state of Nevada simpler and easier.
00:18:01.059 --> 00:18:04.720
And so that's it's really ringing the bell. It
00:18:04.720 --> 00:18:09.420
makes my my. CIO and cybersecurity heart happy
00:18:09.420 --> 00:18:14.039
when I hear about standardization and good, solid
00:18:14.039 --> 00:18:17.440
governance. Speaking of governance, you recently
00:18:17.440 --> 00:18:21.140
had a pretty good LinkedIn post that I want to
00:18:21.140 --> 00:18:24.019
kind of chat about a little bit. It's entitled,
00:18:24.160 --> 00:18:27.539
When Governance Has to Grow Up. Yes. And so as
00:18:27.539 --> 00:18:34.809
the ERP... project is maturing as we we are rolling
00:18:34.809 --> 00:18:37.809
through the phases we're getting toward and you've
00:18:37.809 --> 00:18:40.990
got products that are reaching operationalization
00:18:40.990 --> 00:18:45.549
you know how does that change how we approach
00:18:45.549 --> 00:18:48.529
governance and communications with these products
00:18:48.529 --> 00:18:51.369
well for us it's been a challenge certainly at
00:18:51.369 --> 00:18:55.410
opm as a project implementation team to realize
00:18:55.410 --> 00:18:59.299
all of a sudden that we have product support
00:18:59.299 --> 00:19:05.099
in live production. And the agencies that previously
00:19:05.099 --> 00:19:08.660
had the ownership of that function who had been
00:19:08.660 --> 00:19:11.980
outside of our particular game in supporting
00:19:11.980 --> 00:19:15.099
that tool as we implemented it, we're now needing
00:19:15.099 --> 00:19:17.900
to take full responsibility over that tool and
00:19:17.900 --> 00:19:20.319
that function. there's been a lot of growing
00:19:20.319 --> 00:19:22.759
pains in this transition. Because not only are
00:19:22.759 --> 00:19:24.799
we still in project implementation phase with
00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:27.660
phase two and bringing new agencies in with their
00:19:27.660 --> 00:19:30.279
ownership of their particular areas, but we have
00:19:30.279 --> 00:19:33.700
our two major customers within the state executive
00:19:33.700 --> 00:19:36.299
branch who are going through their own growing
00:19:36.299 --> 00:19:38.579
pains of learning to use a new tool and learning
00:19:38.579 --> 00:19:41.019
to teach that new tool to all of the constituent
00:19:41.019 --> 00:19:42.980
agencies that rely on them to set the standard.
00:19:43.299 --> 00:19:47.880
And the trade -off of our expertise And their
00:19:47.880 --> 00:19:51.680
authority has been in fits and starts. And so
00:19:51.680 --> 00:19:55.200
my post was really about that transition, about
00:19:55.200 --> 00:19:57.839
when you have to really realize that the governance
00:19:57.839 --> 00:20:00.680
of those functions is now back where it belongs
00:20:00.680 --> 00:20:03.500
in the agencies that have the statutory charge
00:20:03.500 --> 00:20:07.000
to do that. So we have had to intentionally take
00:20:07.000 --> 00:20:12.299
a step back at OPM and say, whereas six months
00:20:12.299 --> 00:20:14.579
ago, I would have made all the decisions on this
00:20:14.579 --> 00:20:17.380
particular area because it's... not a fully done
00:20:17.380 --> 00:20:20.700
project or product yet. I have to take a step
00:20:20.700 --> 00:20:22.819
back and say, that's not my job anymore. There
00:20:22.819 --> 00:20:25.539
are agency leaders that need to make those decisions
00:20:25.539 --> 00:20:27.759
for themselves because it's now theirs. Yeah.
00:20:27.859 --> 00:20:30.519
I can imagine that sometimes it's kind of hard
00:20:30.519 --> 00:20:33.039
to let it go, right? Like you grew this thing.
00:20:33.059 --> 00:20:36.559
It's like your baby, right? And now it's kind
00:20:36.559 --> 00:20:39.259
of walking off and kind of growing up a little
00:20:39.259 --> 00:20:41.700
bit, right? That's absolutely right. And you
00:20:41.700 --> 00:20:46.420
can compare it to fatherhood. you can compare
00:20:46.420 --> 00:20:49.200
it to just being a leader. In both instances,
00:20:49.420 --> 00:20:52.359
you may know how to do something better or faster
00:20:52.359 --> 00:20:56.279
right now, but you have to let that other entity,
00:20:56.420 --> 00:20:58.980
whether it's your kid or whether it's your colleague
00:20:58.980 --> 00:21:02.059
who hasn't entered into that area yet, step into
00:21:02.059 --> 00:21:04.279
that space and potentially make their own mistakes
00:21:04.279 --> 00:21:07.339
and do it for themselves. That's how that works.
00:21:07.460 --> 00:21:10.119
I love that. Yeah. You know, one of the things
00:21:10.119 --> 00:21:15.910
that makes me incredibly proud is in that vein
00:21:15.910 --> 00:21:20.029
is when I have a team member in my organization
00:21:20.029 --> 00:21:23.210
that actually gets a promotion, even if it's
00:21:23.210 --> 00:21:26.309
outside of my organization. And people ask me,
00:21:26.309 --> 00:21:28.150
they're like, well, aren't you sad to see them
00:21:28.150 --> 00:21:30.509
leave? Of course I am. Of course I'm sad to see
00:21:30.509 --> 00:21:33.170
them leave, but I'm so happy for that individual
00:21:33.170 --> 00:21:36.829
to further their career. And I just know that
00:21:36.829 --> 00:21:40.630
it's the best thing for them. So sometimes it's
00:21:40.630 --> 00:21:44.039
the best thing to... grow that talent or grow
00:21:44.039 --> 00:21:47.359
that program, even if you're kind of losing that
00:21:47.359 --> 00:21:52.519
out of your zone, so to speak. Absolutely. I
00:21:52.519 --> 00:21:55.119
get really excited about that stuff, too. I love
00:21:55.119 --> 00:21:57.960
seeing my people move on, especially when it's
00:21:57.960 --> 00:22:00.299
to bigger, better things. Absolutely. All right.
00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:07.140
So we're getting kind of close. You're kind of
00:22:07.140 --> 00:22:12.480
now in the technology space, right? You have
00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:15.140
to kind of keep your ear to the ground and you
00:22:15.140 --> 00:22:18.480
have to keep a vision of looking forward of what
00:22:18.480 --> 00:22:21.200
kind of new technology is being introduced in
00:22:21.200 --> 00:22:23.319
the ERP space. So what excites you the most about
00:22:23.319 --> 00:22:26.559
what's coming up? Well, it might be the end of
00:22:26.559 --> 00:22:27.960
the project, to be honest with you. It's been
00:22:27.960 --> 00:22:30.599
quite a long time. As far as the technology goes,
00:22:30.799 --> 00:22:37.019
the integration of AI tools into this ERP. is
00:22:37.019 --> 00:22:39.019
really exciting to me because it really does
00:22:39.019 --> 00:22:42.160
scratch the surface of what an ERP can do, especially
00:22:42.160 --> 00:22:44.420
for our end users who are going from an older
00:22:44.420 --> 00:22:46.259
system into a new system, and that's a learning
00:22:46.259 --> 00:22:49.619
curve enough. But to be able to now, in this
00:22:49.619 --> 00:22:53.039
infancy of AI, to bring a product like that in
00:22:53.039 --> 00:22:56.079
that is safe and secure, tailored for this product,
00:22:56.299 --> 00:22:59.039
can really... blow the doors open of what our
00:22:59.039 --> 00:23:01.160
end users can really do and accomplish and learn
00:23:01.160 --> 00:23:03.460
and be quicker about it and more efficient about
00:23:03.460 --> 00:23:05.619
it. I think the possibilities are kind of endless
00:23:05.619 --> 00:23:09.039
with that tool and this system and how our colleagues
00:23:09.039 --> 00:23:10.460
out there in the state are going to be able to.
00:23:10.759 --> 00:23:12.940
manipulate that system to our ends. I could just
00:23:12.940 --> 00:23:15.759
imagine the ability of having an AI tool attached
00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:21.180
to the ERP data to be able to rapidly help you
00:23:21.180 --> 00:23:23.200
with decision making, because that's really what
00:23:23.200 --> 00:23:25.680
an ERP is all about. Enable decision makers to
00:23:25.680 --> 00:23:29.140
make decisions as quickly and accurately as possible,
00:23:29.220 --> 00:23:32.599
right? So you add AI to that mix. As long as
00:23:32.599 --> 00:23:36.619
that AI is accurate, it's supercharging it. Absolutely.
00:23:36.740 --> 00:23:41.000
We can actually feed the AI and build the library
00:23:41.000 --> 00:23:43.480
out with all of our policies from all of our
00:23:43.480 --> 00:23:46.099
state agencies, with our statutes, with our regulations,
00:23:46.380 --> 00:23:49.819
and have the ERP be the repository of knowledge.
00:23:49.980 --> 00:23:53.779
So in past, you had that 25 -year veteran that
00:23:53.779 --> 00:23:56.680
had all of the knowledge for your area. Now we're
00:23:56.680 --> 00:23:59.839
going to have a tool built into the system that
00:23:59.839 --> 00:24:03.200
can provide that same level of... broad understanding
00:24:03.200 --> 00:24:06.380
of our statutes and our framework for doing the
00:24:06.380 --> 00:24:08.779
job. And that will be at the fingertips of a
00:24:08.779 --> 00:24:10.960
brand new employee day one. Yeah, that's so exciting.
00:24:11.039 --> 00:24:14.640
I think we could have a complete show dedicated
00:24:14.640 --> 00:24:18.259
just to that, but I've promised I will hold off
00:24:18.259 --> 00:24:20.480
on doing an AI specific show for a little bit.
00:24:20.660 --> 00:24:22.960
All right. As we're getting close to the end,
00:24:23.019 --> 00:24:26.059
I want to do a quick rapid fire round. You have
00:24:26.059 --> 00:24:28.200
not seen these questions. That's correct. You're
00:24:28.200 --> 00:24:32.849
not pre -prepared. First and foremost, Star Wars
00:24:32.849 --> 00:24:35.670
or Star Trek? Star Wars. Mountain or desert?
00:24:36.089 --> 00:24:39.849
Mountain. What is the one legacy tech item you
00:24:39.849 --> 00:24:43.309
refuse to get rid of at home? My PlayStation
00:24:43.309 --> 00:24:47.509
2. Ooh, solid. Coffee, energy drinks, or pure
00:24:47.509 --> 00:24:50.569
adrenaline to get through a go -live weekend?
00:24:50.990 --> 00:24:54.230
Pure adrenaline. Nice. If you weren't running
00:24:54.230 --> 00:24:57.910
OPM, what is the one state park you'd be patrolling
00:24:57.910 --> 00:25:03.440
right now? Lahontan. Lahontan, yes. I've definitely
00:25:03.440 --> 00:25:07.079
spent some camping nights out at Lahontan. It's
00:25:07.079 --> 00:25:10.140
my first state job. I was a park aide. Nice.
00:25:10.240 --> 00:25:16.420
All right. Now, to bring us home, what's with
00:25:16.420 --> 00:25:21.119
your... Career experience, spanning both time
00:25:21.119 --> 00:25:24.799
in the military, serving our country, and your
00:25:24.799 --> 00:25:29.680
service to the state of Nevada. What is the one
00:25:29.680 --> 00:25:31.559
piece of leadership advice you would like to
00:25:31.559 --> 00:25:37.559
leave everybody with? You have to be kind. Yeah.
00:25:38.519 --> 00:25:41.519
That's pretty much it. Love that. Because at
00:25:41.519 --> 00:25:44.140
the end of the day, everybody is human. That's
00:25:44.140 --> 00:25:45.259
right. And people just want to be treated well.
00:25:45.359 --> 00:25:48.130
People respond to you. with how you make them
00:25:48.130 --> 00:25:51.710
feel and as a leader if your people don't feel
00:25:51.710 --> 00:25:54.750
good about you then they're not doing their job
00:25:54.750 --> 00:25:57.430
to their ultimate ability and if you can make
00:25:57.430 --> 00:26:00.670
them feel like they're valued and that coming
00:26:00.670 --> 00:26:03.769
to work is a good time and interacting with you
00:26:03.769 --> 00:26:06.529
makes them feel better then you've done more
00:26:06.529 --> 00:26:08.990
than half of your job. I love that. Brian, thank
00:26:08.990 --> 00:26:11.470
you so much for spending a little bit of time
00:26:11.470 --> 00:26:14.609
with me today. And thank you all for tuning in
00:26:14.609 --> 00:26:17.950
and joining me on Tech Talks for Tim. I look
00:26:17.950 --> 00:26:20.490
forward to speaking with you all again. Thank
00:26:20.490 --> 00:26:21.509
you very much. Thank you all.
00:00:02.060 --> 00:00:08.119
Grab a mug, settle in, let the conversation begin.
00:00:09.000 --> 00:00:15.140
Talking public sector tech, keeping all the systems
00:00:15.140 --> 00:00:30.100
checked. Tech Talk with Tim. Greetings, and welcome
00:00:30.100 --> 00:00:32.479
to Tech Talks with Tim. My name is Tim Galuzzi,
00:00:32.520 --> 00:00:34.780
and I have the honor of serving as the State
00:00:34.780 --> 00:00:36.899
Chief Information Officer for the State of Nevada.
00:00:37.500 --> 00:00:40.200
This is our second episode of Tech Talks with
00:00:40.200 --> 00:00:43.240
Tim, and we have a special guest today, the Director
00:00:43.240 --> 00:00:46.399
of our Office of Project Management here at the
00:00:46.399 --> 00:00:49.179
State of Nevada, Director Brian Bowles. Welcome,
00:00:49.280 --> 00:00:51.560
Brian. Thank you, Tim. Why don't you go ahead
00:00:51.560 --> 00:00:54.759
and give us an introduction of yourself and tell
00:00:54.759 --> 00:00:57.119
us a little bit about your role and how you came
00:00:57.119 --> 00:01:00.219
to... Rise up to it. Thanks. To start, I was
00:01:00.219 --> 00:01:03.079
born right here in Carson City, Nevada. My family
00:01:03.079 --> 00:01:05.319
goes back, depending on which side you go, four
00:01:05.319 --> 00:01:06.980
or five generations here in northern Nevada.
00:01:07.159 --> 00:01:10.019
So I was raised in Reno, so I'm a local kid.
00:01:10.739 --> 00:01:14.840
Graduated high school in the 19th century and
00:01:14.840 --> 00:01:18.799
promptly jumped into hotel management jobs. College
00:01:18.799 --> 00:01:21.620
wasn't the thing for me at the time. Even though
00:01:21.620 --> 00:01:23.900
I really loved it, I was way more interested
00:01:23.900 --> 00:01:27.950
in doing other things. That brought me into deciding
00:01:27.950 --> 00:01:29.450
to go have an adventure and enlist in the United
00:01:29.450 --> 00:01:31.349
States Coast Guard, which I did when I was in
00:01:31.349 --> 00:01:34.650
my 20s. I had an amazing whirlwind time learning
00:01:34.650 --> 00:01:37.090
about myself, learning about my country, service
00:01:37.090 --> 00:01:39.329
to my country, chasing drug smugglers in the
00:01:39.329 --> 00:01:42.590
Caribbean, doing search and rescue off of New
00:01:42.590 --> 00:01:46.569
York City and in the sound out there. It was
00:01:46.569 --> 00:01:49.290
an amazing time. I came back to raise my family
00:01:49.290 --> 00:01:52.390
back home and was lucky enough to get a job with
00:01:52.390 --> 00:01:54.480
the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. in the
00:01:54.480 --> 00:01:56.760
Compliance Enforcement Division as a sworn law
00:01:56.760 --> 00:01:59.659
enforcement officer. I stayed there for 13 years
00:01:59.659 --> 00:02:02.579
doing investigations in ivy theft and fraud and
00:02:02.579 --> 00:02:05.879
the vehicle industry, regulating that, and that
00:02:05.879 --> 00:02:09.180
brought me to getting back to my love of boats
00:02:09.180 --> 00:02:12.139
and search and rescue and saving people when
00:02:12.139 --> 00:02:13.919
a job with the Nevada Department of Wildlife
00:02:13.919 --> 00:02:15.860
came up as a boating law administrator for the
00:02:15.860 --> 00:02:18.780
state of Nevada. As a game warden, so both law
00:02:18.780 --> 00:02:20.900
enforcement and then being able to run search
00:02:20.900 --> 00:02:23.099
and rescue and boating law enforcement for the
00:02:23.099 --> 00:02:27.439
state, I had the privilege of then re -liazing
00:02:27.439 --> 00:02:29.659
with the United States Coast Guard, who pays
00:02:29.659 --> 00:02:32.360
for that grant across the nation and becoming
00:02:32.360 --> 00:02:33.979
the state's representative to the Coast Guard
00:02:33.979 --> 00:02:36.199
to ensure that that mission gets fulfilled in
00:02:36.199 --> 00:02:39.800
the state of Nevada. From there, I got a call
00:02:39.800 --> 00:02:43.030
one day from one of my former bosses. And they
00:02:43.030 --> 00:02:45.090
said, we need some help and somebody who can
00:02:45.090 --> 00:02:46.810
run an office. I know you can run an office,
00:02:46.949 --> 00:02:49.050
but you don't need to know anything about the
00:02:49.050 --> 00:02:51.169
technical aspects of what's going on. You just
00:02:51.169 --> 00:02:52.729
need to come in here and make sure that the budget
00:02:52.729 --> 00:02:54.930
is handled and that you can do the HR stuff.
00:02:55.430 --> 00:02:57.689
And I need you here on Monday. And I showed up
00:02:57.689 --> 00:03:00.250
at the Office of Project Management within 72
00:03:00.250 --> 00:03:02.389
hours ready to tackle a new challenge. And it
00:03:02.389 --> 00:03:05.780
happened to be the... state's ERP implementation,
00:03:06.020 --> 00:03:07.400
which at that point in time was called SMART
00:03:07.400 --> 00:03:10.280
21. That's kind of the short story of how I got
00:03:10.280 --> 00:03:12.719
in this chair today. What an incredible journey
00:03:12.719 --> 00:03:17.340
of service, right? So first service to your nation
00:03:17.340 --> 00:03:20.419
and then service to the state of Nevada, right?
00:03:20.500 --> 00:03:22.719
I think that there's definitely some similarities.
00:03:23.680 --> 00:03:26.560
on both of our paths there, right? I think in
00:03:26.560 --> 00:03:29.340
episode one, I talked a little bit about my journey
00:03:29.340 --> 00:03:32.060
into state service and it followed a similar
00:03:32.060 --> 00:03:33.979
path through the Marine Corps and my call to
00:03:33.979 --> 00:03:36.539
service there that led me to the state of Nevada.
00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:41.680
So how much of an adjustment was it for you going
00:03:41.680 --> 00:03:46.000
from the Department of Wildlife into leading
00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:49.900
a role that was really heading up an office?
00:03:50.639 --> 00:03:53.580
that was in charge of one of the largest IT implementations
00:03:53.580 --> 00:03:56.580
across the entire executive branch? Well, it
00:03:56.580 --> 00:04:00.379
was whiplash, to put it mildly. And if I had
00:04:00.379 --> 00:04:02.039
known what I was getting into, it would have
00:04:02.039 --> 00:04:06.000
felt even stronger. Because I think I didn't
00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:08.020
suffer from a whole lot of understanding of the
00:04:08.020 --> 00:04:11.080
breadth of what I was getting myself into. I
00:04:11.080 --> 00:04:16.339
was coming in to do what I thought was a relatively
00:04:16.339 --> 00:04:19.300
smaller job than the one that I eventually took
00:04:19.300 --> 00:04:23.180
on. And that was just to maintain an office for
00:04:23.180 --> 00:04:25.420
the state, kind of hold down the administrative
00:04:25.420 --> 00:04:28.699
side of things while the technical folks got
00:04:28.699 --> 00:04:30.240
on with their business of doing the project.
00:04:30.579 --> 00:04:33.879
And as it turned out, that turned out to be something
00:04:33.879 --> 00:04:36.000
that I needed to move into. We had some leadership
00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:38.540
challenges and personnel challenges early on.
00:04:38.860 --> 00:04:40.740
I think we'll probably talk about later the whole
00:04:40.740 --> 00:04:43.079
evolution of the state's process through this
00:04:43.079 --> 00:04:46.480
ERP implementation. I was quickly plunged into
00:04:46.480 --> 00:04:48.759
the leading role with a vacuum in leadership,
00:04:48.920 --> 00:04:52.500
and I had to learn from day one everything to
00:04:52.500 --> 00:04:55.420
do with the tech world, what is an ERP, what
00:04:55.420 --> 00:04:57.540
is it that the state is trying to do here, and
00:04:57.540 --> 00:05:00.959
then build my team and go. Yeah, so I guess that's
00:05:00.959 --> 00:05:04.759
a beautiful segue into that question. What is
00:05:04.759 --> 00:05:08.019
an ERP? Yeah. You know, we have a pretty broad
00:05:08.019 --> 00:05:11.649
audience. And, you know, an ERP, it might be
00:05:11.649 --> 00:05:13.230
a foreign concept. So why don't you kind of dive
00:05:13.230 --> 00:05:16.310
into what exactly is an ERP? Sure. So ERP stands
00:05:16.310 --> 00:05:19.629
for Enterprise Resource Planning. And it's a
00:05:19.629 --> 00:05:22.850
designation for, I have now learned, a broad
00:05:22.850 --> 00:05:26.129
range of software products that allow companies
00:05:26.129 --> 00:05:28.930
or agencies, jurisdictions, whether they be at
00:05:28.930 --> 00:05:31.990
the state level or municipal, to manage their
00:05:31.990 --> 00:05:34.170
resources, whether they be human resources or
00:05:34.170 --> 00:05:37.019
fiscal resources. and all of the different ways
00:05:37.019 --> 00:05:39.480
in which we do that at the state level or at
00:05:39.480 --> 00:05:41.899
any level, really. Money's always coming in.
00:05:41.939 --> 00:05:43.980
Money's going out. And you have to track every
00:05:43.980 --> 00:05:46.920
dime. You have to track everything that you do
00:05:46.920 --> 00:05:48.879
with all of your people. You need to hire people.
00:05:49.060 --> 00:05:51.779
You need to fire people sometimes. You're promoting
00:05:51.779 --> 00:05:54.060
them. You're doing all of the things that involve
00:05:54.060 --> 00:05:58.680
everything that a state runs on. It's truly a
00:05:58.680 --> 00:06:01.100
piece of software that is the backbone of any
00:06:01.100 --> 00:06:03.720
organization because it's how they pay the bills.
00:06:04.220 --> 00:06:06.079
And that's how they think keep things coming
00:06:06.079 --> 00:06:08.920
in and out on a daily basis and you know, I think
00:06:08.920 --> 00:06:12.240
that really speaks particularly to the government
00:06:12.240 --> 00:06:15.500
mission, right? Because we live on transparency
00:06:15.500 --> 00:06:19.939
and being able to really articulate what is happening
00:06:19.939 --> 00:06:23.459
to the resources that we're entrusted to protect,
00:06:23.740 --> 00:06:26.860
right? And that key resource that we're entrusted
00:06:26.860 --> 00:06:30.060
to protect by our constituency is those taxpayer
00:06:30.060 --> 00:06:32.800
dollars. And ERP really just enables us to do
00:06:32.800 --> 00:06:35.360
that. Absolutely. It enables us to do it in like
00:06:35.360 --> 00:06:38.970
one spot in one system. As public servants, we
00:06:38.970 --> 00:06:43.589
are given the public trust and charged with shepherding
00:06:43.589 --> 00:06:46.709
all of those dollars and all of these people
00:06:46.709 --> 00:06:49.310
that we have to do that work in order to meet
00:06:49.310 --> 00:06:51.529
that public trust and provide service to our
00:06:51.529 --> 00:06:54.350
constituents and make Nevada a better place.
00:06:54.449 --> 00:06:59.740
So while an ERP isn't really sexy in the... grand
00:06:59.740 --> 00:07:01.759
scheme of things, it's not really on the tip
00:07:01.759 --> 00:07:03.620
of the spear of providing that service, whether
00:07:03.620 --> 00:07:07.759
it's a cop showing up to a hot call or whether
00:07:07.759 --> 00:07:10.939
it's a social worker providing aid for a family
00:07:10.939 --> 00:07:14.060
in need. The ERP is the tool that allows the
00:07:14.060 --> 00:07:16.100
support of all of those functions across the
00:07:16.100 --> 00:07:18.899
entire state enterprise. I think it's sometimes
00:07:18.899 --> 00:07:23.519
lost on people that Those operational type duties,
00:07:23.860 --> 00:07:26.819
whether it be providing direct services to constituents,
00:07:26.959 --> 00:07:28.939
either in law enforcement or social services,
00:07:29.180 --> 00:07:32.680
there's a business behind all of that that needs
00:07:32.680 --> 00:07:34.540
to be conducted, whether that business is the
00:07:34.540 --> 00:07:37.560
business of IT or more of the traditional business
00:07:37.560 --> 00:07:40.620
of accounting and finance and whatnot that really
00:07:40.620 --> 00:07:45.100
needs to be supported. The state has... I wouldn't
00:07:45.100 --> 00:07:47.959
want to say a tumultuous history when it comes
00:07:47.959 --> 00:07:51.160
to ERP implementations, but it's definitely a
00:07:51.160 --> 00:07:56.500
colorful one. There was a not so successful former
00:07:56.500 --> 00:08:01.720
implementation with Smart 21. And so there was
00:08:01.720 --> 00:08:05.139
a lot of pressure on you and your team to get
00:08:05.139 --> 00:08:07.459
this right. So can you talk to me a little bit
00:08:07.459 --> 00:08:09.420
about that and what it was like kind of coming
00:08:09.420 --> 00:08:12.279
into this office, coming into this role and kind
00:08:12.279 --> 00:08:15.819
of the... How you approach that as you kind of
00:08:15.819 --> 00:08:18.879
drove into your phase one alpha and the planning
00:08:18.879 --> 00:08:21.600
that led up to that? Certainly. So that was in
00:08:21.600 --> 00:08:24.579
the beginning of 2023 when I first came into
00:08:24.579 --> 00:08:26.399
the Office of Project Management. And at that
00:08:26.399 --> 00:08:30.680
time, the Smart 21 project had been languishing
00:08:30.680 --> 00:08:33.899
for about a year. If your listeners don't know,
00:08:34.019 --> 00:08:37.600
that was the state's first try at replacing our
00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:41.549
old legacy payroll, HR, accounting systems. And
00:08:41.549 --> 00:08:44.149
it was not going well. I guess to call it a failure
00:08:44.149 --> 00:08:46.129
is just to call it what it was. It was a failure
00:08:46.129 --> 00:08:50.049
at that point. And it was up to me and the new
00:08:50.049 --> 00:08:53.129
leadership team that was supporting me and my
00:08:53.129 --> 00:08:55.870
team to make the determination about Smart 21.
00:08:55.870 --> 00:08:59.090
Is this something that we try to finish out or
00:08:59.090 --> 00:09:02.330
is it too far gone and we need to start over?
00:09:02.450 --> 00:09:04.330
And eventually we made the decision to start
00:09:04.330 --> 00:09:06.639
over, which is a tough decision to make. because
00:09:06.639 --> 00:09:08.639
we had to roll back to those legacy systems and
00:09:08.639 --> 00:09:10.379
rely on them and those are the very things we
00:09:10.379 --> 00:09:13.340
were trying to trying to replace that summer
00:09:13.340 --> 00:09:15.940
we were in a spot where we were rolling out of
00:09:15.940 --> 00:09:18.820
a contract with a vendor that had its challenges
00:09:18.820 --> 00:09:23.019
and we didn't have a vendor on the horizon we
00:09:23.019 --> 00:09:25.460
didn't have a procurement vehicle in order to
00:09:25.460 --> 00:09:30.259
you know legally go and get a new software company
00:09:30.259 --> 00:09:34.980
engaged for the state and You may remember at
00:09:34.980 --> 00:09:37.019
the time we had to downsize our office because
00:09:37.019 --> 00:09:38.919
there wasn't all that project implementation
00:09:38.919 --> 00:09:42.899
work to do. I found myself in the summer of 2023
00:09:42.899 --> 00:09:46.200
with myself and seven other staff members trying
00:09:46.200 --> 00:09:49.360
to figure that all out. And the main thing that
00:09:49.360 --> 00:09:51.860
I did, because I was in a learning space and
00:09:51.860 --> 00:09:53.379
I knew a lot of my team was in a learning space,
00:09:53.639 --> 00:09:59.080
was we're all going back to school. And the thing
00:09:59.080 --> 00:10:01.659
that I felt had been lacking in the previous
00:10:01.659 --> 00:10:05.460
iteration was... reliance on bedrock project
00:10:05.460 --> 00:10:08.899
management principles and so I sent myself and
00:10:08.899 --> 00:10:11.299
a bunch of our other leaders through project
00:10:11.299 --> 00:10:14.320
management class and a bunch of us got certified
00:10:14.320 --> 00:10:17.259
we are all speaking the same language and then
00:10:17.259 --> 00:10:21.159
we just started pushing and ended up getting
00:10:21.159 --> 00:10:23.600
in contract by that September and away we went
00:10:23.600 --> 00:10:27.559
nice all right getting that project management
00:10:27.559 --> 00:10:31.179
foundational experience. I think that, you know,
00:10:31.179 --> 00:10:33.820
level setting, at least the vernacular across
00:10:33.820 --> 00:10:37.940
that core team, I think that probably set a solid
00:10:37.940 --> 00:10:39.840
foundation for you guys to kind of build off
00:10:39.840 --> 00:10:42.480
of and help the rest of your team moving forward.
00:10:42.740 --> 00:10:45.980
You had already had made the decision at that
00:10:45.980 --> 00:10:49.460
point that we needed to look for a new solution,
00:10:49.679 --> 00:10:52.919
but whatever we were going to do, we had to move
00:10:52.919 --> 00:10:56.639
fast. Yes. And, you know, in the military, We're
00:10:56.639 --> 00:10:59.039
taught slow is smooth, smooth is fast, and now
00:10:59.039 --> 00:11:00.779
we're kind of flipping that on its head because
00:11:00.779 --> 00:11:02.759
now we have to move fast, but we also have to
00:11:02.759 --> 00:11:06.519
get it right. And so were there any changes that
00:11:06.519 --> 00:11:11.899
you had to really envision on the way that the
00:11:11.899 --> 00:11:14.879
next iteration of this project was really governed
00:11:14.879 --> 00:11:19.659
and managed versus the first attempt? Yes. The
00:11:19.659 --> 00:11:22.259
first and most important decision the state made
00:11:22.259 --> 00:11:25.809
was in the right partner. with that vendor coming
00:11:25.809 --> 00:11:28.789
on. And while I wasn't intimately involved in
00:11:28.789 --> 00:11:31.029
selecting that partner, I got to say my colleagues
00:11:31.029 --> 00:11:33.769
on that committee got it right. And thankfully,
00:11:33.909 --> 00:11:36.710
the one major change that we had to do, I think,
00:11:36.710 --> 00:11:40.289
is we had to break a few rules early on. Normally,
00:11:40.350 --> 00:11:42.889
there would be a large lead up to a project of
00:11:42.889 --> 00:11:44.629
this type where you gather requirements and et
00:11:44.629 --> 00:11:46.929
cetera. But as you say, our timeline did not
00:11:46.929 --> 00:11:51.980
allow us that luxury. We had to go in. intentionally
00:11:51.980 --> 00:11:55.299
and treat our vendor as our equal partner, which
00:11:55.299 --> 00:11:59.019
often doesn't happen in public service. You see
00:11:59.019 --> 00:12:03.019
vendors being treated as if they are just someone
00:12:03.019 --> 00:12:05.000
who's providing you a good or service, not somebody
00:12:05.000 --> 00:12:08.679
whose opinion matters equally. And the state
00:12:08.679 --> 00:12:10.659
was in a position where we had to trust that
00:12:10.659 --> 00:12:13.759
vendor and that product to give us that functionality
00:12:13.759 --> 00:12:16.799
day one with their out -of -the -box solution,
00:12:17.039 --> 00:12:19.279
and we had to put ourselves in their hands, so
00:12:19.279 --> 00:12:22.730
to speak. and treat them equally with that collaboration
00:12:22.730 --> 00:12:26.149
and trust. And that's the kind of bedrock that
00:12:26.149 --> 00:12:28.889
I began our relationship with our vendor. And
00:12:28.889 --> 00:12:31.590
that thankfully has paid off dividends for the
00:12:31.590 --> 00:12:33.250
state because we have managed to be successful
00:12:33.250 --> 00:12:36.289
throughout that. Yeah. And, you know, across
00:12:36.289 --> 00:12:39.750
the states, we're starting to see a shift when
00:12:39.750 --> 00:12:44.490
it comes to procurement of IT solutions in our
00:12:44.490 --> 00:12:47.250
vendor community. And there are states that are
00:12:47.250 --> 00:12:50.519
doing it really well where it's We're going to
00:12:50.519 --> 00:12:53.379
the vendor community and understanding that state
00:12:53.379 --> 00:12:55.220
governments, local governments, we don't have
00:12:55.220 --> 00:12:57.980
millions of dollars to spend on research and
00:12:57.980 --> 00:13:00.519
development. So we're really beginning to understand
00:13:00.519 --> 00:13:02.299
that we need to lean on our vendor community
00:13:02.299 --> 00:13:05.700
to provide that research and development for
00:13:05.700 --> 00:13:11.190
us. You cannot modernize. state and local government
00:13:11.190 --> 00:13:15.169
IT systems by writing RFPs based off of the way
00:13:15.169 --> 00:13:17.149
that we've done it for the past 20 years. If
00:13:17.149 --> 00:13:19.389
you're going through legacy applications step
00:13:19.389 --> 00:13:22.950
by step and saying and using those steps to write
00:13:22.950 --> 00:13:26.409
your RFPs, all you're going to get is a shiny
00:13:26.409 --> 00:13:28.970
new version of what you've had for the past 20
00:13:28.970 --> 00:13:32.889
years. And my standpoint is let's let the vendor
00:13:32.889 --> 00:13:37.669
community figure out how to modernize these systems.
00:13:37.889 --> 00:13:41.080
Yes. The end state needs to be really dictated
00:13:41.080 --> 00:13:45.480
by the government, by our requirements. Yes,
00:13:45.539 --> 00:13:47.600
there are still going to be cybersecurity requirements
00:13:47.600 --> 00:13:49.940
to protect state data, state infrastructure.
00:13:50.259 --> 00:13:52.799
Yes, there might be some integration requirements
00:13:52.799 --> 00:13:57.259
that we can hold the vendor to. Writing requirements
00:13:57.259 --> 00:13:59.860
to your old processes is just paving the cow
00:13:59.860 --> 00:14:02.399
path. That's exactly what we did with our old
00:14:02.399 --> 00:14:04.659
system that we were replacing. We just used our
00:14:04.659 --> 00:14:06.659
old paper process and paved it over into digital
00:14:06.659 --> 00:14:09.059
form. And that's what we were not trying to do
00:14:09.059 --> 00:14:12.700
this time. And so I'm sure that that didn't make
00:14:12.700 --> 00:14:15.740
a lot of friends across the departments around
00:14:15.740 --> 00:14:17.580
the state that had kind of married themselves
00:14:17.580 --> 00:14:19.879
to the way that they've always done things. And
00:14:19.879 --> 00:14:22.600
that's very true. But at the same time, I think
00:14:22.600 --> 00:14:24.720
everybody in the state knew that it was time
00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:27.360
for a change, that we were struggling with the
00:14:27.360 --> 00:14:30.730
old solution. and we needed something new. There
00:14:30.730 --> 00:14:32.769
were a lot of leaders that were very proactive
00:14:32.769 --> 00:14:35.230
in saying, we know this is going to hurt, and
00:14:35.230 --> 00:14:37.509
it might hurt for a while, but we need to rip
00:14:37.509 --> 00:14:39.769
the Band -Aid off and do something new. On the
00:14:39.769 --> 00:14:42.570
other hand, there were resistors that were upsetting
00:14:42.570 --> 00:14:45.830
their entire career's worth of experience, essentially.
00:14:46.110 --> 00:14:49.090
And that's understandable. If you work 25 years
00:14:49.090 --> 00:14:51.210
doing the same thing with the same tools, and
00:14:51.210 --> 00:14:53.330
someone comes along and rips those out of your
00:14:53.330 --> 00:14:55.980
hand, you're going to be upset. But thankfully,
00:14:56.100 --> 00:14:58.539
with the leadership alignment we've had here
00:14:58.539 --> 00:15:00.700
in the state, we've been able to push past that.
00:15:00.879 --> 00:15:03.600
Right. And you obviously mentioned leadership
00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:07.539
alignment are up to the very top, right? So Governor
00:15:07.539 --> 00:15:12.059
Lombardo has definitely set as one of his tenets,
00:15:12.059 --> 00:15:15.320
one of his visions is that we operate as one
00:15:15.320 --> 00:15:18.379
Nevada, as one employer, as one organization.
00:15:19.419 --> 00:15:23.539
And, you know, I think a platform like a... ERP
00:15:23.539 --> 00:15:27.279
really highlights that. Absolutely. We actually
00:15:27.279 --> 00:15:30.419
took that slogan from the governor and co -opted
00:15:30.419 --> 00:15:35.700
it into our own marketing and OCM effort, Organizational
00:15:35.700 --> 00:15:37.720
Change Management, for those of you who don't
00:15:37.720 --> 00:15:41.259
know that acronym. The ERP is the perfect platform
00:15:41.259 --> 00:15:43.740
for One Nevada because it really is a central
00:15:43.740 --> 00:15:46.899
system in which all of the agencies of the executive
00:15:46.899 --> 00:15:50.820
branch for the state participate in. And all
00:15:50.820 --> 00:15:53.669
of us doing the same thing. in the same way and
00:15:53.669 --> 00:15:55.789
that standardization effort is going to bring
00:15:55.789 --> 00:15:58.350
more efficiency for the state and we hope in
00:15:58.350 --> 00:16:00.009
turn that's going to provide more efficiency
00:16:00.009 --> 00:16:03.470
for the services that we provide yeah and when
00:16:03.470 --> 00:16:07.830
i'm looking at my statewide i .t strategy an
00:16:07.830 --> 00:16:11.029
erp is really in line with that as well one of
00:16:11.029 --> 00:16:14.049
the things that we're looking at as as far as
00:16:14.720 --> 00:16:17.659
our it strategy statewide and this is in alignment
00:16:17.659 --> 00:16:19.700
with our cyber security strategies we're trying
00:16:19.700 --> 00:16:22.639
to reduce complication we're trying to reduce
00:16:22.639 --> 00:16:25.519
the amount of disparate tools that we have across
00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:27.799
the executive branch to really just simplify
00:16:27.799 --> 00:16:32.379
our it landscape to ensure that if if an individual
00:16:32.379 --> 00:16:34.840
gets promoted from one department to another
00:16:34.840 --> 00:16:37.600
department that they have the same common toolkit
00:16:38.509 --> 00:16:40.610
when they move on from one department to another,
00:16:40.789 --> 00:16:42.970
so they have less time that they have to ramp
00:16:42.970 --> 00:16:45.429
up and learn a new toolkit. In our world, we
00:16:45.429 --> 00:16:47.809
want those cybersecurity practitioners, those
00:16:47.809 --> 00:16:51.090
IT practitioners to be efficient and effective
00:16:51.090 --> 00:16:54.049
in their new department, their new agency as
00:16:54.049 --> 00:16:56.509
rapidly as possible. I'm sure in the world of
00:16:56.509 --> 00:16:59.909
ERP, we want those fiscal agents, those HR agents
00:16:59.909 --> 00:17:03.009
to be just as efficient and effective in the
00:17:03.009 --> 00:17:05.609
same way. Absolutely. When you set a standard
00:17:05.609 --> 00:17:07.910
for how a process is going to go, an accounting
00:17:07.910 --> 00:17:11.009
process, for example, and then you give every
00:17:11.009 --> 00:17:13.410
accountant or accounting assistant in the state
00:17:13.410 --> 00:17:16.609
the exact same tool and the exact same playbook,
00:17:16.789 --> 00:17:19.490
then you can pick them up out of one agency and
00:17:19.490 --> 00:17:21.670
put them down in another agency as they get promoted
00:17:21.670 --> 00:17:24.049
in their career and they know exactly what to
00:17:24.049 --> 00:17:26.730
do and where to go and who to call and how to
00:17:26.730 --> 00:17:28.910
make that system really put it through its paces
00:17:28.910 --> 00:17:32.089
to get their job done from day one. So you're
00:17:32.089 --> 00:17:34.230
not having to relearn that new tool set, like
00:17:34.230 --> 00:17:36.230
you say. It's definitely a way that we're going
00:17:36.230 --> 00:17:38.859
to get more efficient. Yeah. And, you know, obviously
00:17:38.859 --> 00:17:41.920
I don't think there's too many people that don't
00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:44.420
know about our cybersecurity challenges over
00:17:44.420 --> 00:17:46.779
the past year. But for us, one of the reasons
00:17:46.779 --> 00:17:49.079
that we want to simplify is because it actually
00:17:49.079 --> 00:17:51.579
reduces the amount of potential attack vectors
00:17:51.579 --> 00:17:54.759
when it comes to cybersecurity threats. If we
00:17:54.759 --> 00:17:57.279
reduce the amount of attack vectors, it makes
00:17:57.279 --> 00:18:00.799
protecting the state of Nevada simpler and easier.
00:18:01.059 --> 00:18:04.720
And so that's it's really ringing the bell. It
00:18:04.720 --> 00:18:09.420
makes my my. CIO and cybersecurity heart happy
00:18:09.420 --> 00:18:14.039
when I hear about standardization and good, solid
00:18:14.039 --> 00:18:17.440
governance. Speaking of governance, you recently
00:18:17.440 --> 00:18:21.140
had a pretty good LinkedIn post that I want to
00:18:21.140 --> 00:18:24.019
kind of chat about a little bit. It's entitled,
00:18:24.160 --> 00:18:27.539
When Governance Has to Grow Up. Yes. And so as
00:18:27.539 --> 00:18:34.809
the ERP... project is maturing as we we are rolling
00:18:34.809 --> 00:18:37.809
through the phases we're getting toward and you've
00:18:37.809 --> 00:18:40.990
got products that are reaching operationalization
00:18:40.990 --> 00:18:45.549
you know how does that change how we approach
00:18:45.549 --> 00:18:48.529
governance and communications with these products
00:18:48.529 --> 00:18:51.369
well for us it's been a challenge certainly at
00:18:51.369 --> 00:18:55.410
opm as a project implementation team to realize
00:18:55.410 --> 00:18:59.299
all of a sudden that we have product support
00:18:59.299 --> 00:19:05.099
in live production. And the agencies that previously
00:19:05.099 --> 00:19:08.660
had the ownership of that function who had been
00:19:08.660 --> 00:19:11.980
outside of our particular game in supporting
00:19:11.980 --> 00:19:15.099
that tool as we implemented it, we're now needing
00:19:15.099 --> 00:19:17.900
to take full responsibility over that tool and
00:19:17.900 --> 00:19:20.319
that function. there's been a lot of growing
00:19:20.319 --> 00:19:22.759
pains in this transition. Because not only are
00:19:22.759 --> 00:19:24.799
we still in project implementation phase with
00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:27.660
phase two and bringing new agencies in with their
00:19:27.660 --> 00:19:30.279
ownership of their particular areas, but we have
00:19:30.279 --> 00:19:33.700
our two major customers within the state executive
00:19:33.700 --> 00:19:36.299
branch who are going through their own growing
00:19:36.299 --> 00:19:38.579
pains of learning to use a new tool and learning
00:19:38.579 --> 00:19:41.019
to teach that new tool to all of the constituent
00:19:41.019 --> 00:19:42.980
agencies that rely on them to set the standard.
00:19:43.299 --> 00:19:47.880
And the trade -off of our expertise And their
00:19:47.880 --> 00:19:51.680
authority has been in fits and starts. And so
00:19:51.680 --> 00:19:55.200
my post was really about that transition, about
00:19:55.200 --> 00:19:57.839
when you have to really realize that the governance
00:19:57.839 --> 00:20:00.680
of those functions is now back where it belongs
00:20:00.680 --> 00:20:03.500
in the agencies that have the statutory charge
00:20:03.500 --> 00:20:07.000
to do that. So we have had to intentionally take
00:20:07.000 --> 00:20:12.299
a step back at OPM and say, whereas six months
00:20:12.299 --> 00:20:14.579
ago, I would have made all the decisions on this
00:20:14.579 --> 00:20:17.380
particular area because it's... not a fully done
00:20:17.380 --> 00:20:20.700
project or product yet. I have to take a step
00:20:20.700 --> 00:20:22.819
back and say, that's not my job anymore. There
00:20:22.819 --> 00:20:25.539
are agency leaders that need to make those decisions
00:20:25.539 --> 00:20:27.759
for themselves because it's now theirs. Yeah.
00:20:27.859 --> 00:20:30.519
I can imagine that sometimes it's kind of hard
00:20:30.519 --> 00:20:33.039
to let it go, right? Like you grew this thing.
00:20:33.059 --> 00:20:36.559
It's like your baby, right? And now it's kind
00:20:36.559 --> 00:20:39.259
of walking off and kind of growing up a little
00:20:39.259 --> 00:20:41.700
bit, right? That's absolutely right. And you
00:20:41.700 --> 00:20:46.420
can compare it to fatherhood. you can compare
00:20:46.420 --> 00:20:49.200
it to just being a leader. In both instances,
00:20:49.420 --> 00:20:52.359
you may know how to do something better or faster
00:20:52.359 --> 00:20:56.279
right now, but you have to let that other entity,
00:20:56.420 --> 00:20:58.980
whether it's your kid or whether it's your colleague
00:20:58.980 --> 00:21:02.059
who hasn't entered into that area yet, step into
00:21:02.059 --> 00:21:04.279
that space and potentially make their own mistakes
00:21:04.279 --> 00:21:07.339
and do it for themselves. That's how that works.
00:21:07.460 --> 00:21:10.119
I love that. Yeah. You know, one of the things
00:21:10.119 --> 00:21:15.910
that makes me incredibly proud is in that vein
00:21:15.910 --> 00:21:20.029
is when I have a team member in my organization
00:21:20.029 --> 00:21:23.210
that actually gets a promotion, even if it's
00:21:23.210 --> 00:21:26.309
outside of my organization. And people ask me,
00:21:26.309 --> 00:21:28.150
they're like, well, aren't you sad to see them
00:21:28.150 --> 00:21:30.509
leave? Of course I am. Of course I'm sad to see
00:21:30.509 --> 00:21:33.170
them leave, but I'm so happy for that individual
00:21:33.170 --> 00:21:36.829
to further their career. And I just know that
00:21:36.829 --> 00:21:40.630
it's the best thing for them. So sometimes it's
00:21:40.630 --> 00:21:44.039
the best thing to... grow that talent or grow
00:21:44.039 --> 00:21:47.359
that program, even if you're kind of losing that
00:21:47.359 --> 00:21:52.519
out of your zone, so to speak. Absolutely. I
00:21:52.519 --> 00:21:55.119
get really excited about that stuff, too. I love
00:21:55.119 --> 00:21:57.960
seeing my people move on, especially when it's
00:21:57.960 --> 00:22:00.299
to bigger, better things. Absolutely. All right.
00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:07.140
So we're getting kind of close. You're kind of
00:22:07.140 --> 00:22:12.480
now in the technology space, right? You have
00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:15.140
to kind of keep your ear to the ground and you
00:22:15.140 --> 00:22:18.480
have to keep a vision of looking forward of what
00:22:18.480 --> 00:22:21.200
kind of new technology is being introduced in
00:22:21.200 --> 00:22:23.319
the ERP space. So what excites you the most about
00:22:23.319 --> 00:22:26.559
what's coming up? Well, it might be the end of
00:22:26.559 --> 00:22:27.960
the project, to be honest with you. It's been
00:22:27.960 --> 00:22:30.599
quite a long time. As far as the technology goes,
00:22:30.799 --> 00:22:37.019
the integration of AI tools into this ERP. is
00:22:37.019 --> 00:22:39.019
really exciting to me because it really does
00:22:39.019 --> 00:22:42.160
scratch the surface of what an ERP can do, especially
00:22:42.160 --> 00:22:44.420
for our end users who are going from an older
00:22:44.420 --> 00:22:46.259
system into a new system, and that's a learning
00:22:46.259 --> 00:22:49.619
curve enough. But to be able to now, in this
00:22:49.619 --> 00:22:53.039
infancy of AI, to bring a product like that in
00:22:53.039 --> 00:22:56.079
that is safe and secure, tailored for this product,
00:22:56.299 --> 00:22:59.039
can really... blow the doors open of what our
00:22:59.039 --> 00:23:01.160
end users can really do and accomplish and learn
00:23:01.160 --> 00:23:03.460
and be quicker about it and more efficient about
00:23:03.460 --> 00:23:05.619
it. I think the possibilities are kind of endless
00:23:05.619 --> 00:23:09.039
with that tool and this system and how our colleagues
00:23:09.039 --> 00:23:10.460
out there in the state are going to be able to.
00:23:10.759 --> 00:23:12.940
manipulate that system to our ends. I could just
00:23:12.940 --> 00:23:15.759
imagine the ability of having an AI tool attached
00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:21.180
to the ERP data to be able to rapidly help you
00:23:21.180 --> 00:23:23.200
with decision making, because that's really what
00:23:23.200 --> 00:23:25.680
an ERP is all about. Enable decision makers to
00:23:25.680 --> 00:23:29.140
make decisions as quickly and accurately as possible,
00:23:29.220 --> 00:23:32.599
right? So you add AI to that mix. As long as
00:23:32.599 --> 00:23:36.619
that AI is accurate, it's supercharging it. Absolutely.
00:23:36.740 --> 00:23:41.000
We can actually feed the AI and build the library
00:23:41.000 --> 00:23:43.480
out with all of our policies from all of our
00:23:43.480 --> 00:23:46.099
state agencies, with our statutes, with our regulations,
00:23:46.380 --> 00:23:49.819
and have the ERP be the repository of knowledge.
00:23:49.980 --> 00:23:53.779
So in past, you had that 25 -year veteran that
00:23:53.779 --> 00:23:56.680
had all of the knowledge for your area. Now we're
00:23:56.680 --> 00:23:59.839
going to have a tool built into the system that
00:23:59.839 --> 00:24:03.200
can provide that same level of... broad understanding
00:24:03.200 --> 00:24:06.380
of our statutes and our framework for doing the
00:24:06.380 --> 00:24:08.779
job. And that will be at the fingertips of a
00:24:08.779 --> 00:24:10.960
brand new employee day one. Yeah, that's so exciting.
00:24:11.039 --> 00:24:14.640
I think we could have a complete show dedicated
00:24:14.640 --> 00:24:18.259
just to that, but I've promised I will hold off
00:24:18.259 --> 00:24:20.480
on doing an AI specific show for a little bit.
00:24:20.660 --> 00:24:22.960
All right. As we're getting close to the end,
00:24:23.019 --> 00:24:26.059
I want to do a quick rapid fire round. You have
00:24:26.059 --> 00:24:28.200
not seen these questions. That's correct. You're
00:24:28.200 --> 00:24:32.849
not pre -prepared. First and foremost, Star Wars
00:24:32.849 --> 00:24:35.670
or Star Trek? Star Wars. Mountain or desert?
00:24:36.089 --> 00:24:39.849
Mountain. What is the one legacy tech item you
00:24:39.849 --> 00:24:43.309
refuse to get rid of at home? My PlayStation
00:24:43.309 --> 00:24:47.509
2. Ooh, solid. Coffee, energy drinks, or pure
00:24:47.509 --> 00:24:50.569
adrenaline to get through a go -live weekend?
00:24:50.990 --> 00:24:54.230
Pure adrenaline. Nice. If you weren't running
00:24:54.230 --> 00:24:57.910
OPM, what is the one state park you'd be patrolling
00:24:57.910 --> 00:25:03.440
right now? Lahontan. Lahontan, yes. I've definitely
00:25:03.440 --> 00:25:07.079
spent some camping nights out at Lahontan. It's
00:25:07.079 --> 00:25:10.140
my first state job. I was a park aide. Nice.
00:25:10.240 --> 00:25:16.420
All right. Now, to bring us home, what's with
00:25:16.420 --> 00:25:21.119
your... Career experience, spanning both time
00:25:21.119 --> 00:25:24.799
in the military, serving our country, and your
00:25:24.799 --> 00:25:29.680
service to the state of Nevada. What is the one
00:25:29.680 --> 00:25:31.559
piece of leadership advice you would like to
00:25:31.559 --> 00:25:37.559
leave everybody with? You have to be kind. Yeah.
00:25:38.519 --> 00:25:41.519
That's pretty much it. Love that. Because at
00:25:41.519 --> 00:25:44.140
the end of the day, everybody is human. That's
00:25:44.140 --> 00:25:45.259
right. And people just want to be treated well.
00:25:45.359 --> 00:25:48.130
People respond to you. with how you make them
00:25:48.130 --> 00:25:51.710
feel and as a leader if your people don't feel
00:25:51.710 --> 00:25:54.750
good about you then they're not doing their job
00:25:54.750 --> 00:25:57.430
to their ultimate ability and if you can make
00:25:57.430 --> 00:26:00.670
them feel like they're valued and that coming
00:26:00.670 --> 00:26:03.769
to work is a good time and interacting with you
00:26:03.769 --> 00:26:06.529
makes them feel better then you've done more
00:26:06.529 --> 00:26:08.990
than half of your job. I love that. Brian, thank
00:26:08.990 --> 00:26:11.470
you so much for spending a little bit of time
00:26:11.470 --> 00:26:14.609
with me today. And thank you all for tuning in
00:26:14.609 --> 00:26:17.950
and joining me on Tech Talks for Tim. I look
00:26:17.950 --> 00:26:20.490
forward to speaking with you all again. Thank
00:26:20.490 --> 00:26:21.509
you very much. Thank you all.
