The Big Themes: • Well-represented by this flag: We hope other countries have organizations that feel that way about their flags. • Someone's putting on space helmet: They're talking about the paradigm shift from big conventional wars and theaters. • A winning mindset: There is a standard of behavior that says we are going to act this way, and we are going to behave within structure within this mindset. • Not about the money: There's lots of job opportunities – and going to go where they can be ...
Dec 07, 2021•36 min•Ep. 272
The Big Themes: • The ability to tailor applications: A top CFO concern is tax management, and must be addressed on an end-to-end basis. • The right foundation: It's been a big change from when we relied on it to give us reports and manage the data model. • Transforming and enriching data: How a single, unified data model can turn operational data into accounting entries posted into the general ledger. • CEOs are demanding cloud-based ERP: An end-to-end solution breaks down silos, accelerates in...
Dec 01, 2021•36 min•Ep. 276
The Big Themes: • It’s important to pick the right horse: In terms of transformation, in terms of collaboration, communication culture, in terms of DevOps and engineering culture, in the spirit of becoming a digital company. • Can do a lift and shift: Choosing a path now with our entire executive team and over 500 people and 3,000 – 4,000 customers. • The model would guide us eventually: To land in a place where we can definitively prove that we continue to deliver value because if we don't they...
Nov 30, 2021•22 min•Ep. 275
The Big Themes: • Every industry has gone through some profound changes: But when you shift online, there are significant challenges in understanding where do you position inventory? • There are breaches all the time: Because almost every cyber breach is like a black swan event. Before the breach, the organization thought it was secure. • Building large scale consumer services: We now want all our clients to be able to stand on our shoulders as we support them on what they're trying to do. • Loo...
Nov 29, 2021•27 min•Ep. 277
The Big Themes: • Now you can put your own paint on it: That's going to be a terrific thing for the clients, the buyers into next year and the year after. • It's a mindset change: Message for the board and for the CEO is to think about whether you're really changing the nature of the business. • The secret sauce for the vertical: We have to work in the wider ecosystem of that industry, whether it's healthcare, retail, manufacturing, or financial services. The Big Quotes: “I've got an article com...
Nov 23, 2021•31 min•Ep. 273
The Big Themes: • Hyper focused on the four markets in regulated industries: Healthcare, telecommunications, financial services and government. • IBM's heritage is in the mid office and the back office: Our mainframe runs the systems of records in the back office. That essentially is the sun in our solar system. • We're an open company that provides choice: As we go through the next transformation of which IBM's been through many in its hundred plus years. • Working within the wisdom of clouds: ...
Nov 22, 2021•21 min•Ep. 271
The Big Themes: Public cloud operating model: Maybe there was more governance requirements, more security. We are seeing now customers becoming more thoughtful. Endless pots of gold: The one big thing on their mind is, “How can I do more with less money.” First-party data, on-premises data: But at the same time having the same self-service model, the speed, the agility, the security, the performance that you need via applications and the access. That technology is a means to an end: It’s really ...
Nov 17, 2021•23 min•Ep. 270
The Big Themes: • The Baby Boomers are retiring: Further accelerating the need to deal with mainframes. • FinTech as an example: Old brick and mortar banks and investment firms have had mainframes for 40 years, but those workhorses can’t handle fast-changing world of digital finance. • You’d better get that project right: We always tell our CIOs, "When you successfully move your mainframe to the cloud, you're going to end up in the CEO's office." Unfortunately, the opposite is also true! The Big...
Nov 16, 2021•24 min•Ep. 269
The Big Themes: • The great resignation is effecting projects: What are some of the key findings or trends about these transformations? What was different in Q3? • What are the biggest reasons projects fail to deliver results? So many companies in the middle of digital transformation. • What are some of the pain points: That's actually a little bit higher than we've seen in the past. • What should customers be prepared for: Our survey results point the way forward for businesses. The Big Quotes:...
Nov 09, 2021•26 min•Ep. 268
The Big Themes: • Facebook is evil: It’s a lot like going to work for Philip Morris 30 years ago. We should continue to invest in solving the world’s problems. • Tesla is undervalued: Tesla is a software company. Tesla is an automaker – and in five years we’ll see who’s right. • An interesting and kind of fun way: How can you make these companies more software companies over the next few years? • The faster we can get there: When we’re taking shots at social media – there’s big problems that nee...
Nov 04, 2021•22 min•Ep. 267
The Big Themes: • We just launched a new channel: Reflecting this global business phenomenon, it’s called the data revolution—and it’s turning the business world upside-down. • Mining for gold: Gathering as much customer data as possible and then using mining algorithms to gain insights and opportunities. • Aggregated, integrated, and transformed: Data transformation is the term that is used rou describes the modern digital recipe for turning to turn raw data into business data. • What can and s...
Oct 28, 2021•38 min•Ep. 266
The Big Themes: • The real story behind the supply chain: There are not enough skilled workers in manufacturing, logistics, distribution, and trucking. • Combination of technology and innovative programs: Like apprenticeships, primary school education programs, and recruiting people from other industries. • Geo-political dynamics: LinkedIn pulling out of China, recent investments by the US government to stimulate American ships manufacturing, and 5G development. • Google is an example of a broad...
Oct 26, 2021•42 min•Ep. 265
The Big Themes: • The solution is a production database: So there’s a big period of time when I have two different data sources. And you run the report off that database. • We learned about Chesterton's fence: It didn't grow like a weed – somebody put it there. They spent time and money and energy. I say to CEOs boards and my customers ask yourself, why did we do it that way? • Very worried about shadow IT: The CEO and the CIO will come to tell you one thing: this is bad. • Keep the lemmings fro...
Oct 21, 2021•33 min•Ep. 264
The Big Themes: • We're not loyal to each other: I think you've got to breathe almost our hearts back into our organizations. • Competitors are very aggressive: And they're enticing them with new programs at 20% rates. The salaries are getting kicked up just because they're paying more. • Blindingly obvious: When we’re in the four walls, we forget the simple things. It’s really a clear and present demonstration of what your values and beliefs are. • Empowerment is about decision rights: I don't ...
Oct 19, 2021•36 min•Ep. 261
The Big Themes: • “Scaling Up” – by Verne Harnish: The four Ds: drivers, demands, discipline, and decisions. • Growth doesn’t always equal success: For each organization, defining what success means is really important to defining how you can make a decision and make those executions a reality. • The Acceleration Economy Analyst Network: This is a new venture from Acceleration Economy Media, a group of experts creating content from different points of view. • The Acceleration Economy Conference:...
Oct 14, 2021•36 min•Ep. 263
The Big Themes: • Your data pipeline is key: A strong data pipeline with a decent model is better than an awesome model with a weak data pipeline • Sit down with the executives: It's relevant at the executive level as well. Guys at the CEO level like Cloud Wars All-Star Tony Uphoff are pushing the envelope through data. • In data analysis, there’s a war for high quality talent: Figure out how to get better candidates into the top of your funnel and move the right candidates through that funnel f...
Oct 12, 2021•20 min•Ep. 259
The Big Themes: • Young kids don’t have any money: After spending a hundred thousand dollars on a four year education I’d like to see the universities at least provide a one day seminar and teach them personal skills. • A lot of brilliant minds: Talented people that are in the middle of their career have no idea how to navigate to the next level. • They have to do their homework: I find it very sad that these young people don’t recognize that they have to present themselves. • The video conferen...
Oct 11, 2021•31 min•Ep. 258
The Big Themes: • Operating solutions to hotels, casinos, and cruise ships: It’s been a brutal 18 months for hospitality – the industry did a very good job early on of shoring up liquidity. • We did quite well during COVID: The vast majority of the partner technologies that were deployed I'd say in the first 12 months of the pandemic were largely focused around mobility. • These are huge numbers: We're talking IT staffs that numbered in the thousands pre-pandemic. I don't see those IT organizati...
Oct 07, 2021•26 min•Ep. 257
The Big Themes: • Setting clear project goals and timelines: This will help you measure your progress. Without clear goals and success metrics, it will be difficult to understand if you are on right track. • Make sure you have leadership buy-in: It’s important to get these individuals on board. Leadership support can also ensure you have the right resources. • Select the right consulting partner: They wish they did more research on their consulting partner instead of simply using the first partn...
Oct 05, 2021•28 min•Ep. 260
The Big Themes: • They're looking to modernize everything they do: And whether that's the infrastructure, whether that's how they operate the infrastructure, but it's such a key priority. • I look at this as two layers of that cake: If we go back to the pillars of a modernization, infrastructure, operations, and applications. • And I think there's really three pillars to that: One is certainly modernizing their infrastructure. Two is their operations and how they're interacting with their data. ...
Oct 04, 2021•23 min•Ep. 256
The Big Themes: • You may be hearing about it: The Buy American Act, The Infrastructure Bill, The United States Innovation, and Competition Act. • Based on our Thomas data: We have a few predictions of supply chain disruptions that will impact the consumer economy over the next 12 months. • The woman that created a billion dollar brand called Spanx: She was pretty savvy about design and had at least a functional understanding of some of the engineering requirements. • These key pieces of legisla...
Sep 30, 2021•46 min•Ep. 255
The Big Themes: • Every industry: Think about how each one of them accelerated or propelled what they would have taken years to get to in a very, very short period of time. • Some businesses have opened, some have closed: But one thing it's really taught us is we're able to touch billions of people in meaningful ways, across a broad spectrum. • Constantly engaging with your customers: And the more you own your customer’s success, the more rewards you will see for your engagement. • That's what y...
Sep 28, 2021•29 min•Ep. 254
The Big Themes: • IBM support is a differentiator: Upstart cloud vendors are in an IaaS arms race. Legacy enterprise IT clients have been with IBM clients for 50+ years. • Board of duty of care: The board’s overarching mandate is to protect shareholders over the long term. Boards have two main fiduciary duties: Loyalty and care. • Cybersecurity and obsolescence risk: What is the age of IT components vs. current – years matter less than generations. • The right CIO: The CEO gets the CIO they sett...
Sep 27, 2021•47 min•Ep. 253
The Big Themes: • This thing called fog of war: And the fog of war is you don't know everything. And then as soon as the bullets start flying, you actually know less because it's like this aperture shrinks. • Half the Fortune 500 will be replaced by other companies: We have the highest churn rate in the history of the list. • Most of our corporations are run by terrible leaders: They have the technical background, but just look at our firms, look at how tone deaf they are. • It's a fantastic wor...
Sep 23, 2021•38 min•Ep. 252
The Big Themes: • The Ambassador: Excited about the project and are telling everyone about it. They’ll be the first ones that post their go-live badge on LinkedIn. They’re also rolling-up their sleeves to contribute. • The up-and-comer: Might not have previous experience but see the project as an opportunity to grow in their career and add a successful digital transformation to their resume. Great attitude. • Debbie Downer/Don Downer: “We’ve always done it this way” is their MO. They have a prob...
Sep 16, 2021•31 min•Ep. 251
The Big Themes: • It just doesn’t magically happen: It’s not the data you already have, this is one of the hard lessons that lot of folks think. • DataStax fits into that equation: And this is one of the things that I think goes back to what you talked about in terms of agility. • Everybody has S3 compatible APIs: You've got your storage now that is just scale out via very simple APIs. You've got your compute now that's been standardized on top of Kubernetes. • You may have some rock stars: But ...
Sep 15, 2021•31 min•Ep. 248
The Big Themes: • You've got great leaders at the top of the house: In both those companies you really understand innovation. • One of our venture companies: We sold a company to a publicly traded company that when that transaction happened, I got a lot of congratulations. • That ship has sailed: I also think though that speaks to another thing that we expected to happen when you plug into an organization – like in this case of Salesforce or Oracle. • Very fast moving dynamic: So we need to keep...
Sep 07, 2021•21 min•Ep. 250
The Big Themes: • A fascinating cultural shift: The millennial generation’s increasing dissatisfaction with “knowledge work” and the increasing interest in wanting to make things. • The cultural legacies of the US manufacturing industry: This is why so many industries are disrupted by outsiders. • Technology continues to advance dramatically: It’s time to transform and upgrade how technology is positioned, explained, and sold. • Many scheduled office re-openings have been pushed back: We’re seei...
Aug 26, 2021•37 min•Ep. 247
The Big Themes: Accenture ransomware: Accenture’s response – they quickly detected, defended, and repaired. So far, it appears to be only a low-value material leaked. The New Digital Edge: McKinsey article rethinking strategy for the post-pandemic era. “By 2023, most companies will need to build new digital businesses to stay economically viable.” Talking to CFOs: After talking with several CFOs since the last episode, I think it’s time for some changes. Why does IT report to the CFO at so many ...
Aug 19, 2021•51 min•Ep. 246
The Big Themes: The “T” in Teamwork: Why employees with breadth and depth are imperative for harmonizing organizational goals and culture. We call this the acceleration economy. We are launching a brand-new program: August 19th to be exact, and it's all content driven to what is the future role of the office of the CFO. Tie in the future effects of the office: What’s the difference between data digitization – and why organizations should care. I think develops a richer culture: It also helps for...
Aug 17, 2021•29 min•Ep. 245
