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You've Been Heard

You've Been Heard

Hosted by You've Been Heard

TechnologyBusinessInterviews guests

Episodes

444

Latest episode

Jul 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

Having a seat at the table. Nice. Being heard? Nicer. For decades, IT leaders have been the backbone of defensible business growth, solving problems that could cripple a business often before anyone noticed. We know this world. The late nights. The firefights. The impossible deadlines that somehow got met. IT Professionals don’t just fix. They fortify. They’re the frontline heroes fighting an improbable battle thriving where others break, armed with a resilience the strongest military leaders consider simply another day safeguarding the world. When things get rough, you’re indispensable. When everything’s humming like a well-oiled Tesla, you’re the hidden engine of progress, often asked to do the extraordinary. And one of the toughest parts? Being hunted by short-term sales reps chasing quotas, pushing shiny solutions they “know” you need… but you know you don’t. What if you could work with those who have sat in your seat, been precisely where you are? You can. That’s right: We’ve been there. Negotiating partnerships, being pitched by vendors across the table, and standing on the frontlines of IT. That’s why we built a platform where IT leaders are amplified, not sidelined. Not just “another platform.” In fact, three in one. A triple-threat to the industry norm. Doing to IT what the iPhone did to the Blackberry redefining the game (and expectations) forever. And to be clear, we refuse to be part of the “Hype Cycle” and inflated expectations. Which is why we’ve perfected a proven model that elevates you, the IT leader. Just ask our clients. The first piece? A podcast, not just a show. A platform where IT pros share hard-earned truths, not corporate scripts. The second piece? A community where peers (real ones) have sophisticated conversations—without vendors lurking in the corner. The final component? An advisory with only one agenda: your performance and sanity, so you make smarter vetted choices without the sales circus. Think of us as your backstage pass to whoever you need to meet to eliminate headaches and accelerate resolutions. The kind of exclusive pass that gains you access to our ecosystem with $1.2 billion in buying power. When we knock, the door’s already unlocked. And here’s the kicker: We make vendors fund your success. What about vendor-neutrality? If we were any more neutral, we’d be beige. Our triple-threat model doesn’t just transform how we do business. It transforms the impact you have on a day-to-day basis and on a year-over-year basis. It’s how you balance innovation with stability. Where you not only have a seat at the table, but get invited to speak. And be listened to. And there’s one final point that makes everything work: We don’t disappear when you need us. Ever. We stay. We escalate. We stand with you. We are anti-spin. Anti-transactional. Pro-IT leader. Your resilience is our resilience. Because when IT leaders rise… so does everything else. Welcome to the platform. Welcome to the movement. Join the next wave of IT leadership. Welcome to You’ve Been Heard. *****DISCLAIMER***** All views, opinions, and statements made by guests on this show do not represent the beliefs of the host Phil Howard, or any entity whatsoever with which the show has been, is now, or will be affiliated. Any statements, views, random thoughts, or opinions expressed by the hosts and guests do not necessarily reflect the personal beliefs (could easily be misconstrued) and are not the official policy/position of our company, agency, podcast, and affiliated partners. Finally, because human beings are characteristically prone to flaws and mistakes, we warn all listeners to think critically for yourself and seek true knowledge before taking action upon anything.

Listen to episodes

60 recent
July 16, 202643 min

EP439- Stop Reporting Activity, Report Risk Reduced w/James Dunlap

In Episode 439 of You've Been Heard, Phil Howard speaks with James Dunlap about turning technology and security work into language executives understand. James draws on leadership experience across healthcare, banking, fintech, and legal services to explain why projects, ticket counts, and technical jargon rarely tell the full story at the board level. He shows how to lead with risk reduced, value created, revenue impact, competitive advantage, and reputational consequences. The conversation follows his path from fine art photography and medical imaging into CIO leadership, including his decision to step down from a healthcare CIO role to learn directly under a banking CISO. James also recounts leading a seven-location medical practice from paper charts to electronic records, examines the security challenge of legacy healthcare equipment, and warns that governance and accountability for AI agents are not keeping pace with capability. He closes by reframing imposter syndrome as part of growth and explaining why credibility comes from quiet, consistent follow-through.

July 14, 202642 min

438-Stop Waiting to Be Invited w/Bill Garcia

Bill Garcia explains why IT leaders lose credibility when they speak technology but cannot translate it into business outcomes. Drawing on a career in process redesign, ERP transformation, COO roles, and global leadership, he shows how governance can increase speed, why AI needs clean and trusted knowledge, and why communication remains the skill that separates strategic leaders from service providers.

July 2, 202637 min

435- Dirty Data Makes AI Worse w/Stephen Hightower

In Episode 435 of You've Been Heard, Doug Camin speaks with Stephen Hightower about a career that spans aerospace and defense, information security, quality engineering, private equity consulting, YETI Coolers, and technology leadership at Harmar. Stephen explains why cycle time, service quality, and unit cost are the three metrics he uses to understand whether a business process is working. The conversation moves through private equity speed, order-to-cash thinking, Lean Six Sigma, master data, ERP and CRM discipline, AI decision quality, proactive monitoring, and the need for IT leaders to earn trust through transparency. Stephen's through line is clear: technology should not be treated as a cost center when it can remove waste, improve customer experience, and help the business make better decisions.

June 30, 20261 hr 5 min

434- AI Hype Needs A Business Case w/Tim McCrosson

In Episode 434 of You've Been Heard, Phil Howard speaks with Tim McCrosson about a career that moved from dot-com era web development into federal IT leadership, policy, cybersecurity, and large-scale operations. Tim explains how an early leadership correction changed him from a command-and-control project manager into a more sustainable coach and collaborator, while also showing why leaders still need the right style for the moment. The conversation moves through CIO authority in the federal government, laptop refresh policy, the use-or-lose budget problem, enterprise depot operations, pandemic-era network consolidation, SASE risk reduction, AI in acquisition, and the danger of chasing AI without a clear business case. Tim's through line is simple: technology can be powerful, but it works best when leaders manage up, manage down, build trust, and keep people at the center.

June 25, 202641 min

433- AI Needs Use Cases, Not Hype w/Alex Vasilescu

In Episode 433 of You've Been Heard, Mike Kelley speaks with Alex Vasilescu about the path from service desk work to global IT service delivery leadership. Alex shares lessons from major incident management, ITIL-driven operations, ServiceNow optimization, and the current pressure organizations feel around AI adoption. The conversation centers on a practical point: AI can create value, but not by rushing. Companies need clear use cases, organized data, governance, security, and a realistic implementation pace before technology can truly improve service delivery and customer experience.

June 18, 202655 min

432- AI Should Not Speed Up Broken Work w/ Jesse Crane

Mike Kelley speaks with Jesse Crane, Vice President Information Technology at Argon Medical Devices. Jesse traces a career that started in finance and accounting, moved through Y2K, Oracle ERP, Silicon Valley startups, Stanford, Stryker, master data, business partnering, cybersecurity, and ultimately the VP seat. The conversation focuses on how IT earns trust inside the business, why being in the room is different from being accepted as a peer, and why AI should not be used to make broken processes faster. Jesse brings the perspective of a leader who understands budgets, operations, security, data, and the human side of change.

June 11, 202633 min

431- IT Is Your Revenue Protector w/ Kevin Neureuter

Kevin Neureuter, Jr. brings a supply-chain, public-sector, managed-services, and business-ownership perspective to IT leadership. In this episode, he talks with Michael Moore about moving from reactive support to proactive leadership, translating IT decisions into owner-level options, using frameworks like ITIL and ISO 20000 without getting buried in process, and building AI governance that creates guardrails instead of denial. Kevin also explains why the next 18 months will be messy for IT leaders, and why awareness, backups, disaster recovery, and the ability to pivot matter more than fear.

June 11, 202633 min

431- IT Is Your Revenue Protector w/Kevin Neureuter

Kevin Neureuter, Jr., Director of IT at DiMarco Group, joins Michael Moore to explain why modern IT should be understood as revenue protection, not overhead.Kevin brings a supply-chain, public-sector, managed-services, and business-ownership perspective to IT leadership. The conversation covers moving from reactive support to proactive leadership, translating IT decisions into owner-level options, using frameworks like ITIL and ISO 20000 without getting buried in process, and building AI governance that creates guardrails instead of denial.Kevin also explains why the next 18 months will be messy for IT leaders, and why awareness, backups, disaster recovery, and the ability to pivot matter more than fear.

June 9, 202639 min

430- Stop Buying AI Projects Backwards w/Michael Baillargeon

Michael Baillargeon brings a telecom and contact-center lens to the AI strategy conversation. He argues that companies should stop treating AI like a SKU and start treating it like an operating practice. The episode covers practical quick wins in call recordings and quality management, the risk of public GPT use, the role of LLM aggregators, why data cleanup matters, and the five-part sequence IT leaders can use to move from AI pressure to measurable business outcomes: stakeholders, outcomes, data, guardrails, and ROI.

June 2, 202655 min

428- When IT Stops Being IT w/Luis Oliveira & Jose' Young

Jose Young, CTO at Beyond Air and founder of BrightPeak AI Solutions, and Luis Oliveira, Director at T4 Guidance Measurement, compare what carries across industries and what has to be learned from the ground up. They talk through early programming days, hurricanes, cloud recovery, COVID-era healthcare technology, stakeholder buy-in, SAP and manufacturing realities, and the rush toward AI. The strongest lesson is blunt: IT earns trust when it solves business pain, learns the operation, and avoids becoming the hammer looking for a nail.

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