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You've Been Heard

You've Been Heard

Hosted by You've Been Heard

TechnologyBusinessInterviews guests

Episodes

439

Latest episode

Jun 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
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.

May 26, 202653 min

427- The Hidden cost of AI w/Cody Aldinger

Cody Aldinger is VP of IT at KLJ, managing technology for 30 offices across the US. He's learned that a huge part of his job isn't technology—it's sales. Convincing business leaders that IT is worth listening to.His AI philosophy cuts through the hype: "The word hallucination is a fancy word for flat out wrong." He's focused on practical governance, teaching context over button-clicking, and using AI as a thought partner.We get into the gap between AI expectations and reality, why throwing AI at bad processes just makes them faster, and the pricing disaster nobody's talking about. Cody shares how he's rolling out Microsoft Copilot to 650 employees while keeping guardrails in place.The biggest takeaway? People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. In the AI world, that means listening first, understanding the real problem, then figuring out if AI is even the right tool for the job.

May 21, 202647 min

426- AI Breaks Faster Than Broken Processes w/Eric Brosius

Eric Brosius, Vice President of IT at Sun River Health, joins Mike Kelley to talk about the real pressure behind healthcare technology leadership. He shares how his team supports multiple entities with different risk profiles, what COVID demanded from healthcare IT, why AI governance now has to account for PHI and vendor behavior, and how leaders build teams that answer the 4AM database call. The conversation is a grounded look at AI, compliance, process discipline, and the invisible work that keeps care moving.

May 19, 202653 min

Security Is Just Business Risk

Edward Marchewka, CIO at Illinois Bone and Joint Institute, joins You've Been Heard for a practical conversation about board communication, cybersecurity leadership, and the gap between technical expertise and business trust. He explains the information asymmetry gap, why fear-based security messaging often backfires, and how IT leaders can connect risk to confidentiality, finance, people, reputation, availability, and data integrity. The episode also covers adult learning, remediation ownership, third-party validation, operationalized security, incident response discipline, and the career lesson Edward gives every emerging IT leader: do not sit behind your desk.

May 12, 202633 min

All My Projects Are Your Projects

Dario Sarmiento started as a help desk fixer at one of the world's largest law firms during the dot-com boom. He thought his job was solving tech problems. Turns out, his real job was understanding how every department actually works.Now CIO at Wilshire Law Firm, Dario brings a unique perspective shaped by 25 years in legal tech and a master's in theological studies. His approach? Servant leadership that puts people first and treats IT as the connective tissue of the organization.We get into workflow intimacy (why IT touches every department differently than HR or Finance), the upside-down leadership triangle, and why AI governance is about teaching people to use the right hammer for the right job. Plus the story of an employee who almost quit to become a bus driver—and how Dario's intervention changed his entire trajectory.The biggest takeaway? IT's strategic advantage isn't technical expertise. It's proximity to how the whole business actually operates.

May 7, 202630 min

423- There Is A Cost To Know Things w/Steve Goudreau

Steve Goudreau has been in IT leadership long enough to know the difference between being at the table and being heard. At his current role, he has a seat at the executive round table. At his previous company with five times as many direct reports, he didn't even have director-level access.The difference? Understanding what executives actually need from IT. Not helpdesk metrics or project status updates. Information that helps the company make better decisions about technology, risk, and investment. "You want the information you're presenting to move the company forward," Steve explains.We get into executive communication that works, AI strategy that starts with goals instead of tools, and shadow AI governance that doesn't kill productivity. Steve also breaks down technical debt as future cost made visible, the questions CEOs should ask their IT leaders, and why the strongest leadership skill isn't technical.His biggest insight hits different: "There is a cost to know things." Training costs money. Research costs time. But staying ignorant costs more.

May 5, 20261 hr 4 min

422- AI Needs Architecture Before Automation w/Robert Sheesley

Robert Sheesley explains why AI needs business architecture, capability maturity, intelligence architecture, and organizational change management before it can create durable value.

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