Hot Mess Hotline

Are you accountable for action or outcomes? Jason Botts is an innovative, results-driven technology leader who creates high-performing teams. He is passionate about creating tech transformation that actually matters to its companies, customers, and stakeholders.

We discussed why benchmarks aren’t good enough and how trust and listening can solve even the worst tech disasters. Listen to this episode where Jason shares one of the worst days on the job – only 90 days after an ERP implementation with some 3 a.m. trust building.

About Jason Botts: With over two decades of experience, Jason helps realize key performance objectives for businesses large and small by partnering with business leaders and key stakeholders to capture synergies that result in operational excellence and effectiveness. He brings extensive IT operational and strategic experience from many industries, including life science, high tech / fintech and construction. His background includes transforming and leading technology teams that have been repeatedly recognized by InformationWeek magazine as Elite 100 Innovators – from entrepreneurial startup / Fast 50 companies to the S&P 500. He has led diligence and post-transaction integrations for deals ranging from $10M to nearly $3B.Jason serves by appointment of the Governor to the North Carolina Board of Science, Technology and Innovation and was recently selected as a technology leader in Aspen Institute’s Technology Executive Leadership Initiative (TELI). He holds a Master of Business Administration from UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

https://thechangearchitects.com/is-your-tech-team-accountable-for-action-or-outcomes-with-jason-botts

Extreme ownership for IT leaders means: if you’re involved, you own it. Brian Burk brings his IT leadership experience to our conversation with his wise counsel and practical tools for accountability. Today’s projects are complex and have moving targets. It’s easy to want to avoid responsibility for results. But you’re here because you’re a leader that wants to see big change so avoidance is unacceptable.

Brian shares multiple tools to bring more change and accountability — all while making a successful business even more successful. There are training ideas and a process for group brainstorming called SARGE. Listen in for ways to bring more ownership into your teams.

About Brian Burk: Brian A Burk, MBA began his healthcare and life science career as a pharmaceutical and medical device representative. He went on to roles leading US sales operations, Phase IV clinical trials and marketing for multiple global brands in Big Pharma. He has led numerous organizations who provided either healthcare data, analytics, compliance services and/or technology services to the FDA, physician groups, manufacturers, PBMs and hospitals. Additionally, he founded, built, and successfully sold the IP to two healthcare technology companies, which provided e-prescribing and pharmacy routing services respectively. He won the Innovation and Quality awards from eHealthcare Leadership in 2011, 2012 & 2013.

Read the full blog post here: https://thechangearchitects.com/if-youre-involved-you-own-it-extreme-ownership-for-it-leaders-with-brian-burk/

How about a specific example of technical debt and its cultural consequences? Ken Knapton shares a real world example where tech silos and cultural silos reinforce each other. This company had several overlapping solutions that wasted money and created at least $5 million in cash expense — while individuals were losing their jobs!

If you’re struggling to articulate the case for why technical debt is holding your enterprise back, listen to this episode for the real world implications, criteria to evaluate and quantify, how to know you have a problem, and how to leverage your tech debt to the tune of 50%.

About Ken Knapton:

Ken Knapton is an accomplished technology leader with extensive experience in leading IT functions, driving efficiency, automation, and delivering improved business outcomes.

Ken has a proven track record in identifying and solving complex business problems, implementing sustainable solutions, and driving process improvements that transform business operations and bottom-line results.

Read the full blog post at: https://thechangearchitects.com/example-of-technical-debt-and-its-cultural-consequences/

Insider threat detection comes from new school technology and old school relationships. Robert Field learned of sabotage coming from one of his employees from a trusted relationship outside of the organization. Yes, technically, technology could have detected this. But the reality was that Rob’s focus on relationships saved his company’s bacon. He had people around him that cared about his success.

As a leader, do you have strong enough relationships to tell you the hard stuff, the stuff you don’t want to hear? Do you lead with integrity every day? Do you have people and technology to protect you from the bad stuff? Listen to this episode for how insider threat detection is a people, process, and tech problem and how to fix it.

About Robert Field

An expert at leveraging technology to turn corporate strategy into reality, Robert is a Senior Technical Leader with 20+ yrs. of experience leading client engagements. Highly accomplished, versatile global leader with a proven track record of success in building deep, meaningful relationships across the organization driving business change. Demonstrated success in leading large-scale, cross functional teams and delivering strategic solutions that drive growth, efficiency, and competitive advantage. Leveraging a coaching leadership style engaging and motivating teams beyond their expected potential. Highly adept at identifying and seizing new opportunities, leveraging technology to disrupt traditional business models and achieve transformation.

Find the full blog post at https://thechangearchitects.com/insider-threat-detection-comes-from-strong-outside-relationships-with-robert-field/

What got you here won’t get you there if you’re a leader driving growth and transformation. Ravi Bommireddipalli is a CEO who focuses on unlearning as much as he learns. For Robosoft’s next level, he’s being charged with leading the company to where it has never been. Along the way he’s going to become a leader he’s never been. And he’s going to grow more leaders so that not all operational details continue to come through him.

This episode covers great ground on how CEOs and CIOs need to problem solve at higher levels, cover both the offense and the defense, communicate simply, and hire people who challenge them.

Ravi Bommireddipalli

Ravi took charge as CEO of Robosoft Technologies in late 2017. Since then, he has been a change agent at Robosoft, leading the transition to a full-service digital transformation company. He has expanded the service offerings and set up systems and talent in place to deliver end-to-end digital solutions for enterprise customers. He believes in forging relationships with customers and being a true partner in solving their business problems through digital solutions.

Ravi Teja is a student of Ontology (the science of Being) Business and Engineering and believes that the power of empathy, human understanding and technology can solve a large number of societal and business problems. An Electronics engineer from NIT, Allahabad, an MBA in Technology Management from IIT Bombay, Ravi has 25+ years of experience in technology consulting and implementing digital transformation. His previous stints included Nihilent Technologies, TCS and Rolta. Ravi was the Chairman of Institute of Management Consultants of India (IMCI), Pune chapter and is an active member of the India CEO forum of IMA and the prestigious Forbes Technology Council – an ‘invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs, and technology executives’.

Find the full blog post at: https://thechangearchitects.com/what-got-you-here-wont-get-you-there-with-ravi-bommireddipalli/

Every step of growth has its own challenges and hot messes. CEO Asad Ur Rehman learned these lessons the hard way as he’s grown from freelance software developer to CEO of a 300-person global firm. There’s a myth about success that when you achieve a certain salary, revenue, job, client, etc. etc. etc. THEN things will get easier, better.

Here’s the good news: as you uplevel, you get more challenges. These challenges get bigger and you have to uplevel your problem solving skills. The only way is through and a commitment to learning.

I learned from Tony Robbins a long time ago that modeling the behavior and learning from other folks who have “Been there. Done that.” is a powerful way to jumpstart my plans. You can do that most simply by reading the books your role models write. Listen to Asad’s and my conversation to hear how Asad learned how to become a successful CEO when growth was often 2 steps forward and 1 step back.

About Asad Ur Rehman

Asad Ur Rehman is a dynamic entrepreneur and technology visionary who has transformed his passion for software development into a thriving global business empire. With a career spanning over a decade, Asad's journey from a software developer to the CEO of Cubic Solutions Inc. a technology company headquartered in the United States with a significant presence across Europe and Asia, is a testament to his unwavering dedication and visionary leadership.Asad's entrepreneurial journey began in 2011 when he embarked on his career as a freelancer in the world of software development. His innate talent for coding and problem-solving quickly gained recognition, allowing him to build a solid foundation in the industry. As a freelancer, he honed his skills, gained invaluable experience, and cultivated a deep understanding of the tech landscape.

Find the full blog post at https://stefaniekrievins.com/every-step-of-growth-has-its-own-new-challenges-with-asad-ur-rehman/

Do you know how to tell the story of your career when there’s too much variety in your resume? Adrian Koehler is an executive coach who has transformed a “hot mess” of career experience into clear confidence for how he delivers compelling value every day and in the present moment.

This episode is for you if you’re working to develop the through-line to communicate how your variety of positions can contribute to your next career move and frame conversations so you can tell the story of your future impact, not justify your past career moves.

Find the full blog post at https://stefaniekrievins.com/tell-the-story-of-your-career-when-theres-too-much-variety-in-your-resume-with-adrian-koehler/

About Adrian

Adrian Koehler is a leadership engagement expert and senior partner at the executive coaching firm, Take New Ground. He coaches executives and entrepreneurs in the art and science of leadership for themselves, their teams, and clients to create new, unprecedented results and experience fulfillment in their work.

Drawing on his background in philanthropy, ministry, activism, and medicine, Adrian thrives in the extreme environments and finds comfort in difficult conversations—in fact, his passion for human performance has taken him around the globe, serving people in times of crisis, transformation, and stalemates. Over the last decade, Adrian has trained and developed leaders at NIKE, Virgin Hyperloop One, Jeni’s Ice Cream, Herschel Supply Co., Oprah Winfrey Network, Gavin DeBecker & Associates, Siegel & Gale, UCLA and elsewhere.

Making decisions isn’t always hard, but taking action on the decisions can be hard. Alexei Miller is a leader who lived that firsthand when his company’s locations were caught in the middle of international conflict. When Russia invaded Ukraine, Data Art’s “people first” philosophy was put to the test.

A decision for their Ukrainian employees felt like a betrayal of their Russian colleagues. And a decision for their Russian colleagues felt like a betrayal of their Ukrainian colleagues. Which people do you put first when global politics interrupts everything? And you have employees who need to be moved to safety and you have the resources to help?

These decisions aren’t easy but they have to be made. Listen in as Alexei shares how the entire company and their clients pitched in to help during difficult times and no-win decisions.

Find the full blog post at ⁠https://stefaniekrievins.com/making-decisions-isnt-hard-taking-action-on-the-decision-is-hard-with-alexei-miller/

About Alexei Miller

As a member of the group of founders who worked here since day one, Alexei sees himself as a company builder, not a manager. He cares about everything that’s going on, but also recognizes that we often don’t control our teams but rather have to give them space and support to develop. He was lucky to join DataArt back in 1997 while still in the university, studying math and computer science. At that point, he and his colleagues had no specific vision for the company they would eventually become; they were just doing what they enjoyed. Two decades later, they turned DataArt into a global enterprise with over 5,700 employees and over $300M in annual turnover.

Successful leaders find themselves creating alignment during change. Michael Judd shares one of his initial turnaround gigs where he learned this skill directly and then took it with him for the rest of his career. Learn from his experience and self awareness:

• Do you know your business’ safety net and risk tolerance?

• Do you know how to create clarity when there’s confusion?

• Do you know how to align the expectations of your manager with your peers and your teams?

• Do you know if you’re an innovator, builder, or maintainer?

Listen in to this wisdom-packed episode on logical steps to take for any hot mess.

Find the full blog post at https://stefaniekrievins.com/the-secret-to-creating-alignment-during-change-with-michael-judd/

About Michael Judd

Michael Judd is a technology and strategy expert that has over 20 years of experience working with Fortune 500 executives from a variety of industries. His past clients include American Express, Aon, HCSC, Providian, Raytheon, Washington Mutual, and Zurich Insurance. He is known for bringing strong strategic, financial, and operational skills to develop disruptive technology strategies that make sense for his clients. He is a CPA with a strong reputation for collaboration and global experience, he tackles the largest challenges, transforming how people and their processes engage with technology to drive business value.

Richard Luna came to a hard realization when he said to himself, “If you micromanage, then you’re not managing.” As his business and team were growing, he learned — the hard way, of course! — that he was controlling too much: filtering 1,000+ emails a day; creating specific dispatch schedules; putting out fires; selling services; being the CEO, COO, CSO, and CTO; working 18-hour days, the whole shebang.

Anyone who is driven recognizes this workload. For those of us who have broad shoulders, like to control for a positive outcome, and are wired for decision making, we all get humbled at some point about the limitations of what we can carry. Plus there comes a point in any team and company where 1 leader simply can’t force growth any longer. You can’t use straight brute strength to make more projects or revenue happen. The law of diminishing returns kicks in.

This episode of the Hot Mess Hotline details how Richard Luna went from micromanaging to managing to leader using the beneficial parts of his drive and living out his core values. Both are equally important. Listen in to hear why.

Find the full blog post here: https://stefaniekrievins.com/if-you-micromanage-then-youre-not-managing-with-richard-luna/

About Richard Luna

Richard Luna is a recognized national computer and IT leader with over 30 years in the field. His tech experience includes serving as IT Director (CTO) of U.S. News & World Report. Today, he is President and Founder of Protected Harbor and NetMagic Systems. The company has grown to more than over 30 employees and is a regional leader in providing managed IT services, data management, cybersecurity, software development and data center and technology planning and consulting for clients from multiple business sectors.