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Latest episodes from Heavy Strategy

HS106: Planning for the Epochalypse

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 17, 2025 28:15


IT teams deal with technology lifecycle issues all the time–including Y2K, which enterprises across the world grappled with for years. The Epochalypse, or Year 2038 Problem, is similar. Specifically, some Linux systems' date-time counters will go from positive to negative at a specific date in 2038, potentially wreaking havoc on embedded systems and any other... Read more »

HS105: How to Train Your Unicorn: Thoughts on Ops Architects

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2025 27:22


You need someone to design your operations processes–or perhaps redesign them. That's an Ops Architect. Should you take an ops person and train them up in architecture? Or an architect and train them up in operations? Do you even have that ops/engineer/architect organizational structure – and should you? Johna and John dive into this discussion... Read more »

0520 HS104: How Long Should Your Planning Horizon Be?

Play Episode Listen Later May 20, 2025 28:56


How far ahead should you plan, and what things belong in your strategic plan? Conventional wisdom holds that a 3-year planning horizon is “about right”–but in a period of rapid technical and geopolitical change (such as we're arguably in right now) does that go too far out, particularly when agile methodologies recommend shorter action plans... Read more »

HS103: Why IT Is Like Ultimate Frisbee

Play Episode Listen Later May 6, 2025 25:51


It's all well and good to develop a technology strategy, articulate and document the strategy, and agree (supposedly) on that strategy. But what do you do when one or more of the tech teams act in apparent opposition to the strategy? John and Johna discuss why this happens and what questions you need to ask... Read more »

HS102: IT's Role In AI (Sponsored)

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 29, 2025 40:40


AI can impact an enterprise in several ways: making individuals more productive, making products and services more effective, and making it easier for customers and partners to do business. IT plays a critical role in enabling AI to have these impacts. On today’s sponsored Heavy Strategy, Cisco CIO Fletcher Previn explains how to locate AI use... Read more »

HS101: Time for a Cybersecurity Spring Cleaning?

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 22, 2025 31:33


Most organizations have a long list of security holes in the form of unpatched systems and other known but unresolved vulnerabilities. Is it time to hit the big PAUSE button and fix, patch, or mitigate all of that before we resume deploying new systems (and their accompanying risks)? Join us as we tear into whether... Read more »

HS100: Lead Without Lying: The (Radical) Strategy of Honesty

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 8, 2025 41:45


Is it actually possible to run a team without lying? Steven Gaffney, author of the book, “Just Be Honest”, joins Johna and John to talk about why being honest is harder than it sounds–and how (and why) to do it anyway. Steven spends his career advising science and technology leaders about how to be more... Read more »

HS099: From CLI to CFO: Translating Complex Network Data into Clear Strategic and Financial Insights (Sponsored)

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 1, 2025 34:40


IT and network leaders need more than uptime—they need to know what their networks cost, what they deliver, and how future changes will impact the business. That's where Netos comes in. CEO and founder Richard Foster joins Johna and John in a lively discussion to explore how Netos turns complex operational data into clear financial... Read more »

HS098: Just Following Orders?

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 25, 2025 33:34


What do you do when your colleagues or senior leaders ask you to do something illegal? It’s hardly hypothetical; recent years have seen high-profile firings and convictions of CIOs and CISOs who’ve been ordered to break the law. John and Johna discuss steps that tech leaders can take if they’re put on the spot. Episode... Read more »

HS097: Build A Strategy, Not Just A Project Plan

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 11, 2025 30:28


IT teams too often wrap a strategy statement around a basket of projects already in progress or known to be coming, rather than defining a strategy and then letting it spawn, guide, or absorb projects. On today’s Heavy Strategy we discuss whether IT teams have any alternative to this approach, given how much gets “thrown... Read more »

HS096: Corporate Foresight and How to Get It

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 25, 2025 40:25


Someone needs to be scanning the horizon for the threats and opportunities that are distant for now–and they need to be able to turn that foresight into action. We welcome John Miranda of Intel for a lively discussion of how to look ahead, how to get folks to pay attention to the alerts you raise,... Read more »

HS095: The Journey to a Self-Healing Network: Intelligence, Agents, and Complexity (Sponsored)

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 18, 2025 37:06


Can AI and automation create a truly autonomous network, one that’s self-diagnosing and self-healing? Join Vitria CTO and Founder Dale Skeen and industry analyst Charlotte Patrick in this sponsored episode of Heavy Strategy to discuss the challenges–and limitations–of using AI to create autonomous networking. This discussion covers the “intelligence architecture” required to implement automation, and ... Read more »

HS094: How Risky Is Your Organization's AI Strategy?

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 11, 2025 24:36


AI Large Language Models (LLMs) can be used to generate output that the creators and users of those models didn’t intend; for example, harassment, instructions on how to make a bomb, or facilitating cybercrime. Researchers have created the HarmBench framework to measure how easily an AI can be weaponized. Recently these researchers trumpeted the finding... Read more »

HS093: Strategic Trust-Building Among Ops, Engineering, Architecture – and Leadership

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 28, 2025 36:14


Billy Joel had it right: It’s a matter of trust. Too often Operations, Engineering, and Architecture teams don’t trust one another–and nobody trusts leadership (and vice versa!). Special guest (and PacketPushers host) Scott Robohn joins us to talk about how to build trust, and the special role of an Operations Architect. Episode Guest: Scott Robohn, ... Read more »

HS092: Make a Plan…and Change It!

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 14, 2025 31:19


It’s better to plan for your IT strategy than not. But sometimes circumstances arise such that the plan, no matter how well conceived, just doesn’t work any more. On today's Heavy Strategy, we explore how and why you should change a plan in the context of IT and business objectives. Sometimes this means small changes... Read more »

HS091: The Game Has Changed: Security Strategy After Salt Typhoon and the Pager-Bomb Hack

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 17, 2024 31:13


Recent events have driven home a simple fact: neither your devices nor your network services can be trusted totally, and they could all be turned against you, possibly fatally. Join us as we discuss the harsh realities of the evolving cybersecurity space, and how enterprise leaders in and out of IT need to change their... Read more »

HS090: AI Regulations: What You Don't Know CAN Hurt You!

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 3, 2024 36:05


This has been a big year for AI regulation, from the EU AI Act to the much hyped California SB1047, currently in limbo. With things bubbling along across the country, and at the federal level, and internationally, there’s a lot going on and IT folks should be keeping current and planning to meet a changing... Read more »

HS089: Return to the Office: What's Next?

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 19, 2024 28:04


​​Some high-profile companies like Amazon are mandating all employees return to the office, full time. Justifications, when given, mostly revolve around productivity and innovation. We say, whoa there! The data don’t back up the idea that hybrid and remote work hurt productivity (kind of the opposite) or innovation, and the real justifications likely lie elsewhere.... Read more »

HS088: Combating Analysis Paralysis

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 5, 2024 34:02


Analysis paralysis is a huge problem in IT – we “study” and “evaluate” and “keep on our radar” but then all too often have a choice and a need to act thrust upon us, and need to switch modes fast. How do we try to get more mileage out of the studying to get leverage... Read more »

HS087: Alkira's Multi-Cloud NaaS Bridges Networking and Security (Sponsored)

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 29, 2024 35:21


Startup Alkira has built a Network as a Service (NaaS) offering that extends from on prem to public cloud and multi-cloud. Today’s sponsored episode of Heavy Strategy digs in to Alkira’s capabilities in multi-cloud networking, security, automation, and cost transparency. Guest Manan Shah, SVP of Product at Alkira,  explains how Alkira simplifies network management, enhances... Read more »

HS086: [Next] Highlights: Drone to Titan, and More!

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 22, 2024 32:49


In this episode, John and Johna share the findings from the recent [Next] conference that most inspired them: How to project-manage an 18-year effort to put a drone on Titan, why AI algorithms need to consider the factor of time, how to train robots, and why effective storytelling is an essential tool in a technology... Read more »

HS085: The Perfect and the Good (Enough)

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 8, 2024 31:46


Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good… it’s a challenge that architects and strategists often face. They may design a “perfect” architecture or strategy, only to see it overwhelmed by the realities of implementation. John Burke and Johna Johnson discuss the questions to ask to ensure that devotion to the perfect doesn’t... Read more »

HS084: Straight Talk from Cisco's CIO (Sponsored)

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 1, 2024 40:01


Cisco CIO Fletcher Previn visits Heavy Strategy to talk about how to create a technology culture, what it's like being “customer zero”, and other challenges and tribulations of running IT from inside one of the world's largest tech companies. Episode Guest: Fletcher Previn, SVP & Chief Information Officer, Cisco Fletcher Previn has over two decades... Read more »

HS083: Why Protocols Fail: Russ White's Perspective on Effective Architecture

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 24, 2024 42:19


Network veteran Russ White joins the Heavy Strategy team for a rousing discussion on why protocols fail, how much complexity is too much, why “premature optimization is the root of all evil” (Donald Knuth) and why architects should always remember to think about state. Episode Guest: Russ White, Senior Architect, Akamai Technologies For the last... Read more »

HS082: Citizen Coders: Boon Or Bane?

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 10, 2024 36:06


The low-code/no-code movement means business users who aren’t programmers can create software. This capability might make these citizen coders more efficient and productive, but could also pose risks due to a lack of formal training in software development and security. Is citizen coding a boon or bane to business? Johna Johnson and John Burke discuss... Read more »

HS081: What's Your Strategic Plan for AI Infrastructure?

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 27, 2024 26:41


AI seems to be changing everything, including your IT infrastructure. Do you have a strategic plan for your AI infrastructure? Today we discuss the merits and challenges of cloud computing, on-premises solutions, hybrid models, and edge computing along with the importance of low latency for real-time AI applications and the potential of edge computing in... Read more »

HS080: Top Mistakes In Developing and Executing Technology Strategies

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 13, 2024 38:07


To borrow a phrase first used in a military context, no tech strategy survives its first contact with real users. Today’s Heavy Strategy explores common mistakes executives make when developing and executing a technology plan. They include poor communication, making assumptions, not understanding a system’s architecture or dependencies, and more. Co-hosts Johna and Jerry draw... Read more »

HS079: Big Rock, Best-in-Breed, or Ecosystem: What's the Best Vendor Procurement Strategy?

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2024 22:49


When choosing vendors, what strategy should you employ: big rock, best-in-breed, or ecosystem? The big rock approach consolidates vendor relationships around a few strategic partners. Best-in-breed focuses on selecting top solutions from various vendors. The ecosystem model combines elements of both. Today’s conversation explores all three models and also highlights the importance of integration, the... Read more »

HS078: Is It Time To Dump Microsoft?

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 23, 2024 30:07


Should enterprises ditch Microsoft because of security concerns? Microsoft’s numerous vulnerabilities and questionable responses make it a significant risk for continued use. At the same time, Microsoft’s strong integration and utility in enterprise environments make it attractive for continued use. Johna Till Johnson and John Burke debate. They also weigh considerations including the challenges of... Read more »

HS 077: Should IT Lead or Follow?

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 2, 2024 30:20


The evolving role of IT in business is the topic of lively discussion between co-hosts Johna Johnson and John Burke.  Johna argues that IT should align with business goals, acting as an executive assistant, while John believes IT should take a proactive leadership role, driving innovation and framing business problems. They explore the challenges IT... Read more »

HS076: Greg's Finale

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 25, 2024 38:21


This is Greg's last Heavy Strategy episode before he heads off to retirement. He gives us his final pieces of career and life advice, opinions on private equity, and a Cookie Monster quote. We also briefly introduce John Burke, the new Heavy Strategy co-host. Farewell, Greg. Thank you for all the great debates. Episode Transcript... Read more »

HS075: How to Ask Questions

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2024 33:49


Asking questions is a critical skill whether you're an outside consultant or on an internal IT team. In today's episode, Greg and Johna review what kind of questions to ask and how to ask them. They discuss the ‘Five Whys,' identifying points of invariance, discovering unknown unknowns, and watching out for landmines. They also cover... Read more »

HS074: Geek Speak to Biz Talk

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 4, 2024 32:28


To be an effective technologist in a corporation, your efforts need to be aligned with the business strategy of your organization. In today's episode, Johna and Greg show you how to do this, even if your organization has no written business strategy. They explain how to “read the tea leaves” to tell if your organization... Read more »

HS073: Failure and Resilience

Play Episode Listen Later May 28, 2024 45:20


Firing the wrong person, mistakenly rebooting core switches in a massive network, not passing the CCIE exam– today we talk all about failure. For this conversation, we're joined by fellow Packet Pushers Kyler Middleton and Ned Bellavance, hosts of the Day Two Cloud podcast. We swap stories, discuss response and prevention, and talk about accountability,... Read more »

HS072: Making Distributed Work Successful

Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2024 36:01


Don't call it remote work. Today Johna and Greg dive into distributed work– the future where there is no office vs. remote, there are just asynchronistic workers and their computer screens. Leaders have to move beyond “management by walking around” or “onboarding by shadowing.” They need to carefully select their ecosystem of tools (and tools... Read more »

HS071: The Real Numbers Behind the Return To Office Myths

Play Episode Listen Later May 7, 2024 39:51


Why are some executives still insisting on Return to Office policies? Does it improve culture and productivity like they swear? Or is it more about the devaluing of a massive asset on their books: Commercial real estate. If the value of commercial real estate drops, companies have less to leverage for loans and– perhaps more... Read more »

HS070: Living on the Edge: The Present Future of Edge Architecture

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 23, 2024 30:28


Right now we're in the first generation of edge architecture. We won't even really know how to define it until we're past it. Greg and Johna discuss the operational milieu in which the edge is forming: Vast numbers of IoT devices, increased remote computing capabilities, questions around cloud operational costs and efficiency, and vendors jostling... Read more »

Day Two Cloud: The Duality of Enterprise AI

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 18, 2024 55:14


Welcome to a crossover episode with the Day Two Cloud podcast! AI has been around forever; AI is emergent. AI is just data analytics; AI hallucinates. AI doesn't have many business use cases; AI is already being used by your employees. Today, Greg and Johna from the Heavy Strategy podcast join Day Two Cloud to... Read more »

HS069: Regulating AI

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 9, 2024 29:05


In today's episode Greg and Johna spar over how, when, and why to regulate AI. Does early regulation lead to bad regulation? Does late regulation lead to a situation beyond democratic control? Comparing nascent regulation efforts in the EU, UK, and US, they analyze socio-legal principles like privacy and distributed liability. Most importantly, Johna drives... Read more »

HS068: What's the Point of Having a Tech Strategy?

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 19, 2024 34:59


What does having a tech strategy actually do for an organization? In today's episode, Greg and Johna highlight how a good tech strategy benefits a company: creates a foundation of first principles, reduces bias in vendor decisions, better allocates human resources, kills bad ideas, sunsets projects, and makes meetings a little more enjoyable and harmonious.... Read more »

HS067: The Right People to Have on Your Tech Strategy Team

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 5, 2024 37:10


Exactly who should be on your technology strategy team? From inside your organization, who should represent the areas that come into play: Business, development, operations, etc? And what about outsiders–what kind of external consultant do you want for your strategy team? Do you even need one? Johna and Greg cover it all in today's episode.... Read more »

HS066: The Holy Grail: A Functioning Tech Strategy

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 23, 2024 25:54


It's rare for strategists, executives, and technologists to all get on the same page in order to create, execute, and adjust an organization's tech strategy, much less do it well. But it is possible. Johna and Greg discuss their experiences of seeing through some consultants' smoke and mirrors, honestly evaluating an organization's capability to implement... Read more »

HS065: Calculating the Value of Telco AIOps (Sponsored)

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 13, 2024 26:47


AI and automation are hot topics in telco, but not all projects are created equal in terms of the bottom-line value. We dive into how to calculate total value, and discuss why the area of assurance looks set to generate the most value. We provide key questions to ask when considering what AIOps to add... Read more »

HS064: Mastering the Art of Strategy and Architecture with Pocket Change

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 6, 2024 40:28


Welcome, trailblazers and visionaries! Today, I’m thrilled to unpack a treasure trove of wisdom that zooms into the exhilarating realm of strategy architecture and the craft of sculpting strategy roadmaps on a shoestring budget. The Thrill of Resourcefulness In this episode, my esteemed co-host Johna and I dove headfirst into a challenge that plagues countless... Read more »

HS063: What's On Our Minds

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 23, 2024 27:24


Hosts Greg Ferro and Johna Till Johnson reflect on the technological advancements of 2023 and discuss the trends for 2024. In this wide-ranging conversation, they chat about the rise of AI, tech consolidation, and the impact of automation on infrastructure. They also explore the geopolitical impact on supply chains, the move away from Chinese manufacturing,... Read more »

HS062: Questions On Being Service-Oriented

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 11, 2024 29:58


Johna and Greg discuss service-oriented networking and the challenges of defining and delivering network services. They explore the negative impact of siloed organizational structures on service delivery and the importance of continuous adaptation in infrastructure management. They debate the perception of services by users, using metaphors like sidewalks and electricity, and the importance of defining... Read more »

HS061 What is IT Training or Education

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 19, 2023 31:45


The difference between training and education is signficant and technology industry often conflates these terms. They are vastly different ways to providing learning and we dive into why we need more education and less training. The post HS061 What is IT Training or Education appeared first on Packet Pushers.

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