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While everyone else was distracted by that *other* logo controversy, Darrick and I kept our eye on the ball and noticed the real logo threat (hint: total global domination).

And in the main segment, we take it to the Zero Trust fundamentalists who think that means making life hard for the employees of our company that we know, love, and trust (yeah, I said it). So, we play a game where we Zero Trust Darrick's garage so see how well that would work...

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The plant or the factory is its own domain, with domain experts like Plant Engineers who use their version of tech to keep machines and the plant humming. I.T. doesn't typically manage plant technologies needed to run machines.

The I.T. department understands business systems like the ERP, among others, and knows the value of getting the plant to send data directly into the business systems, potentially automating thousands of transactions. But often there is a barrier between plant folk and I.T. folk.

Experienced software architects like Darrick know how to break down the barriers the prevent the factory data from being integrated and automated into the ERP. We talk about that journey on this episode.

And in the banter segment we ask, "What is the perfect summer dessert?" and "Is watermelon a dessert or a side dish?"

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Sure, you may think you know Natalie Lemke, CEO and busy dealmaker at RUX Software, but do you really?

Do you know jr. high competitive reader Natalie? Or Science Olympiad letter jacket winning Natalie? Celine Dion fan? Subway Sandwich Artist? Bed, Bath, and Beyond hustler and Calphalon fan girl?

Natalie joined me on an 𝗢𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 edition of 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗜.𝗧. 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱, where I sit down with successful people and look back on how they got to where they are today. In addition to the fun, we got into some great topics on leadership, communication, personality styles and so much more. All were had by a good time!

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In the banter segment, we rank character-driven insurance commercials (spoiler: We disagree on the Gecko vs. Flo.)

In the #badIT segment, we whine about why some companies are so greasy when we try to unsubscribe. "Are you SURE you want to unsubscribe????"

It's amazing how long a company can go these days before their first internal I.T. hire. In The Big Idea segment, we share thoughts about which I.T. role (help desk? ERP analyst? IT Director?) a company should hire first.

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Origin Story - a new episode format for The Last I.T. Podcast in the World.

I welcome Ben Cole from ERP Connect Consulting to hear how he got to this point in his career.

But first, I give him the Podcast Guest-ionnaire, where he admits he's a "Yes" on pineapple on pizza, has never broken a bone, and his first car was from Grandma (but still pretty cool).

And we talk about the choices, the twists, the turns, and the helpful people that got him to where he is today in his career. And when he first learned what "ERP" was. I had a great time learning about his Origin Story - give a listen!

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The Last I.T. Podcast In The World goes for a swim in the deep end of the pool.

We start in the kiddie pool with our floaties in the banter segment where we settle, once and for all, who should press dial when a text thread starts with "You available for a call?"

We then ramp things up a bit when we dissect a cyber incident where two local governments made ALL the mistakes.

Finally, Darrick helps me struggle through the myth of hiring "only the most qualified (or best) candidate." We realize how very few job requirements are truly objective, and that often we make hiring decisions based on the softer, more subjective skills like "team player," "fearless innovator," or "demonstrated leader." And that many candidates are "qualified," not just one. We worry about the human brain's lean towards cognitive bias, and wonder if it's okay to show compassion, or to support representation in the hiring process. Darrick has some great ideas about how to achieve a good balance of all this in the hiring process.

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There's a true art to #greatIT and we discuss the images and prose that make for great IT artisans.

In the banter segment, I ask my co-host why his people insist in backing into parking spaces.

And we both had some recent AI wins that we discuss, and there's a twist on the #badIT segment - a #badITGuy that embezzled from his employer.

Special appearances by Duke Nukem, Picasso, and The Phantom Dog

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More anticipated than Severance Season 2, it's Part 2 of our Remote Work Panel on The Last I.T. Podcast In The World. Kennie, Tonya, and Mark are back with Darrick and me to discuss #RemoteWorkLife:

- How often do you need to get together with your team in the same location?
- Two important words - Affinity and Trust
- Missing those positive collisions at the coffee machine
- The ongoing work/life balance challenge, and the pros of workday flexibility
- Our pretend TED talk to C-level remote work skeptics.
- And the importance of changing work scenery once in a while. Speaking of which, Kennie invites us all to his summer house in Denmark! What a guy!