John Wei

In Episode 25 of Above the Treeline, I sat down with Andy Keller, who recently retired after 42 years at USAA as a Technical Architect Lead. Our conversation spans the full arc of enterprise technology from #COBOL and PL/1 running on mainframes in the 1980s to the emerging role of AI in modern customer communications. When military members can be deployed anywhere in the world, paper alone is insufficient. That reality shaped USAA's CCM architecture decades ago. It’s a reminder that customer communications, at their best, aren’t about channels. They’re about continuity, access and trust. Watch or listen to the full 50 minute podcast: Substack: https://lnkd.in/g64ewFsQ Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gKYP553p Apple Podcast: https://lnkd.in/gh94Un3x YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gryHvtqU #CustomerCommunications #DigitalTransformation #InsuranceIndustry #CustomerExperience #EnterpriseArchitecture

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Excellent insights from CIO peers on the orchestrating capability required in today's tech leaders - outcome and results focused, with shared IT and stakeholder accountability to show value. #cio

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Moonshots get headlines, but Kaizen wins the race. Tiny, relentless improvements stack into lasting competitive advantage - no big tech leap required. It’s the real innovation playbook for executives.

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CIOs all over are looking for ways to drive a new wave of transformation with technologies like AI in their toolbox. They're focused on how to reinvent their organization. They're leading business transformation efforts that are tech-enabled to compete and grow the company. The focus isn't only on delivering solutions, so as you can see, this is no small task. #CIO #Technology #BusinessTransformation

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AI is prompting CIOs to fundamentally rethink how IT teams run, invest, and drive digital transformation. The future of IT depends less on hype and more on pragmatic integration and governance.

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AI Hype vs. The Mythical Man-Hour: Why This Time Still Isn’t Different I totally agree with what Sol Rashidi, MBA is saying here and this is my take on it. There’s a lot of noise out there right now: “AI will replace huge swathes of the workforce.” “Entire roles are going to disappear overnight.” Honestly? That’s just modern-day mythical man-hour thinking with a silicon twist. Let me explain. Back in the 70s, Fred Brooks taught us that adding more people to a software project doesn’t make it go faster — in fact, it usually slows it down. Why? Because in complex work, coordination, context, communication, and judgment matter more than sheer volume of input. Fast forward to today, and we’re seeing the same flawed logic. Except this time, it’s not more people. It’s more AI. But here’s the problem: Most of today’s jobs aren’t even measured properly. So how can we claim they’ll be replaced by tools that only understand what’s already been clearly defined? You can automate a task. You can’t automate trust. Or intuition. Or navigating the chaos of competing priorities in a business that’s evolving daily. We’ve confused “tasks” with “roles” — and that’s dangerous. Here’s what we should be asking: • How will AI augment people — not replace them? • How do we redesign work to unlock better outcomes using new tools? • And how do we avoid making the same old mistake with fresh new tech? Because no matter how smart the tools get… Throwing more AI at a problem without understanding the work is just as useless as throwing more people at it. We’ve been here before. Let’s not fall for the hype. Let’s lead with clarity, not clichés. What do you think — are we repeating history? #DigitalLeadership #AI #FutureOfWork #MythicalManMonth #WorkRedesign #TechLeadership #Productivity #DigitalTransformation ✍️ Daz Munro

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Technology that succeeds in an isolated lab setting will appear very different from the one that is commercially adopted at scale and will take much longer. https://lnkd.in/gJcfjJZU

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From the FBI to the C-suite, Michael Smith knows complexity. He shares how "leading with boldness" drives growth for global firms. 🎧 Listen: https://gag.gl/kfoGyq #TechLeadership #Innovation #FortiumPartners #Podcast

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Just saw a post that stopped me in my scroll—an inside look at the industrial scale of Microsoft’s data center cooling infrastructure. As someone who’s spent time working with AI, data centers, and Microsoft technologies in finance, I’m no stranger to the resource demands behind the scenes. But this was eye-opening. Having visited colocation centers, I thought I had a handle on the scale. Yet the sheer intensity of cooling required to sustain hyperscale operations is staggering. I’ve even spoken to large organisations now exploring their own water pools to cool equipment—an idea that would’ve sounded niche a few years ago. It raises a bigger question for us as tech leaders: Beyond greenwashing and “recycled” materials, how are we really approaching sustainability in tech? Are we challenging our vendors, rethinking infrastructure, or innovating in ways that go beyond the marketing gloss? I’d love to hear what’s working—and what’s not. Let’s move the conversation forward. TechLeadership #Sustainability #AIInfrastructure #DataCenters #Microsoft #CoolingTech #GreenTech #FinTech #Innovation

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