Innovation Calling

This conversation with Karen Rhodes is nothing short of fascinating as we several different conversations. Karen's role has changed dramatically from starting out in the call center to now being an Account Chief Technologist with HPE.

 

We discussed the change in technology and security as IoT, along with other technology is being introduced at a rate that feels almost impossible to keep up with. We talked about corporate responsibilities in not just gathering data, but gathering the right information from it. We then talked about how corporations can make smarter decisions in adopting new technology, and actually bringing in the right technology.

 

There were a ton of nuggets from this one!

 

2:00 - Where are new technologies coming from, and how does technology within the data center sit today? We learn a lot about what’s changing in how we gather data, and how the security landscape has changed.

 

4:10 - As technology and security have changed, where does a company begin to even fend off the new risks that are continually being introduced? (And hint, it’s not about the technology, it’s about the humans!)

 

6:20 - Why AI isn’t a bad thing, and in fact, it can be a really good thing, and how businesses need to approach introducing the technology to make sure their employees are excited about this vs. fearful of it.

 

7:35 - Taking a step back to truly understand the definition of AI, and why it’s not just a matter of robots, but what it really looks like to implement AI technology.

 

9:25 - As much as we want to create more thought-proving work for people and remove the mundane tasks from their workload, is this really a welcomed changed? And how does the motivation to help make these changes come to play?

 

11:41 - Breaking down the public sector industry. How innovative are they, and are they truly on the edge of cutting technology? And the big problem that’s been born with Big Data and IoT - Is the data really saying what it’s saying.

 

15:20  - The other big issue with Big Data in Public Sector is how can people work together when it comes to gathering so much data from various resources

 

22:30 - Do politics have a play in data and what we do with the information we’re gathering?

 

23:10 - Does in-house vs. the cloud truly matter any more? And then Karen is kind enough to define AI vs. Machine Learning

 

26:40 - The problem in the corporate world where people are making huge decisions in technology spaces, but truly don’t understand the technology. And there’s a lot of wasted money being spent because of our current buzz word craze.

 

And the ONE question they simply need to stop and ask.

 

29:40 - Karen’s advice for business leaders to attempt to stay on top of all of this technology

 

33:55 - The questions decision-makers should learn to ask to vendors before making huge decisions

 

35:05 - What’s the best way from high school into the technology career

 

37:20 - Why constantly learning is crucial for your career and business growth.

 

39:40 - The one thing the older generations sell themselves short on when it comes to learning new technology

 

Karen Rhodes - on LinkedIn --> https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhodeskaren/

We gathered around the Unofficial Innovation Council and put a new all-women spin on it to talk about, what we feel is the greatest generation.

Why?

Well, we are part of some amazing innovation, taking on huge leadership roles, but are stuck in this middle ground, where we think like Baby Boomers in many ways, but also have the tech-savviness of Millennials.

In this episode we discuss what makes Gen X so great, and how we've helped shape the world to what it is today, and why we are often overlooked.

There were lots of laughs, lots of Mike Rowe talk (just listen it will make sense), and lots of discussion around a topic we had to bring to light!

3:00 We’re talking Gen X - They’re known as the forgotten generation, but are they the greatest generation?

5:00 - What makes GenX so amazing

6:30 - Are Gen X’ers missing out on leadership opportunities, and how does access to all of our knowledge help them do that

9:05 - Where to entrepreneurship come into play of Gen X in Corporate Leaderships?

10:50 - Does the ability to create platforms give Millennials the leg up in getting what they want from life?

14:22 - How has learning and creating the ability to pivot helped the Gen Xer’s

16:49 - Does time and experience make for great leaders?

21:38 - Is education adapting quickly enough to match up what we are creating and how fast things are moving?

25:20 - How much will education change as Millennials raise children, and what will we expect them to pursue?

27:10 - Gen X has the money, so why is no one marketing to us? And should we care about this?

31:24 - We trail off and start talking make-up, hair, and how we use YouTube

33:10 - How much does Gen X’ers voting matter

36:33 - Going back to the marketing issue, do we really not care that we’re not getting targeted?

41:20 - Where are Millennials spending their money?

Ellen Sundra has an interesting background of paring her love technology with the ability to teach it, to now lead a team of engineers at Forescout.

 

Her path wasn't linear, and at first, she had no idea what a Sales Engineer was, let along that she had the perfect set of skills to excel in this career. Now, leading a team of 80, Ellen shares so much with us in this latest Women in Tech Leadership Series episode.

 

Just some of what she discusses is:

- The pivotal moments in her career, and how she didn't even realize she should have been offended by some of them

- How Ellen had to review her hiring process to be more inclusive to women and encourage more diverse applicants

- The important traits Ellen looks for when hiring (and her impressive attrition rate)

- How we can encourage more young women to explore other tech positions other than just coding

- The current state of Cybersecurity

- Plus so much more!

 

Here is the official breakdown:

5:35 - Ellen discusses her background and her interests as a child that led her down this path

8:10 - How Ellen found her way into sales and systems engineering because there is no actual degree in sales engineering

9:40 - The pivotal moments of Ellen’s career, where she was put into roles because of her gender, but realized what she didn’t want to do

13:10 - The ah-ha moments that Ellen had growing up that really helped set her on her path

13:50 - How did Ellen get on the Cyber Security path from training

16:30 - Ellen’s team structure (and the shocking balance of men to women)

20:15 - The impressive number of women on Forescout’s leadership team

21:70 - The issues within sales engineering and how more people can get in this field

23:50 - How can we begin to solve the problem of developing and educating women at an earlier level

25:30 - The awesome program that Ellen has developed at Forescout to help interns get exposure to all kinds of different aspects of a technology company

29:05 - Are four-year degrees no longer required for various roles within Forescout, and Ellen’s view of leadership and hiring

31:15 - Ellen’s view of leadership and being imperfect

32:55 - The secret sauce of hiring a great team

36:10 - The view of ‘balance’ and how Ellen has a leader encourages finding that for those who work for her

41:50 - Agency and women in leadership, and where we are perceived as lacking

52:00 - How technology is having an impact on our lives, but the new threats it causes

53:10 - GenX and leadership and Ellen’s viewpoint of the role of this generation

 

The article that they were talking about: https://qz.com/work/1670468/women-seen-to-be-as-smart-as-men-but-not-ready-to-lead/

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