October 5, 2021 • 34 mins
Even the oldest of businesses now see technology at the core of what they do. From modernizing operations and adapting the way they capture, share & analyze data to bringing their customers the best possible experience, any company not innovating today won’t be around tomorrow - even if they are 175 years old, like the renowned tools and motorized appliances company, Stanley Black & Decker.
In this episode of the Restless Ones, we sit with Rhonda Gass, CIO of Stanley Black & Decker, who believes that data is at the center of everything the company does, and how 5G connectivity is the key to hyperscale the business. We’ll hear about Rhonda’s effort to create a culture of extreme innovation and how she is using that approach to drive to help produce a best-in-class set of products and services to their customers. She’ll layout her vision to break the typical “roadblock” status of IT and instead be an enabler to the business. With Rhonda, technology solutions are not just seen as a service to the organization, they are the most powerful way to help drive revenue. Let’s hear how…
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
I think cloud and Internet is wonderful tools that allowing
us to deliver on our vision of democratized I T
five G is gonna play a huge role as we
get more and more IoT the benefits it can drive.
We've now come across the issue with latency as we're
trying to use the cloud, so having five G in
(00:21):
place is going to be phenomenal in kind of swatting
down that particular roadblock. Welcome to the restless ones. I'm
Jonathan Strickland. I've spent more than a decade really learning
about technology, what makes it take, and then describing and
explaining that to my audience. But it's the conversations with
(00:44):
the world's most unconventional thinkers, the leaders at the intersection
of technology and business, that fascinated me the most. In
partnership with T Mobile for Business, I explore the unique
set of challenges that see I O S and C
T O s face from at instments in cloud and
edge computing, software as a service, Internet of Things, and
(01:05):
of course five G. We are often left wondering how
the leading minds and business continue to thrive. Let's find out.
Our guest today is Rhonda Gas C I O of
Stanley Black and Decker. I was excited to speak with
Rhonda to find out how a company that traces its
(01:26):
history all the way back to before the Civil War
has come to embrace the digital Age. It's one thing
to launch a startup that has data analysis and AI
applications baked into its DNA. That journey comes with its
own set of challenges. For that kind of story, you
should really listen to our episode with David Chen, the
(01:47):
chief technology officer of Skycatch. That's a company that focuses
on data analysis with a heavy emphasis on drones. But
it's another thing entirely to help guide a company with
such a law long legacy as Stanley Blackendecker to embrace
the digital age. Companies can have a lot of momentum,
and it takes a ton of effort and strategy to
(02:08):
put them on a new course. As I learned, Rhonda
Enter team leverage data and technology to augment Stanley Blackendecker's mission.
In some ways things haven't really changed, but in others
what has happened is nothing short of transformational. But I'm
getting ahead of myself. First, I wanted to learn a
(02:29):
bit more about Rhonda. Rhonda, thank you so much for
joining us for the Restless Ones, and welcome to the show.
Hi Jonathan, thanks for having me. Well, I always like
to get to know my guest a little bit before
we really dive down into the nuts and bolts of
what they do. So could you tell me a little
(02:50):
bit about how you first got interested in technology in
general and when did you decide that this is something
you were going to to study and pursue as a career.
Air Oh, Jonathan, Well, to tell you how it all started. Um,
I'll certainly date and age myself. But I got interested
back in the late nineteen eighties. I was often at
(03:13):
a particular friend's house in high school. After all, she
had a great pool in her backyard and I lived
in the South Um. But her father had a Commodore
sixty four and it was set up in a spare
bedroom and I often kind of walked past it and
wondered what that thing was for. I asked a few
questions about it had some ploppy drive storage, and he
was really intrigued that I wanted to know something about
(03:35):
it because his daughter, my friend, had no interest whatsoever.
So he took up some time with me kind of
show me what it could do, which, as we all
know and hindsight did and do that much. And I
remember thinking just how different and off norm it was,
and I said, this is something that I'm interested in.
I don't know exactly what computer technology is or was
(03:57):
and how it was going to impact the world, but
I knew kind of from those moments that it was
something that I wanted to learn more about and be
involved in. So um I was good in science and math.
So when it came time to enroll in college, I
declared my major to be computer science and just never
look back. Was there any particular area in computer science
that really spoke to you? Oh? Man, this is sad.
(04:21):
There was a course where we had to take a
really simple problem and solve it in multiple different languages,
and there were some languages that just if you remember,
there was something called snowball, and then there was coball
and p l one and I know I'm dating myself
for trying all of those things. But man, when you
got to that assembly level code and you could dig
into the registers and actually see where the bits were
(04:44):
moving around, it wasn't the best way to write a
sentence or solve a you know, solve a problem of
that nature. But it was just more fun to me
to be able to look into the registers and and
trace the zeros and ones. All right, I'm sick we've
established it the ronde. I feel like I would have
loved to watch the matrix with you, and when all
those zeros at once come down the screen, you would
(05:04):
say they misspelled that I've forgotten more than I remember.
That's fair. I'm sure that. I'm sure what you remember
is more than anything I've learned. So you're still way
ahead of the game. Well, well, what was your first
first job in the I T field? Well, this one
may surprise you a little bit. I actually didn't start
(05:25):
in you know, traditional it until I was about twenty
years into my career. I was certainly in technology, but
I was on the product development side of the technology spectrum.
I started with a company called n c R at
the time, and we were vertically integrating all the components
in the stack of client server architecture computer systems, and
(05:46):
so we were doing motherboards, storage, subsystems, operating systems, all
that good stuff. So I didn't officially join an I
T organization until I joined DEL And I joined DEL
on the product side of the organization. Uh spin about
six years there, and Dell was um if you can remember,
and probably still is, was on this rocket ship of
(06:06):
growth and the internal tech team just wasn't keeping pace
with the growth of the business. There are a lot
of complaints. Large investments were being sent that way, and
I was asked to transition into it because it needed
a lot of adult supervision to make sure that all
of these investments were delivering the right value. And I'll
tell you I wasn't sure I wanted to make that leap.
(06:28):
I really didn't understand the function that well. My impressions
were not positive. I felt like it was this bureaucratic organization.
It was slow, certainly not innovative, and likely the place
where the lesser engineers went to spend their time. I
know that sounds terrible, but I am so glad I
took that leap and would recommend that everyone spends some
(06:50):
time getting to know the function. It'll make you a
better contributor, it'll make you a better leader. I mean,
you see every transaction and you also see all the
OPPERA tunities to improve efficiency. So it's a great function.
Love it right, and it's it's the function that touches
every other function within the company, whereas some might be
you know, somewhat siloed I T has you know, it
(07:14):
touches on every single other part of an organization. Absolutely
fascinating too. Well, what brought you to Stanley Blackendecker? Well, um,
I was heads down in the I T function at
Dell and got a call from a recruiter and they
said Stanley Blackendecker, And I said, located where you know?
(07:35):
You hear the southern accent and they said, New Britain, Connecticut.
Had to get a map out or you know, google
it to see where where it was. And they said,
just talk to them. They're doing some fantastic things as
a great leadership team. So I did, and I was
fascinated by all of the different businesses that Stanley Blackendecker
was in, from the tools and storage where they're a leader,
(07:57):
to the industrial business segment and even as security segment
where electronic security was being done. And thought that that
diversity would be fantastic, pursued it and here I am,
almost nine years later. Fantastic. Can you give us an
idea about how big your department is? We invest about
two and a half percent of revenue in I T
(08:18):
annually give or take the year, depending on the ebbs
and blow and if we're doing a big acquisition or
something like that. But that's above um the industrial kind
of segment benchmark. So we we spend well because we
believe in growth, we believe in innovation, and most importantly
understand the link of a well architected well under you know,
(08:38):
well running I T and accelerating both of those things.
For head count, just before the COVID pandemic, we were
about fifteen hundred person resource organization globally. And I say
just before COVID because in the year prior we planned
a large integration with a manage service provider, which has
now resulted in our internal headcount being just over about
(09:01):
five fifty people and our provider head count is over
fourteen hundreds, so it's a substantial operation. Well, this is
a good chance for us to kind of segue into
talking about your approach to the leadership. And I caught
a conversation you had where you were talking about the
different categories of it within Stanley, Black and Decker with
(09:25):
bt C T and O T. Can you kind of
give us an overview of what you mean by that. Yes,
we use digital technology in all areas of the company,
as do most companies today, but we call out these
three focuses. Business Technology BT, which is your traditional IT
operations technology, which is the technology within our manufacturing and
(09:47):
distribution centers that connect and automate machine to machine functions.
And then our commercial technology, which is our digital products
and services that we provide to our customers. Now came
up with these terms MS not to define our divide
our efforts, but really to align them. So while each
area uses these technologies in different ways, we found that
(10:09):
we were talking past each other at times because things
were similar yet different. So once we got this clarity
in place about you know, who was doing what and
how it was being used, we could drive accountability. We
were able to focus on the interfaces that connect them
in a much more kind of architected, standardized, and an
agile way. So it's proven very beneficial in allowing us
(10:32):
to go faster, even though it sounds like alphabet soup
to someone perhaps on the outside, well, what what is
your role with regard to these different technologies? What do
you tend to focus on? Yeah, so I have responsibility
for the traditional I T or the business technology that
runs the enterprise, so your marketing software, sales engineering, manufacturing,
(10:55):
distribution service support all of that business architecture functionality also
includes a data platform as well as the connectivity platform,
so things that you would expect in a traditional I
T organization, But we have a separate team focused on
the OT technology that runs inside of our factories. And
then we have many product teams across our various businesses
(11:16):
that are focused on the products and solutions and services
that they sell to our customers to help them solve
their problems. So I will say, though I do cover
because the Global Security Office reports to me, and so
I have cybersecurity across all the technology areas, and you
can't pick up a newspaper, listen to anything without hearing
(11:38):
the importance of cybersecurity. And we wanted to put all
of that capability together and rightly so I think to
kind of centralize our efforts and have a greater impact
at T Mobile for business. Unconventional thinking means we see
things differently, so you can focus on what matters most host.
(12:00):
Where some see another small town, we see businesses in
need of connectivity. So we built the largest five G
network to cover cities, towns, and the most interstate miles
in between. Where some see a caller in a queue,
we see an opportunity for our experts to provide solutions
without transfers. Where some see another virtual meeting, we see
five G enabling wireless real time translations almost anywhere you
(12:23):
do business. Our unique approach has made us the leader
in five G, number one in customer satisfaction, and a
partner who includes first class benefits like five G and
every plan so you get it all without trade offs.
Unconventional thinking is better for business T Mobile for Business
Open Signal Awards T Mobile as America's passes five G
Network USA five G User Experience REPORTUL one capable device
(12:45):
required coverage not available in some areas. Some uses may
require certain planner feature. See mobile dot com. For JD
Power Award information, visit JD power dot com Slash Awards. Well,
can you tell a little bit about some of the
major endeavors that your team has undertaken during your tenure
with Stanley Blackendecker? All right, so I'm coming up on
(13:08):
nine years with the company and Jonathan, so sit back.
It's gonna take me a while. I'm just getting But
to start, we were the first function in the modern
company to centralize. And I say modern because we're over
a hundred seventy five year old company. Um so I'm
not sure I have a complete history. But this centralization
is significant in that we had traditionally run the company
(13:31):
as independent segments and P and l's all with their
own I T. And the result really was great. It
was a no excuses culture that achieved its financial objectives
with autonomy and speed. But we also did about a
hundred acquisitions in a ten year timeframe, and that autonomy
with respect to your technology decisions really reeked Abbott on
(13:52):
the I T landscape from both an efficiency and effectiveness perspective.
So by centralizing, we were able to coordinate talent investments, contracts,
architecture to really be a value driver for the company.
Of course, it's still a work in progress. If if
I could you know those That was kind of wave
one in my tenure. Wave two has been all about
(14:13):
the democratization of I T. And I know that's a
overuse term, but we're doing it because we know that
I T must kind of position the technology of the
base of the company for rapid innovation and change. It's
not slowing down. But again, you know, a hundred seventy
five year old company built with a focus on inorganic growth,
(14:35):
a lot of acquisitions. The technology based needs some work
to be democratized. And we've done some some great things.
And one of the first things I did was an
M and a playbook. You heard a hundred acquisitions, and
we now have a comprehensive M and a playbook and
how we approach That's that's one example. But you know,
getting out of our company owned data centers, rationalizing applications,
(14:58):
moving to s D, when a adopting Facebook's workplace for collaboration,
We've we've tried to sprinkle in innovations as well as
the mundane work of rolling up your sleeves and and
do an apperath come along way. Yeah, that's that's incredible.
I mean, I've been part of a few different mergers
and acquisitions, have been an organizations that have gone through
that and the process of getting everything to align everything
(15:23):
from the culture level down to that basic I T
infrastructure so that things run smoothly. That is a large
task just on a one case basis, and of course
you're talking about that across dozens so I imagine that
that ends up being an enormous focus for your team. Absolutely,
(15:45):
and then of course with the new areas that I
talked a little bit about earlier, like the the OT space,
we've we've been working to engineer and install edge compute
so that the O T two BT. We really really
believe that data at the center of everything we do,
and then the connectivity all around is the way to
really hyper scale, if you will, our ability to deliver
(16:08):
our own business results. Well, and you've touched on something
that I really wanted to kind of get into as
well about data. What are some of the changes you've
seen in your career and I especially as this this
concept of big data has started to come into maturity. Yeah. So,
we used to use data as primarily a financial and
(16:30):
performance analysis type of tools. So it was very much
used by the finance organization and it still is today,
and they're just asking more advanced questions and doing much
more advanced analytics around pricing and things of that nature.
But every crevice of the organization now is asking what
(16:50):
if questions, and um, what if I married this data
set to that data set and we're we're able to
look at it So what I want to do is I, Oh,
those folks know the questions that they want to ask.
I want to make sure they have the data at
their fingertips and they're not waiting on some I T
organization to rationalize it for them. Get it on the roadmap.
(17:10):
You know, the bureaucracy that I felt like I was
dealing with when I wasn't in I T of You know, Rhonda,
let me get you on the roadmap. Let me talk
to this team, let me talk to that theme. I'm like,
I'm just trying to drive revenue. I don't want to
be that blocker. I want to be that enabler. And
by having date at the center with micro services or
API s that they can access it at the point
of impact is really what we're trying to achieve. It's
(17:35):
it's phenomenal to me because our world has truly become quantifiable,
well beyond anything I would have ever anticipated when I
was growing up. You just didn't think that you would
be encountering various technologies that would be able to measure
performance in all different directions by multiple different metrics, and
(17:56):
that all of this could have meaning if you know
what to do the data otherwise it just becomes an
overwhelming amount of information. Absolutely, and so we do what
we like to call kind of use case data mining,
if you will. And so you have a use case
in mind, and then you line up the data elements
that you need in order to attack that versus trying
(18:17):
to go across the entire enterprise and rationalize all the
data in our footprint. UM. So that's the approach we've
taken has proven pretty effective. After getting a better understanding
of Rhonda's background and experiences, I turned the conversation towards
the challenges I mean opportunities she encounters as c IO
(18:38):
of Stanley Blackendecker. Well, you know, I was gonna say,
I don't maybe I'm a glass half full type person.
I don't really see challenges. I see opportunities. I know
it's not easy, I really think, and we've we've sort
of touched on it in our discussion so far. But
change activation you can put a lot of technology in UM,
but it won't transform a company. Activating the change and
(19:00):
engaging folks in the organization on new ways of working.
To me, that's the secret sauce, and that's the really
difficult part. We've been great optimizers in the past, right,
so we can go in. We can take what we do.
We leaned it out, we automated, and that has value,
but it has incremental value. It doesn't have transformative value.
(19:20):
And what we need to do now is be transformers
and focus first on that outcome you want to drive,
and then change the way you work to achieve it,
and then let's talk about the technology that will enable it.
And some so many times we get that part before
the horse. And so if there's any opportunity, I think
it's that one, and I just term it change activation.
(19:43):
And I think that that ties into themes that I've
heard throughout this season of the Restless Ones, that particularly
the idea that you don't turn to technology for technology's sake.
You have an identified problem that you want to tackle,
and you look for w solutions are best served to
help you achieve that opportunity. Uh And and for people
(20:06):
of my level, it's like saying, don't go down the
rabbit hole of just buying every tool because you think
the tools are pretty what's the thing you're actually trying
to build, and make sure you get the right tools
for that job, right. And I've gone so far as
The way I work with my organization is to let
the business users experiment with those fancy tools on the
(20:28):
on the edge, if you will, and see what works
for them. We focus on that foundation again. Is the
data standardized, our our our processes standardized or things automated?
Are they accessible via via A P I S and
the rest will take care of itself? Are we there yet? No?
But but that's kind of how we're thinking about it.
What are some of the technologies you would consider to
(20:50):
be like, you know, core and fundamental to your division?
What are what are the things you think of as
just being This is the bedrock upon which we build old,
the bedrock upon which we build UM is going to
be some basic stuff. I mean, cloud is super important,
and I'm a fan of all clouds. I believe in
(21:11):
fit for purpose, So I think cloud and Internet is
wonderful tools that allowing us to deliver on our vision
of democratized I T five G is gonna play a
huge role as we get more and more IoT the
benefits it can drive with you know, pretty much sensors
on everything and machines talking to machines. We've now come
(21:31):
across the issue with latency as we're trying to use
the cloud, so having five G in place is going
to be phenomenal in kind of, you know, swatting down
that particular roadblock. So those would be the ones that
come to mind. Those are favorite topics of mine, obviously,
so I I appreciate those coming up for someone who
(21:52):
deals so thoroughly with the world of information. If you're
talking about, uh, the Internet of things, that you're talking
about getting more data from more sources at more points
of contact than ever before. And when you have the
ability to transmit information without having things tethered and you're
still getting that incredible throughput and incredibly low latency, it
(22:17):
opens up opportunities for responsiveness at such a low delay
that I think all elements of business are going to
be incredibly transformed moving forward. I was eager to get
Ronda's perspective regarding various new technologies, but I also wanted
(22:39):
to learn more about how she helped guide such an
historic company, one that was dependent on legacy systems and
processes through a digital transformation. You're giving me an opportunity
to talk about something that we're really proud of, and
that's our operating model and the first generation of our
Our operating model was called sf US, our Stanley Fulfillment
(23:01):
System and as you can imagine, it focused on lean
principles applying to everything, likely from our manufacturing heritage, right.
We just revamp that model and it starts with people
and technology at the center. It's a combination of data connectivity,
some of the themes you've heard, but then also people
effectively using it that will make this model work. Now
(23:25):
around our central model there with people in technology at
the center, we have four things. We have the extraordinary
customer experience, so not just customer experience, but we want
it to be an extraordinary customer experience. And so that's
meeting the customer where and when and how they want
to be met with the right products and services at
the right time, and I like to say in plenty
(23:45):
of it. And that has a lot of implications to
the people in technology at the center that are enabling it.
So you'll see how this all operates together. We also
have a key focus area that's called extreme innovation, so
not innovation, but extreme innovation. We expect everyone to innovate.
We expect incremental innovation everywhere, but this is harnessing technology
to provide better products and services to our customers, so
(24:08):
you're gonna hear that customer theme throughout as well. And
then there's something that is really close to our heritage
around performance resiliency, and that's using data and analytics and
AI to sustain our continued top quartile financial performance, so
making sure we're always optimizing and sustaining and driving value.
(24:29):
And the fourth one is operations excellence. UM. We're a
manufacturing company at heart. UM. That's what our hundred seventy
five years plus has been built on, and we don't
want to lose sight of operations excellence, but it's also
being innovated around some of the industry for it, out
of all of the advanced state and analytics being applied.
Inside of that environment, we have I believe a hundred
(24:52):
and forty or so manufacturing and distribution centers around the globe.
So our path is charted and we've got quite a
bit of work to do in that arena as well.
And I've talked to a few people who have been
parts of worked with companies that are, you know, around
the centennial mark. We're getting closer to the two centennial
(25:12):
mark for Stanley, Black and Decker. I imagine that the
digital transformation. It's hard for me to even conceptualize what
that process is like when you're talking about a legacy
company that has that much history in it, one that
you might not immediately associate with things like a digital
transformation and a reliance upon data and AI was the
(25:35):
process of actually implementing one that required a lot of
of conversations and and convincing people to go down this route.
You know, I don't know that it took convincing, but
it did take the tops down in bottoms up alignment.
And so we're not going after innovation for innovation sake
or technology for technology's sake, but meaningful innovation and meaningful
(25:58):
technology that's aligned with our purpose, which is for those
who make the world. It's aligned with our values, aligned
with you know, everything we're about. And so I think
that's where the work has been involved as always, right,
creating that clarity and making sure that you know, are
close to six sixty employees understand what we're doing and why.
(26:19):
That's where the conversations took place, more than the fact
that we needed to digitally transform. Well, that's great. One
thing I really wanted to talk about. It's it's because
it's sort of a passion interest of mine is that
recently we've really seen a lot of momentum being built
behind the right to repair movement, this idea of empowering
(26:40):
people to be able to do things more themselves um
and that in turn is seeing kind of arise in
sort of the d I Y approach two everything really
but specifically to repairs and two tools and what ways
is the company using data to help take an advantage
of this kind of unique situation. Anything that fuels d
(27:05):
I Y is fantastic for us. And we're we're kind
of right at that that intersection, and we we are
definitely amping up our capabilities around what our end users
are doing with our products and services, not just the
channel capabilities and what and how it might be sold.
Covid has been a great experiment in d I Y
(27:26):
from from what we do in tools, what we do
in our outdoor products. And I think everyone's sitting around
on their sofa which for what they thought was going
to be two or three weeks which turned into two
or three months, which turned into almost two years now
saw a lot of opportunity to improve not only the
inside of their homes, but the outside of their homes,
and we've been right there with them all along the way,
(27:47):
trying to use data, use analytics to continue to meet
their needs. Yeah, I I imagine that there will be
further opportunities in the future because of this. I am.
I also imagined that a lot of people are starting
to look at, uh, you know, different approaches to h
to being able to do your own repairs, simply because
(28:08):
this experience has taught a lot of us that that's
a handy skill to have when you when you can't
be certain that you can get someone to come to
your home, or you might not even feel safe in
that case. So I am. And the sustainability element of
it as well is also super important for us as
we think about the three things we care about as
a company, it's um, you know, our our performance. We
(28:30):
want to be known as an innovative company. And then
corporate social responsibility is the third leg of that stool.
And all of these things are converging right in our
wheelhouse so that we're sustaining our homes and sustaining our gardens.
And it's got a nice element as well. Agreed, Well,
you mentioned a little bit about AI. Can you talk
a little bit more about how AI and how automation
(28:52):
play a role at your company. Yes, so we're using
AI in lots of different areas, but I would call
out our industry for auto initiatives where we're trying to
use it to understand machine uptime and downtime. And you
can imagine you can also use that in our in
our offerings to provide service around um some of the
(29:13):
equipment that we provide our customers. So that would be
one area. Also just looking at our internal operations and
how our processes perform and what can we learn from
from those activities to again go back to our core
really optimize what we do and how we do it.
So using it everywhere that's also incredible. Well, can can
(29:34):
you tell me a little bit about the the way
that Stanley Blackendecker approaches the as a service model of business,
because as I understand it, they're multiple as a service
lines of business over at Stanley Black and Decker. Yeah,
I would start with our security business and that you know,
spend a traditional insecurity, our electronic security in particular where
(29:59):
you have your back adge and badge readers and monitoring
type systems, very very right for technology disruption per se,
and in not just in technology disruption, but technology disruption
because of the value that can be driven from as
a service models. So analyzing all of that data that
these readers and monitoring centers are able to capture and
(30:22):
provide value back to your end user as a result,
you know, that's where that's where the future is, and
that's how as a service and if you think about
it in terms of value that we can then monetize,
that's where it all comes together. Well. And and what
are some of the emerging technologies that you find particularly promising,
(30:42):
Like what are some that you you're eager to have
some experience with. I am supremely interested in UM five
G really materializing in a in a in a grand
way for us. So if you think about where we
do manufacturing and attribution, it's in pretty remote areas. So
there's there's quite a bit of of of heavy lift
(31:05):
that still needs to be done, and I'm very optimistic
that's going to happen. But when that does, it's going
to open up a whole um wave of opportunity for us,
and so I look forward to that. There are some
that quite frankly, I'm not quite sure what to do
with yet, but we do have folks in our company
that are experimenting but looking at quantum computing. Not sure
I know what to do with that, And I'm still
(31:26):
not quite clear on what I would do with the
blockchain and and some of the crypto currencies right now,
but I know we'll figure it out. I'm more optimistic
than pessimistic about it. Well, since you were getting into
that assembly machine language, I can't wait for you to
get your hands into some quantum computing where it's not
just a zero or a one, but it's both at
(31:48):
the same time. I can't even imagine. The more I
read about it, the less I feel I understand it absolutely.
I couldn't let Ronda go without asking her one more thing.
What do you think was the most surprising development in
technology over the last decade? Wow, the adoption rate, and
(32:10):
particularly what we've seen in COVID has been what comes
out of need? Is how innovation when there's a need
can really take hold. And I think COVID showed us
that innovation with a need is the magic. Yeah. No,
that phrase necessity is the mother of invention is not
just as saying it is life and we saw it happen,
(32:31):
didn't We We did, We still do. Randa, thank you
so much for joining us on the Restless Ones. This
has been a fantastic conversation. I've really enjoyed it. Thank you.
It was a lot of fun. As someone standing on
the outside of companies like Stanley Black and Decker, I'm
(32:54):
truly struck by the power of information. Before hosting this
show and having conversations like the one I had with Rhonda,
I didn't really appreciate how valuable information is and how
critical a component data analysis is for an organization's ability
to thrive in the modern world. Leveraging information to better
(33:16):
serve customers, partners, and employees is I think distinguishing factor
when it comes to measuring a company success. The companies
that do it well set themselves apart from the rest
of the pack. And as we see more IoT deployment
and five G accessibility, the amount and quality of information
(33:37):
available is growing exponentially. It will be a challenge or
perhaps an opportunity to take advantage of that, but I
think there's no doubt that the companies that do take
those opportunities will be the benchmark organizations in their respective industries.
Thank you for listening to the restless ones. Be sure
(33:58):
to tune into Future A episodes where all have more
conversations with leaders in tech who are shaping the future
of how technology and business intertwined. I'm Jonathan Strickland at
T Mobile. For business, unconventional thinking means we see things
differently so you can focus on what matters most. That's
(34:20):
why we've become the leader in five G, number one
in customer satisfaction, and a partner who includes five G
in every plan so you get it all. Unconventional thinking
is better for business. Open Signal Awards TEA Mobile as
America's baskets five network U I say five G user
experience of court your twenty twenty one Peopble device acquired
covers not available in some areas and uses requires certain
planning features. CE Mobile Com for JD Power Award information
(34:40):
is that Jdpower dot Com Slash Awards
I think cloud and Internet is wonderful tools that allowing
us to deliver on our vision of democratized I T
five G is gonna play a huge role as we
get more and more IoT the benefits it can drive.
We've now come across the issue with latency as we're
trying to use the cloud, so having five G in
(00:21):
place is going to be phenomenal in kind of swatting
down that particular roadblock. Welcome to the restless ones. I'm
Jonathan Strickland. I've spent more than a decade really learning
about technology, what makes it take, and then describing and
explaining that to my audience. But it's the conversations with
(00:44):
the world's most unconventional thinkers, the leaders at the intersection
of technology and business, that fascinated me the most. In
partnership with T Mobile for Business, I explore the unique
set of challenges that see I O S and C
T O s face from at instments in cloud and
edge computing, software as a service, Internet of Things, and
(01:05):
of course five G. We are often left wondering how
the leading minds and business continue to thrive. Let's find out.
Our guest today is Rhonda Gas C I O of
Stanley Black and Decker. I was excited to speak with
Rhonda to find out how a company that traces its
(01:26):
history all the way back to before the Civil War
has come to embrace the digital Age. It's one thing
to launch a startup that has data analysis and AI
applications baked into its DNA. That journey comes with its
own set of challenges. For that kind of story, you
should really listen to our episode with David Chen, the
(01:47):
chief technology officer of Skycatch. That's a company that focuses
on data analysis with a heavy emphasis on drones. But
it's another thing entirely to help guide a company with
such a law long legacy as Stanley Blackendecker to embrace
the digital age. Companies can have a lot of momentum,
and it takes a ton of effort and strategy to
(02:08):
put them on a new course. As I learned, Rhonda
Enter team leverage data and technology to augment Stanley Blackendecker's mission.
In some ways things haven't really changed, but in others
what has happened is nothing short of transformational. But I'm
getting ahead of myself. First, I wanted to learn a
(02:29):
bit more about Rhonda. Rhonda, thank you so much for
joining us for the Restless Ones, and welcome to the show.
Hi Jonathan, thanks for having me. Well, I always like
to get to know my guest a little bit before
we really dive down into the nuts and bolts of
what they do. So could you tell me a little
(02:50):
bit about how you first got interested in technology in
general and when did you decide that this is something
you were going to to study and pursue as a career.
Air Oh, Jonathan, Well, to tell you how it all started. Um,
I'll certainly date and age myself. But I got interested
back in the late nineteen eighties. I was often at
(03:13):
a particular friend's house in high school. After all, she
had a great pool in her backyard and I lived
in the South Um. But her father had a Commodore
sixty four and it was set up in a spare
bedroom and I often kind of walked past it and
wondered what that thing was for. I asked a few
questions about it had some ploppy drive storage, and he
was really intrigued that I wanted to know something about
(03:35):
it because his daughter, my friend, had no interest whatsoever.
So he took up some time with me kind of
show me what it could do, which, as we all
know and hindsight did and do that much. And I
remember thinking just how different and off norm it was,
and I said, this is something that I'm interested in.
I don't know exactly what computer technology is or was
(03:57):
and how it was going to impact the world, but
I knew kind of from those moments that it was
something that I wanted to learn more about and be
involved in. So um I was good in science and math.
So when it came time to enroll in college, I
declared my major to be computer science and just never
look back. Was there any particular area in computer science
that really spoke to you? Oh? Man, this is sad.
(04:21):
There was a course where we had to take a
really simple problem and solve it in multiple different languages,
and there were some languages that just if you remember,
there was something called snowball, and then there was coball
and p l one and I know I'm dating myself
for trying all of those things. But man, when you
got to that assembly level code and you could dig
into the registers and actually see where the bits were
(04:44):
moving around, it wasn't the best way to write a
sentence or solve a you know, solve a problem of
that nature. But it was just more fun to me
to be able to look into the registers and and
trace the zeros and ones. All right, I'm sick we've
established it the ronde. I feel like I would have
loved to watch the matrix with you, and when all
those zeros at once come down the screen, you would
(05:04):
say they misspelled that I've forgotten more than I remember.
That's fair. I'm sure that. I'm sure what you remember
is more than anything I've learned. So you're still way
ahead of the game. Well, well, what was your first
first job in the I T field? Well, this one
may surprise you a little bit. I actually didn't start
(05:25):
in you know, traditional it until I was about twenty
years into my career. I was certainly in technology, but
I was on the product development side of the technology spectrum.
I started with a company called n c R at
the time, and we were vertically integrating all the components
in the stack of client server architecture computer systems, and
(05:46):
so we were doing motherboards, storage, subsystems, operating systems, all
that good stuff. So I didn't officially join an I
T organization until I joined DEL And I joined DEL
on the product side of the organization. Uh spin about
six years there, and Dell was um if you can remember,
and probably still is, was on this rocket ship of
(06:06):
growth and the internal tech team just wasn't keeping pace
with the growth of the business. There are a lot
of complaints. Large investments were being sent that way, and
I was asked to transition into it because it needed
a lot of adult supervision to make sure that all
of these investments were delivering the right value. And I'll
tell you I wasn't sure I wanted to make that leap.
(06:28):
I really didn't understand the function that well. My impressions
were not positive. I felt like it was this bureaucratic organization.
It was slow, certainly not innovative, and likely the place
where the lesser engineers went to spend their time. I
know that sounds terrible, but I am so glad I
took that leap and would recommend that everyone spends some
(06:50):
time getting to know the function. It'll make you a
better contributor, it'll make you a better leader. I mean,
you see every transaction and you also see all the
OPPERA tunities to improve efficiency. So it's a great function.
Love it right, and it's it's the function that touches
every other function within the company, whereas some might be
you know, somewhat siloed I T has you know, it
(07:14):
touches on every single other part of an organization. Absolutely
fascinating too. Well, what brought you to Stanley Blackendecker? Well, um,
I was heads down in the I T function at
Dell and got a call from a recruiter and they
said Stanley Blackendecker, And I said, located where you know?
(07:35):
You hear the southern accent and they said, New Britain, Connecticut.
Had to get a map out or you know, google
it to see where where it was. And they said,
just talk to them. They're doing some fantastic things as
a great leadership team. So I did, and I was
fascinated by all of the different businesses that Stanley Blackendecker
was in, from the tools and storage where they're a leader,
(07:57):
to the industrial business segment and even as security segment
where electronic security was being done. And thought that that
diversity would be fantastic, pursued it and here I am,
almost nine years later. Fantastic. Can you give us an
idea about how big your department is? We invest about
two and a half percent of revenue in I T
(08:18):
annually give or take the year, depending on the ebbs
and blow and if we're doing a big acquisition or
something like that. But that's above um the industrial kind
of segment benchmark. So we we spend well because we
believe in growth, we believe in innovation, and most importantly
understand the link of a well architected well under you know,
(08:38):
well running I T and accelerating both of those things.
For head count, just before the COVID pandemic, we were
about fifteen hundred person resource organization globally. And I say
just before COVID because in the year prior we planned
a large integration with a manage service provider, which has
now resulted in our internal headcount being just over about
(09:01):
five fifty people and our provider head count is over
fourteen hundreds, so it's a substantial operation. Well, this is
a good chance for us to kind of segue into
talking about your approach to the leadership. And I caught
a conversation you had where you were talking about the
different categories of it within Stanley, Black and Decker with
(09:25):
bt C T and O T. Can you kind of
give us an overview of what you mean by that. Yes,
we use digital technology in all areas of the company,
as do most companies today, but we call out these
three focuses. Business Technology BT, which is your traditional IT
operations technology, which is the technology within our manufacturing and
(09:47):
distribution centers that connect and automate machine to machine functions.
And then our commercial technology, which is our digital products
and services that we provide to our customers. Now came
up with these terms MS not to define our divide
our efforts, but really to align them. So while each
area uses these technologies in different ways, we found that
(10:09):
we were talking past each other at times because things
were similar yet different. So once we got this clarity
in place about you know, who was doing what and
how it was being used, we could drive accountability. We
were able to focus on the interfaces that connect them
in a much more kind of architected, standardized, and an
agile way. So it's proven very beneficial in allowing us
(10:32):
to go faster, even though it sounds like alphabet soup
to someone perhaps on the outside, well, what what is
your role with regard to these different technologies? What do
you tend to focus on? Yeah, so I have responsibility
for the traditional I T or the business technology that
runs the enterprise, so your marketing software, sales engineering, manufacturing,
(10:55):
distribution service support all of that business architecture functionality also
includes a data platform as well as the connectivity platform,
so things that you would expect in a traditional I
T organization, But we have a separate team focused on
the OT technology that runs inside of our factories. And
then we have many product teams across our various businesses
(11:16):
that are focused on the products and solutions and services
that they sell to our customers to help them solve
their problems. So I will say, though I do cover
because the Global Security Office reports to me, and so
I have cybersecurity across all the technology areas, and you
can't pick up a newspaper, listen to anything without hearing
(11:38):
the importance of cybersecurity. And we wanted to put all
of that capability together and rightly so I think to
kind of centralize our efforts and have a greater impact
at T Mobile for business. Unconventional thinking means we see
things differently, so you can focus on what matters most host.
(12:00):
Where some see another small town, we see businesses in
need of connectivity. So we built the largest five G
network to cover cities, towns, and the most interstate miles
in between. Where some see a caller in a queue,
we see an opportunity for our experts to provide solutions
without transfers. Where some see another virtual meeting, we see
five G enabling wireless real time translations almost anywhere you
(12:23):
do business. Our unique approach has made us the leader
in five G, number one in customer satisfaction, and a
partner who includes first class benefits like five G and
every plan so you get it all without trade offs.
Unconventional thinking is better for business T Mobile for Business
Open Signal Awards T Mobile as America's passes five G
Network USA five G User Experience REPORTUL one capable device
(12:45):
required coverage not available in some areas. Some uses may
require certain planner feature. See mobile dot com. For JD
Power Award information, visit JD power dot com Slash Awards. Well,
can you tell a little bit about some of the
major endeavors that your team has undertaken during your tenure
with Stanley Blackendecker? All right, so I'm coming up on
(13:08):
nine years with the company and Jonathan, so sit back.
It's gonna take me a while. I'm just getting But
to start, we were the first function in the modern
company to centralize. And I say modern because we're over
a hundred seventy five year old company. Um so I'm
not sure I have a complete history. But this centralization
is significant in that we had traditionally run the company
(13:31):
as independent segments and P and l's all with their
own I T. And the result really was great. It
was a no excuses culture that achieved its financial objectives
with autonomy and speed. But we also did about a
hundred acquisitions in a ten year timeframe, and that autonomy
with respect to your technology decisions really reeked Abbott on
(13:52):
the I T landscape from both an efficiency and effectiveness perspective.
So by centralizing, we were able to coordinate talent investments, contracts,
architecture to really be a value driver for the company.
Of course, it's still a work in progress. If if
I could you know those That was kind of wave
one in my tenure. Wave two has been all about
(14:13):
the democratization of I T. And I know that's a
overuse term, but we're doing it because we know that
I T must kind of position the technology of the
base of the company for rapid innovation and change. It's
not slowing down. But again, you know, a hundred seventy
five year old company built with a focus on inorganic growth,
(14:35):
a lot of acquisitions. The technology based needs some work
to be democratized. And we've done some some great things.
And one of the first things I did was an
M and a playbook. You heard a hundred acquisitions, and
we now have a comprehensive M and a playbook and
how we approach That's that's one example. But you know,
getting out of our company owned data centers, rationalizing applications,
(14:58):
moving to s D, when a adopting Facebook's workplace for collaboration,
We've we've tried to sprinkle in innovations as well as
the mundane work of rolling up your sleeves and and
do an apperath come along way. Yeah, that's that's incredible.
I mean, I've been part of a few different mergers
and acquisitions, have been an organizations that have gone through
that and the process of getting everything to align everything
(15:23):
from the culture level down to that basic I T
infrastructure so that things run smoothly. That is a large
task just on a one case basis, and of course
you're talking about that across dozens so I imagine that
that ends up being an enormous focus for your team. Absolutely,
(15:45):
and then of course with the new areas that I
talked a little bit about earlier, like the the OT space,
we've we've been working to engineer and install edge compute
so that the O T two BT. We really really
believe that data at the center of everything we do,
and then the connectivity all around is the way to
really hyper scale, if you will, our ability to deliver
(16:08):
our own business results. Well, and you've touched on something
that I really wanted to kind of get into as
well about data. What are some of the changes you've
seen in your career and I especially as this this
concept of big data has started to come into maturity. Yeah. So,
we used to use data as primarily a financial and
(16:30):
performance analysis type of tools. So it was very much
used by the finance organization and it still is today,
and they're just asking more advanced questions and doing much
more advanced analytics around pricing and things of that nature.
But every crevice of the organization now is asking what
(16:50):
if questions, and um, what if I married this data
set to that data set and we're we're able to
look at it So what I want to do is I, Oh,
those folks know the questions that they want to ask.
I want to make sure they have the data at
their fingertips and they're not waiting on some I T
organization to rationalize it for them. Get it on the roadmap.
(17:10):
You know, the bureaucracy that I felt like I was
dealing with when I wasn't in I T of You know, Rhonda,
let me get you on the roadmap. Let me talk
to this team, let me talk to that theme. I'm like,
I'm just trying to drive revenue. I don't want to
be that blocker. I want to be that enabler. And
by having date at the center with micro services or
API s that they can access it at the point
of impact is really what we're trying to achieve. It's
(17:35):
it's phenomenal to me because our world has truly become quantifiable,
well beyond anything I would have ever anticipated when I
was growing up. You just didn't think that you would
be encountering various technologies that would be able to measure
performance in all different directions by multiple different metrics, and
(17:56):
that all of this could have meaning if you know
what to do the data otherwise it just becomes an
overwhelming amount of information. Absolutely, and so we do what
we like to call kind of use case data mining,
if you will. And so you have a use case
in mind, and then you line up the data elements
that you need in order to attack that versus trying
(18:17):
to go across the entire enterprise and rationalize all the
data in our footprint. UM. So that's the approach we've
taken has proven pretty effective. After getting a better understanding
of Rhonda's background and experiences, I turned the conversation towards
the challenges I mean opportunities she encounters as c IO
(18:38):
of Stanley Blackendecker. Well, you know, I was gonna say,
I don't maybe I'm a glass half full type person.
I don't really see challenges. I see opportunities. I know
it's not easy, I really think, and we've we've sort
of touched on it in our discussion so far. But
change activation you can put a lot of technology in UM,
but it won't transform a company. Activating the change and
(19:00):
engaging folks in the organization on new ways of working.
To me, that's the secret sauce, and that's the really
difficult part. We've been great optimizers in the past, right,
so we can go in. We can take what we do.
We leaned it out, we automated, and that has value,
but it has incremental value. It doesn't have transformative value.
(19:20):
And what we need to do now is be transformers
and focus first on that outcome you want to drive,
and then change the way you work to achieve it,
and then let's talk about the technology that will enable it.
And some so many times we get that part before
the horse. And so if there's any opportunity, I think
it's that one, and I just term it change activation.
(19:43):
And I think that that ties into themes that I've
heard throughout this season of the Restless Ones, that particularly
the idea that you don't turn to technology for technology's sake.
You have an identified problem that you want to tackle,
and you look for w solutions are best served to
help you achieve that opportunity. Uh And and for people
(20:06):
of my level, it's like saying, don't go down the
rabbit hole of just buying every tool because you think
the tools are pretty what's the thing you're actually trying
to build, and make sure you get the right tools
for that job, right. And I've gone so far as
The way I work with my organization is to let
the business users experiment with those fancy tools on the
(20:28):
on the edge, if you will, and see what works
for them. We focus on that foundation again. Is the
data standardized, our our our processes standardized or things automated?
Are they accessible via via A P I S and
the rest will take care of itself? Are we there yet? No?
But but that's kind of how we're thinking about it.
What are some of the technologies you would consider to
(20:50):
be like, you know, core and fundamental to your division?
What are what are the things you think of as
just being This is the bedrock upon which we build old,
the bedrock upon which we build UM is going to
be some basic stuff. I mean, cloud is super important,
and I'm a fan of all clouds. I believe in
(21:11):
fit for purpose, So I think cloud and Internet is
wonderful tools that allowing us to deliver on our vision
of democratized I T five G is gonna play a
huge role as we get more and more IoT the
benefits it can drive with you know, pretty much sensors
on everything and machines talking to machines. We've now come
(21:31):
across the issue with latency as we're trying to use
the cloud, so having five G in place is going
to be phenomenal in kind of, you know, swatting down
that particular roadblock. So those would be the ones that
come to mind. Those are favorite topics of mine, obviously,
so I I appreciate those coming up for someone who
(21:52):
deals so thoroughly with the world of information. If you're
talking about, uh, the Internet of things, that you're talking
about getting more data from more sources at more points
of contact than ever before. And when you have the
ability to transmit information without having things tethered and you're
still getting that incredible throughput and incredibly low latency, it
(22:17):
opens up opportunities for responsiveness at such a low delay
that I think all elements of business are going to
be incredibly transformed moving forward. I was eager to get
Ronda's perspective regarding various new technologies, but I also wanted
(22:39):
to learn more about how she helped guide such an
historic company, one that was dependent on legacy systems and
processes through a digital transformation. You're giving me an opportunity
to talk about something that we're really proud of, and
that's our operating model and the first generation of our
Our operating model was called sf US, our Stanley Fulfillment
(23:01):
System and as you can imagine, it focused on lean
principles applying to everything, likely from our manufacturing heritage, right.
We just revamp that model and it starts with people
and technology at the center. It's a combination of data connectivity,
some of the themes you've heard, but then also people
effectively using it that will make this model work. Now
(23:25):
around our central model there with people in technology at
the center, we have four things. We have the extraordinary
customer experience, so not just customer experience, but we want
it to be an extraordinary customer experience. And so that's
meeting the customer where and when and how they want
to be met with the right products and services at
the right time, and I like to say in plenty
(23:45):
of it. And that has a lot of implications to
the people in technology at the center that are enabling it.
So you'll see how this all operates together. We also
have a key focus area that's called extreme innovation, so
not innovation, but extreme innovation. We expect everyone to innovate.
We expect incremental innovation everywhere, but this is harnessing technology
to provide better products and services to our customers, so
(24:08):
you're gonna hear that customer theme throughout as well. And
then there's something that is really close to our heritage
around performance resiliency, and that's using data and analytics and
AI to sustain our continued top quartile financial performance, so
making sure we're always optimizing and sustaining and driving value.
(24:29):
And the fourth one is operations excellence. UM. We're a
manufacturing company at heart. UM. That's what our hundred seventy
five years plus has been built on, and we don't
want to lose sight of operations excellence, but it's also
being innovated around some of the industry for it, out
of all of the advanced state and analytics being applied.
Inside of that environment, we have I believe a hundred
(24:52):
and forty or so manufacturing and distribution centers around the globe.
So our path is charted and we've got quite a
bit of work to do in that arena as well.
And I've talked to a few people who have been
parts of worked with companies that are, you know, around
the centennial mark. We're getting closer to the two centennial
(25:12):
mark for Stanley, Black and Decker. I imagine that the
digital transformation. It's hard for me to even conceptualize what
that process is like when you're talking about a legacy
company that has that much history in it, one that
you might not immediately associate with things like a digital
transformation and a reliance upon data and AI was the
(25:35):
process of actually implementing one that required a lot of
of conversations and and convincing people to go down this route.
You know, I don't know that it took convincing, but
it did take the tops down in bottoms up alignment.
And so we're not going after innovation for innovation sake
or technology for technology's sake, but meaningful innovation and meaningful
(25:58):
technology that's aligned with our purpose, which is for those
who make the world. It's aligned with our values, aligned
with you know, everything we're about. And so I think
that's where the work has been involved as always, right,
creating that clarity and making sure that you know, are
close to six sixty employees understand what we're doing and why.
(26:19):
That's where the conversations took place, more than the fact
that we needed to digitally transform. Well, that's great. One
thing I really wanted to talk about. It's it's because
it's sort of a passion interest of mine is that
recently we've really seen a lot of momentum being built
behind the right to repair movement, this idea of empowering
(26:40):
people to be able to do things more themselves um
and that in turn is seeing kind of arise in
sort of the d I Y approach two everything really
but specifically to repairs and two tools and what ways
is the company using data to help take an advantage
of this kind of unique situation. Anything that fuels d
(27:05):
I Y is fantastic for us. And we're we're kind
of right at that that intersection, and we we are
definitely amping up our capabilities around what our end users
are doing with our products and services, not just the
channel capabilities and what and how it might be sold.
Covid has been a great experiment in d I Y
(27:26):
from from what we do in tools, what we do
in our outdoor products. And I think everyone's sitting around
on their sofa which for what they thought was going
to be two or three weeks which turned into two
or three months, which turned into almost two years now
saw a lot of opportunity to improve not only the
inside of their homes, but the outside of their homes,
and we've been right there with them all along the way,
(27:47):
trying to use data, use analytics to continue to meet
their needs. Yeah, I I imagine that there will be
further opportunities in the future because of this. I am.
I also imagined that a lot of people are starting
to look at, uh, you know, different approaches to h
to being able to do your own repairs, simply because
(28:08):
this experience has taught a lot of us that that's
a handy skill to have when you when you can't
be certain that you can get someone to come to
your home, or you might not even feel safe in
that case. So I am. And the sustainability element of
it as well is also super important for us as
we think about the three things we care about as
a company, it's um, you know, our our performance. We
(28:30):
want to be known as an innovative company. And then
corporate social responsibility is the third leg of that stool.
And all of these things are converging right in our
wheelhouse so that we're sustaining our homes and sustaining our gardens.
And it's got a nice element as well. Agreed, Well,
you mentioned a little bit about AI. Can you talk
a little bit more about how AI and how automation
(28:52):
play a role at your company. Yes, so we're using
AI in lots of different areas, but I would call
out our industry for auto initiatives where we're trying to
use it to understand machine uptime and downtime. And you
can imagine you can also use that in our in
our offerings to provide service around um some of the
(29:13):
equipment that we provide our customers. So that would be
one area. Also just looking at our internal operations and
how our processes perform and what can we learn from
from those activities to again go back to our core
really optimize what we do and how we do it.
So using it everywhere that's also incredible. Well, can can
(29:34):
you tell me a little bit about the the way
that Stanley Blackendecker approaches the as a service model of business,
because as I understand it, they're multiple as a service
lines of business over at Stanley Black and Decker. Yeah,
I would start with our security business and that you know,
spend a traditional insecurity, our electronic security in particular where
(29:59):
you have your back adge and badge readers and monitoring
type systems, very very right for technology disruption per se,
and in not just in technology disruption, but technology disruption
because of the value that can be driven from as
a service models. So analyzing all of that data that
these readers and monitoring centers are able to capture and
(30:22):
provide value back to your end user as a result,
you know, that's where that's where the future is, and
that's how as a service and if you think about
it in terms of value that we can then monetize,
that's where it all comes together. Well. And and what
are some of the emerging technologies that you find particularly promising,
(30:42):
Like what are some that you you're eager to have
some experience with. I am supremely interested in UM five
G really materializing in a in a in a grand
way for us. So if you think about where we
do manufacturing and attribution, it's in pretty remote areas. So
there's there's quite a bit of of of heavy lift
(31:05):
that still needs to be done, and I'm very optimistic
that's going to happen. But when that does, it's going
to open up a whole um wave of opportunity for us,
and so I look forward to that. There are some
that quite frankly, I'm not quite sure what to do
with yet, but we do have folks in our company
that are experimenting but looking at quantum computing. Not sure
I know what to do with that, And I'm still
(31:26):
not quite clear on what I would do with the
blockchain and and some of the crypto currencies right now,
but I know we'll figure it out. I'm more optimistic
than pessimistic about it. Well, since you were getting into
that assembly machine language, I can't wait for you to
get your hands into some quantum computing where it's not
just a zero or a one, but it's both at
(31:48):
the same time. I can't even imagine. The more I
read about it, the less I feel I understand it absolutely.
I couldn't let Ronda go without asking her one more thing.
What do you think was the most surprising development in
technology over the last decade? Wow, the adoption rate, and
(32:10):
particularly what we've seen in COVID has been what comes
out of need? Is how innovation when there's a need
can really take hold. And I think COVID showed us
that innovation with a need is the magic. Yeah. No,
that phrase necessity is the mother of invention is not
just as saying it is life and we saw it happen,
(32:31):
didn't We We did, We still do. Randa, thank you
so much for joining us on the Restless Ones. This
has been a fantastic conversation. I've really enjoyed it. Thank you.
It was a lot of fun. As someone standing on
the outside of companies like Stanley Black and Decker, I'm
(32:54):
truly struck by the power of information. Before hosting this
show and having conversations like the one I had with Rhonda,
I didn't really appreciate how valuable information is and how
critical a component data analysis is for an organization's ability
to thrive in the modern world. Leveraging information to better
(33:16):
serve customers, partners, and employees is I think distinguishing factor
when it comes to measuring a company success. The companies
that do it well set themselves apart from the rest
of the pack. And as we see more IoT deployment
and five G accessibility, the amount and quality of information
(33:37):
available is growing exponentially. It will be a challenge or
perhaps an opportunity to take advantage of that, but I
think there's no doubt that the companies that do take
those opportunities will be the benchmark organizations in their respective industries.
Thank you for listening to the restless ones. Be sure
(33:58):
to tune into Future A episodes where all have more
conversations with leaders in tech who are shaping the future
of how technology and business intertwined. I'm Jonathan Strickland at
T Mobile. For business, unconventional thinking means we see things
differently so you can focus on what matters most. That's
(34:20):
why we've become the leader in five G, number one
in customer satisfaction, and a partner who includes five G
in every plan so you get it all. Unconventional thinking
is better for business. Open Signal Awards TEA Mobile as
America's baskets five network U I say five G user
experience of court your twenty twenty one Peopble device acquired
covers not available in some areas and uses requires certain
planning features. CE Mobile Com for JD Power Award information
(34:40):
is that Jdpower dot Com Slash Awards
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