Here’s the full interview:

Get the bonus Q&A with the audience by visiting GreatTechPros.com.

Here are a few video clips from the discussion:

• Business Partnerships, Relationships and Trust.
• Working with a Partner to help meet a Client Objectives.
• Contractors, Vendors and meeting client needs.
• Handling Partnership Challenges.
• Partner Expertise and Education.
• Post-Interview: Thoughts on the Value of Business Partnerships.

Connect with Traci: 

You can connect with Traci on Linkedin and by visiting Temple-IT.com. 

Watch or Listen to Great Tech Pros anytime, anywhere.

• Watch on YouTube, 
• Tune in on Facebook Watch, 
• Listen on Google Podcasts, 
• Be all ears on Spotify, 
• Eavesdrop on Apple Podcasts, 
• and more.

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Learn what clients are saying about his programs....

Here’s the full interview:

Get the bonus Q&A with the audience by visiting GreatTechPros.com.

Here are a few video clips from the discussion:

• Difference between Individual Contributor to Business Leader.
• Defining a Win as Individual Contributor vs Business Leader.
• Challenges when Moving into Tech Management.

You can connect with Jason on Linkedin, Facebook and Github. 

Watch or Listen to Great Tech Pros anytime, anywhere.

• Watch on YouTube, 
• Tune in on Facebook Watch, 
• Listen on Google Podcasts, 
• Be all ears on Spotify, 
• Eavesdrop on Apple Podcasts, 
• and more.

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Learn what clients are saying about his programs....

Here’s the full interview:

Get the bonus Q&A with the audience by visiting GreatTechPros.com.

Useful Links:

• You can connect with Sean on Linkedin. 
• Regulatory Compliance in the United States. 

Watch or Listen to Great Tech Pros anytime, anywhere.

• Watch on YouTube, 
• Tune in on Facebook Watch, 
• Listen on Google Podcasts, 
• Be all ears on Spotify, 
• Eavesdrop on Apple Podcasts, 
• and more.

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I was recently featured in an article by the University of Illinois, Gies College of Business, highlighting what I learned as a student in the school’s Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree program and while attending global immersions in Germany and Brazil with my fellow MBA students. Here’s an excerpt from the article titled “Blanchard Uses MBA Experience to Explore near-Shore Tech Options.” ^{1, 2, 3}

Gies College of Business MBA student Wylie Blanchard’s love of technology runs deep. The founder of Chicago-based Great Tech Pros grew up taking apart everything from toasters to his first word processor to see how they worked. His company advises clients primarily in the healthcare and insurance services industries how to design tech solutions that create value for their customers.

Blanchard said the iMBA experience has also taught him to think more globally about how to grow Great Tech Pros, founded in 2013.

Blanchard is exploring setting up near-shore database operations with fellow iMBA student Paul Taylor in his Jamaica home base. He turned to Taylor to create a solution that had a US-friendly time zone when Great Tech Pros couldn’t meet a client’s price point with a US-based solution.

The Gies iMBA program isn’t Blanchard’s first experience with online learning. He received a BS degree in business administration and management from Walden University. Blanchard said interacting with more marketing, strategy and finance decision makers is what prompted him to consider getting a master’s degree.

Visit the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Gies College of Business, website to read the full article that includes my quoted statements.

“Blanchard Uses MBA Experience to Explore Near-Shore Tech Options.” Gies College of Business, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 9 Oct. 2020, https://giesbusiness.illinois.edu/news/2020/10/09/blanchard-uses-mba-experience-to-explore-near-shore-tech-options.

“Blanchard Uses MBA Experience to Explore Near-Shore Tech Options.” IMBA, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 18 May 2021, https://onlinemba.illinois.edu/blanchard-uses-mba-experience-to-explore-near-shore-tech-options/.

“Blanchard Uses MBA Experience To Explore Near-Shore Tech Options.” Poets&Quants. 24 Feb. 2021, https://poetsandquants.com/2021/02/04/blanchard-uses-mba-experience-to-explore-near-shore-tech-options/

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Learn what clients are saying about his programs....

Here’s the full interview:

Get the bonus Q&A with the audience by visiting GreatTechPros.com.

Here are a few video clips from the discussion:

• What does Smart Technology Roadmapping Mean?
• Smart Technology Automation.
• Journey to a Career in Cannabis Technology
• How has the Product Road Map changed and evolved?
• What’s on your current Road Map?
• What’s changed from Individual Contributor to Company Leader?
• How are you addressing current customer pain points and challenges?
• Current State of the Cannabis Industry.

Useful Links:

• You can connect with Eric on Linkedin.
• Cannabis industry history in the United States.

Watch or Listen to Great Tech Pros anytime, anywhere.

• Watch on YouTube, 
• Tune in on Facebook Watch, 
• Listen on Google Podcasts, 
• Be all ears on Spotify, 
• Eavesdrop on Apple Podcasts, 
• and more.

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Here’s the full interview:

Get the bonus Q&A with the audience by visiting  GreatTechPros.com.

Here are some short video clips of topics discussed:

• What has changed in Business Analytics?
• What is your approach to creating data visualizations?
• Free/Low cost data visualization tools for small businesses.
• What type of data visualization recommendations do you offer to larger businesses that do not have tool/platform preferences?
• What were you doing with CDC?
• What drove you to Analytics & Data Visualization as a Career?

Useful Links:

• You can connect with Teneika on her website, Twitter and Linkedin.
• Tools include PowerQuery, PowerBI, Tableau, Google Data Studio and SAP Tools.
• Though it is important to implement a new platform/solution, it is equally as important to inform and educate end-users on how to utilize the new platform or solution.
• Every career/job has a data component – Do make an effort to learn how to utilize data as a skill. Doing so will enhance your skill-set and help you enhance your career.
• College students should look into scholarship, internship and other opportunities offered by their university like the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) and INROADS internships.
• For those who are new to data visualizations, start with Microsoft Excel, work to graduate from a beginner Excel user to an advanced Excel user, then learn Microsoft Power BI and Tableau.
• Microsoft currently offers free Power BI training, Tableau Prep & Tableau Desktop are not free unless you are a student, freeCodeCamp and SimpliLearn.

Watch or Listen to Great Tech Pros anytime, anywhere.

• Watch on YouTube, 
• Tune in on Facebook Watch, 
• Listen on Google Podcasts, 
• Be all ears on Spotify, 
• Eavesdrop on Apple Podcasts, 
• and more.

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In this discussion, we explored the challenges that prevent people from obtaining the career success that they’re working toward, the obstacles that are in place that lock people out of the sales cycle when working to close deals with their high-profile clients and what people and organizations can do to shatter through the glass ceiling so that they can find the career success that they are working toward.

Here’s the discussion.

Here’s the pre-event message that I created leading up to the event.

Useful Links:

• You can find more events from Lotus Bucker on her website, Twitter and Linkedin.
• During the talk, I advised that people should read Shattering the Glass Ceiling: How to Break Through Without Breaking Down by Gia Suggs and Hayward Suggs.

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Learn what clients are saying about his programs....

Here’s the full interview:

Get the bonus Q&A with the audience by visiting GreatTechPros.com.

Here are some short video clips of topics discussed:

• What does Tectonic Speed of Government mean?
• How do you interact with the local college (University of Illinois)?
• How to get role working in Technology and Government?
• Journey to a Career in Technology & Government.
• Sales Cycle & Technology.
• Skills & Experience we look for in New Employees.
• Training & Education for Technology Generalists.

Useful Links

• You can connect with Sanford on his website and Linkedin. 
• The Tectonic Speed of Government is the website where Sanford shares his thoughts on Government, IT, Change, Government IT Change … and Movies.
• Sanford recommends that aspiring technology professional consider Google IT Support Professional Certificate.

Watch or Listen to Great Tech Pros anytime, anywhere.

• Watch on YouTube, 
• Tune in on Facebook Watch, 
• Listen on Google Podcasts, 
• Be all ears on Spotify, 
• Eavesdrop on Apple Podcasts, 
• and more.

Get more great content at WylieBlanchard.com... Need a great speaker for your next event, contact us to book Wylie Blanchard now.
Learn what clients are saying about his programs....

Here’s the full interview:

Get the bonus Q&A with the audience by visiting GreatTechPros.com.

Here are some short video clips of topics discussed:

• Why I wrote Women of Color in Tech.
• 2 Challenges that Women of Color face in Tech Careers.
• How men can help create opportunities for Women of Color in Tech?
• 3 Career Options for Women of Color in Tech.
• What is a Cloud Technical Specialist?
• What is the Difference between a Coach, Mentor and Sponsor?
• How to Close Technical Skill Gaps?
• Salary Negotiations: What you need to know.
• Introverts: Successful Client & Group Interactions.

Useful Links:

• You can connect with Susanne on her website, Twitter and Linkedin. 
• You can get Susanne’s new book, Women of Color in Tech: A Blueprint for Inspiring and Mentoring the Next Generation of Technology Innovators, by visiting WeBelongInTech.com.

Watch or Listen to Great Tech Pros anytime, anywhere.

• Listen on Google Podcasts, 
• Be all ears on Spotify, 
• Eavesdrop on Apple Podcasts, 
• Watch on YouTube, 
• Tune in on Facebook Watch, 
• and more.

Get more great content at WylieBlanchard.com... Need a great speaker for your next event, contact us to book Wylie Blanchard now.
Learn what clients are saying about his programs....

Here’s the full interview:

Get the full interview + bonus Q&A with the audience by visiting GreatTechPros.com.

Here are some short video clips of topics discussed:

• How Business Intelligence & Data Science Differ
• 2 ways to get into Business Intelligence and Data Science
• The Programming and Querying Languages of Data Analytics
• 2 Important Resources for a Data Consultant
• What events and conferences do you use to build your network?
• Resources to get started in Data Science

Useful Links:

• The best way to connect with Chris Hyde is on Twitter. He can also be found on Linkedin.
• Chris Recommends the following books:
• Learning R by Richard Cotton.
• R for Data Science: Import, Tidy, Transform, Visualize, and Model Data by Hadley Wickham and Garrett Grolemund.
• Think Stats: Exploratory Data Analysis by Allen Downey.

Watch or Listen to Great Tech Pros anytime, anywhere.

• Watch on YouTube,
• Tune in on Facebook Watch,
• Listen on Google Podcasts,
• Be all ears on Spotify,
• Eavesdrop on Apple Podcasts,
• and more.

Get more great content at WylieBlanchard.com... Need a great speaker for your next event, contact us to book Wylie Blanchard now.
Learn what clients are saying about his programs....