The Calculus of IT
by Nathan McBride & Michael Crispin
An exploration into the intricacies of creating, leading, and surviving IT in a corporation. Every week, Mike and I discuss new ways of thinking about the problems that impact IT Leaders. Additionally, we will explore today's technological advances and keep it in a fun, easy-listening format while having a few cocktails with friends. Stay current on all Calculus of IT happenings by visiting our website: www.thecoit.us. To watch the podcast recordings, visit our YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/@thecalculusofit.
Episodes
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Calculus of IT - Season 3 Episode 11 - Shadow AI vs Shadow IT
Newsflash: Shadow AI is just Shadow IT with better branding and worse consequences. We set out to compare Shadow AI (people using ChatGPT at home because you won't give them tools at work) versus Shadow IT (people using Smartsheet because your approved system doesn't meet their low quality...
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Calculus of IT - Season 3 Episode 10 - Training Our Elders (and Ourselves)
The new episode is live, and special guest Kevin Dushney joined us to ask the question nobody wants to answer: at what point do people just stop learning technology, and what the hell do we do about it? We set out to explore whether IT should hire someone with 10 years of experience or someone…
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Calculus of IT - Season 3 Episode 9 - PowerPoint Inc.
In this episode, Mike and I put on the latex gloves and explored the uncomfortable reality that PowerPoint has ruled corporate communication since 1987, and somehow nothing has replaced it despite Prezi, Lucidchart, Google Slides, and Canva all existing and working perfectly fine. The thesis:...
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Calculus of IT - Season 3 Episode 8 - IT aka the Pasty Anthropologist
Mostly true but also possibly just purely theoretical fact: IT's real job is studying human behavior, not fixing computers. In this episode, Mike and I set out to explore why IT needs to think like anthropologists (e.g., observing how people actually work instead of how we think they should work)...
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Calculus of IT - Season 3 Episode 7 - What Has Become of Chat?
The new episode is live, and we went deep into the nostalgia mines before emerging with some uncomfortable truths about how we communicate now. Mike and I started by tracing our entire chat history from 1992 BBS systems (Nate had to mail his driver's license to Iowa to get approved for ISCA)...
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Calculus of IT - Season 3 Episode 6 - Slack as an OS
So Mike and I set out to answer a simple question: What actually constitutes an operating system in 2026? Turns out, it depends on whether you're talking about computers or how people actually work. For a computer OS, you need hardware management and file I/O. For a business OS, you need the…
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Calculus of IT - Season 3 Episode 5 - Who Speaks for IT Anyway?
The new episode is live. As usual, we were topical af. The question: In an industry flooded with analysts, vendors, and LinkedIn thought leaders, who actually speaks for IT versus speaking to IT? Short answer: Gartner speaks TO IT (specifically to CIOs with budgets). The Register speaks FOR IT...
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Calculus of IT - Season 3 Episode 4 - The Verification Economy (Part 2 of 2)
In part two, we tackle who actually does all this verifying, what it costs, and the uncomfortable questions nobody's asking yet. IT is becoming the verification department whether you signed up for it or not. You're verifying employee identities, contractor credentials, AI agent authority, data...
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Calculus of IT - Season 3 Episode 4 - The Verification Economy (Part 1 of 2)
In Episode 4 of The Calculus of IT, Mike Crispin and I dive deep into what happens when "proof of X" becomes the fundamental currency of digital interaction. We're entering an era where verification matters more than the technology itself and IT leaders are on the front lines whether we're ready…
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Calculus of IT - Season 3 Episode 3 - Distributed vs. Centralized IT (Redux) - The AI Paradox?
Two years ago, we spent 4 hours and 27 minutes hours dissecting decentralized IT models. Now, AI has changed everything or has it? In this episode, Mike and Nate return to one of Season 1's most epic deep dives to ask a critical question: Has the AI revolution fundamentally altered how we should...
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Calculus of IT - Season 3 Episode 2 - Identity with a Capital "I"
Identity...I mean...super easy topic right? Wrong. Season 3 is largely devoted to looking at "capital-I Identity" from all available viewpoints. Tonight, we just started to try and figure out what the hell it actually means. We will come back to this idea many times this season so let this be the...
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Calculus of IT - Season 3 Episode 1 - Welcome Back!!
aaaaand we're back!! Season 3 of The Calculus of IT is here, and we're coming in hot with 40 episodes that go way beyond the AI silliness. Sure, we'll talk about GenAI when it matters - but from angles nobody else is touching. This season is about identity, autonomy, the death of IT as we know…
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 13 - NLM Bot TL;DR - Industry 5.0
Oddly enough, the bots don't seem to be too emotionally affected by their future rise to becoming our overlords. Support the show The Calculus of IT website - https://www.thecoit.us "The IT Autonomy Paradox" Book - https://www.longwalk.consulting/library "The New IT Leader's Survival Guide" Book…
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 13 - Industry 5.0
.....aaaand that's a wrap folks. It’s the end of the season, the end of an era, and maybe the last human-hosted podcast you’ll ever hear. In our Season 2 finale, Nate, Mike, and Kevin take everything we’ve learned about autonomy and decision-making power—and push it into the future with a…
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 12 - NLM Bot TL;DR - Shaping the Future: Autonomy, Adoption, and the Four Pillars
The bots will have their way. So get out of their way. Support the show The Calculus of IT website - https://www.thecoit.us "The IT Autonomy Paradox" Book - https://www.longwalk.consulting/library "The New IT Leader's Survival Guide" Book - https://www.longwalk.consulting/library "The Calculus of...
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 12 - Shaping the Future: Autonomy, Adoption, and the Four Pillars
We’ve talked resilience, compliance, AI, and risk - but what does it really take to become the architect of your organization’s technology future? In this penultimate episode of Season 2, Nate and Mike step back to connect the big picture. It’s not just about weathering trends or keeping up with...
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 11 - Part 2 - Long-Term Resilience and Autonomy
Welcome to the Calculus of IT double feature you didn’t know you needed. In this two-part journey, me and Mike stare down the end of the world - at least, the IT version - and ask: what does it really mean to be resilient when everything is “as-a-service,” your best people keep quitting, and...
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 11 - Part 1 - Long-Term Resilience and Autonomy
Welcome to the Calculus of IT double feature you didn’t know you needed. In this two-part journey, me and Mike stare down the end of the world - at least, the IT version - and ask: what does it really mean to be resilient when everything is “as-a-service,” your best people keep quitting, and...
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 10.1 - The Token Economy
It’s another Calculus of IT mini-episode (“Jort” alert!), and this time Nate and Mike are spiraling down the GenAI token rabbit hole - no tokens required (yet). Join us for a fast-paced, highly caffeinated, and only slightly unhinged tour of the emerging AI token economy: - Why tokens aren’t just...
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 10 - NLM Bot TL;DR - Autonomy and Compliance
Bots don't actually care about compliance. Maybe because they are literally one of the most noncompliant technologies possible? Who knows, let's listen to them hash this one out. Support the show The Calculus of IT website - https://www.thecoit.us "The IT Autonomy Paradox" Book -...
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 10 - Autonomy and Compliance
It’s the regulation episode you didn’t know you needed - but absolutely do. After three weeks swimming in the future of AI, quantum, and edge, Nate and Mike are back with a rundown of the one thing every IT leader loves to hate: compliance. From GDPR’s wake-up call to the alphabet soup of CCPA,...
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 9 - Part 3 - NLM Bot TL;DR - Establishing Boundaries and Principles for Autonomy
What happens when your AI agent tries to talk to mine but mine hates yours? Support the show The Calculus of IT website - https://www.thecoit.us "The IT Autonomy Paradox" Book - https://www.longwalk.consulting/library "The New IT Leader's Survival Guide" Book -...
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 9 - Part 3 - Emerging Technologies and Their Impact on Autonomy
The epic, unfiltered three-part saga is complete! In Episode 9 of Calculus of IT, Nate, Mike, and Kevin wrap up their marathon exploration of IT autonomy with a bang, a glass of red wine, and a healthy dose of existential dread. We connect the dots from AI’s autonomy paradox to the dystopian...
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 9 - Part 2 - NLM Bot TL;DR - Establishing Boundaries and Principles for Autonomy
This is like the Fyre Festival for bots. Sound really awesome but mostly just make a bunch of shit up. Support the show The Calculus of IT website - https://www.thecoit.us "The IT Autonomy Paradox" Book - https://www.longwalk.consulting/library "The New IT Leader's Survival Guide" Book -...
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 9 - Part 2 - Emerging Technologies and Their Impact on Autonomy
It's 2027. You have just hired your new VP of Subdermal Biomodifications and she has spent the last four years constructing a self-designed, explicit LLM environment, complete with custom agent and rules structure that she has been evolving with tremendous success. She can't wait to bring it into...
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 9 - Part 1 - NLM Bot TL;DR - Establishing Boundaries and Principles for Autonomy
Here come the bots!! Last night, Mike, Kevin and I pivoted the podcast from discussions on what is happening in autonomy TODAY and started taking a look at the impact of autonomy on the future of IT Leadership. How will future IT Leaders grapple with the murk of a vendor and technology landscape...
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 9 - Part 1 - Emerging Technologies and Their Impact on Autonomy
Last night, Mike, Kevin and I pivoted the podcast from discussions on what is happening in autonomy TODAY and started taking a look at the impact of autonomy on the future of IT Leadership. How will future IT Leaders grapple with the murk of a vendor and technology landscape that is effectively...
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 8 - NLM Bot TL;DR - Building Resilience Through Independence and Effective Change Management
As promised, each episode this season will also have a bonus TL;DR version from our favorite bots over at NLM or from whatever we currently feel is most bot-worthy. And this week, those crazy bots are at it again. Support the show The Calculus of IT website - https://www.thecoit.us "The IT…
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 8 - Building Resilience Through Independence and Effective Change Management
In this episode of The Calculus of IT, Nate McBride and Mike Crispin focus on the critical but often overlooked topic of building resilience in IT through independence and effective change management. It's a bigger deal than you may think. From avoiding vendor lock-in to creating modular...
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 7 - Part 2 - NLM Bot TL;DR - Establishing Boundaries and Principles for Autonomy
As promised, each episode this season will also have a bonus TL;DR version from our favorite bots over at NLM or from whatever we currently feel is most bot-worthy. And this week, those crazy bots are at it again. Support the show The Calculus of IT website - https://www.thecoit.us "The IT…
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 7 - Part 2 - Establishing Boundaries and Principles for Autonomy
In Part 2 of our mini-series about IT leadership principles, Nate and Mike went all the way to Boston (actually we live right near it) to broadcast live from BioIT World (it's an annual podcast tradition now ;-). We continued with Part 2 of our two part min-series on principled decision making…
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 7 - Part 1 - NLM Bot TL;DR - Establishing Boundaries and Principles for Autonomy
As promised, each episode this season will also have a bonus TL;DR version from our favorite bots over at NLM or from whatever we currently feel is most bot-worthy. And this week, those crazy bots are at it again. Support the show The Calculus of IT website - https://www.thecoit.us "The IT…
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 7 - Part 1 - Establishing Boundaries and Principles for Autonomy
In this episode Mike and I continue on the path of IT Leadership and Autonomy with a focus on establishing clear boundaries and principles for how IT Leaders conduct the delicate balance of decision-making. This episode explores how to balance autonomy, risk, innovation, and productivity while...
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 6.3 - Reflecting on Reflection Time
Every now and again Mike and I like to step aside and discuss some of the external impacts on being an IT Leader (and also just being a human trying to keep one's shit together in this day and age.) Next week, we will be back to dive into the rest of the season. We will start with some heavy-duty...
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 6.2 - Digitalization of Work and Heteronomy
So much research went into preparing for Season 2 and there was no practical way to really call out all of the best articles and papers we read. There are a few that really stand out however, and we wanted to highlight one of those tonight in a special Calculus of IT Jort. In this Jort, Mike and…
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 6.1 - Exploring the New Digital Wave of Rationalization
So much research went into preparing for Season 2 and there was no practical way to really call out all of the best articles and papers we read. There are a few that really stand out however, and we wanted to highlight one of those tonight in a special Calculus of IT Jort. In this Jort, Mike and…
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 6 - NLM Bot TL;DR - Creating Technical Diversity without Chaos
As promised, each episode this season will also have a bonus TL;DR version from our favorite bots over at NLM or from whatever we currently feel is most bot-worthy. And this week, those crazy bots are at it again. Support the show The Calculus of IT website - https://www.thecoit.us "The IT…
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 6 - Creating Technical Diversity without Chaos
In Episode 6 of The Calculus of IT, we tackle a critical challenge: How do you create technical diversity without unleashing chaos? Joined by special guest Kevin Dushney, Mike and I explore the delicate balance between maintaining technological flexibility and preventing system sprawl. We dive…
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 5 - NLM Bot TL;DR - Actively Preserving Autonomy in IT
As promised, each episode this season will also have a bonus TL;DR version from our favorite bots over at NLM or from whatever we currently feel is most bot-worthy. And this week those crazy bots are at it again. Support the show The Calculus of IT website - https://www.thecoit.us "The IT…
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 5 - Actively Preserving Autonomy in IT
After four episodes of context and base-building, we are now ready to jump headfirst into the season's theme. We explored the daily battles IT leaders face against encroaching vendor dependencies, the insidious creep of "zero decision" defaults, and the constant pressure to sacrifice control for...
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 4 - NLM Bot TL;DR - The Value of Identity
As promised, each episode this season will also have a bonus TL;DR version from our favorite bots over at NLM or from whatever we currently feel is most bot-worthy. And this week those crazy bots are at it again. Support the show The Calculus of IT website - https://www.thecoit.us "The IT…
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 4 - The Value of Identity
Ok, the Modern IT Paradox is now behind us, and it's time to move forward with the rest of the season. Or is it? Did we just uncover more paradoxes? Is it all just one massive paradox? In Episode 4 of Season 2, we dive deep into the complex world of identity in IT - not just usernames and...
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 3 - NLM Bot TL;DR - The Modern IT Paradox - Part 2
As promised, each episode this season will also have a bonus TL;DR version from our favorite bots over at NLM or from whatever we currently feel is most bot-worthy. And this week those crazy bots are at it again…highlight for me? The Beatles conspiracy is something we can't talk about. Support…
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 3 - The Modern IT Paradox - Part 2
Last week, we slammed on the brakes right in the middle of our deep dive into the seven modern IT paradoxes (something about a Kraken attack…it’s still all a blur to me). This week, we're back to finish what we started, and somehow, we discovered an eighth paradox along the way (because seven…
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 2 - NLM Bot TL;DR - The Modern IT Paradox - Part 1
As promised, each episode this season will also have a bonus TL;DR version from our favorite bots over at NLM or from whatever we currently feel is most bot-worthy. And this week those crazy bots are at it again…highlight for me? SAAS being pronounced as “Sauce”. From now on, “SASS” is dead…long...
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 2 - The Modern IT Paradox - Part 1
Remember when IT's job was simple? Lock everything down, say no to everything, and go home at 5? (This did actually used to happen…once). Well enough of the nostalgia crap, in this episode of The Calculus of IT, Nate and Mike dive into the modern IT paradox of freedom versus control and why…
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 1b - NLM Bot Jort - "Welcome Back!"
This is just a funny short of when the bots just go really wrong..... Support the show The Calculus of IT website - https://www.thecoit.us "The IT Autonomy Paradox" Book - https://www.longwalk.consulting/library "The New IT Leader's Survival Guide" Book - https://www.longwalk.consulting/library...
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 1a - NLM Bot TL;DR - "Welcome Back!"
Aaaaaaand we are back!! Welcome back to the Calculus of IT Podcast!! In Season 2, we will focus on how Autonomy, Risk, Productivity, and Innovation intersect and how IT Leaders can construct an optimal equilibrium for their worlds. When is it okay to concede autonomy to achieve an outcome, and…
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Calculus of IT - Season 2 Episode 1 - Official - "Welcome Back!"
Aaaaaaand we are back!! Welcome back to the Calculus of IT Podcast!! In Season 2, we will focus on how Autonomy, Risk, Productivity, and Innovation intersect and how IT Leaders can construct an optimal equilibrium for their worlds. When is it okay to concede autonomy to achieve an outcome, and…
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Calculus of IT - Bonus Episode 15 - 12/30/24 - AI Redux of Episodes 38-39
With Season 1 completed and Season 2 scheduled for launch on January 8th, we decided to see what would happen if we ran our episodes through the AI washing machine. What happened is what follows below… This special edition podcast comprises episodes 38 and 39 of the Calculus of IT Podcast series....
About this show
An exploration into the intricacies of creating, leading, and surviving IT in a corporation. Every week, Mike and I discuss new ways of thinking about the problems that impact IT Leaders. Additionally, we will explore today's technological advances and keep it in a fun, easy-listening format while having a few cocktails with friends. Stay current on all Calculus of IT happenings by visiting our website: www.thecoit.us. To watch the podcast recordings, visit our YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/@thecalculusofit.
Hosted by
Nathan McBride & Michael Crispin
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