Barry Goldstrom is an experienced and esteemed IT professional with a broad career in various IT roles across the United States. With a career spanning over two decades, his vast experience in the Information Technology field offers deep insights into numerous aspects of IT management and implementation. Presently, Barry is the Information Technology Administrator at Küster North America.
In this episode, Barry Goldstrom, Chief Information Officer in Michigan, delivers practical advice for IT professionals, narrates his IT horror stories, underscores the importance of people skills an, and discusses strategies for balancing priorities. He also shares his unique experiences in Detroit’s evolution, performance-based pay, substantial telecom savings, his newfound hobby of woodworking, and his memorable days of data processing in the Navy.
Advice for IT Professionals [00:04:24] Barry Goldstrom’s advice for people looking to grow in the IT industry, including the importance of having a broad basis of education and practical experience.
Sleepless Nights and Horror Stories [00:07:20] Discussion about sleepless nights in the IT industry and a horror story about a bad antivirus update that isolated and quarantined everything on Barry’s servers.
Importance of people skills and empathy [00:13:20] Barry emphasizes the importance of having people skills and empathy in the IT industry, especially when dealing with end-users who may not have much knowledge about technology.
Empathy in the Workplace [00:19:31] Barry talks about the importance of empathy in the workplace and how it helped him retain an integral team member.
Saving Money on Telecom [00:27:09] Barry shares his experience of saving a significant amount of money on telecom by using Microsoft Direct Routing for Teams instead of paying per user.
Woodworking and Moving Around [00:31:23] Barry talks about his recent interest in woodworking and how he has built various things. He also talks about how he moved around a lot as a child and how it helped him develop his people skills.
Managing IT Tasks and Listening to End Users [00:37:29] Barry shares his approach to managing IT tasks, which involves listening to end users and understanding their concerns. He emphasizes the importance of developing people skills and building relationships with different departments within an organization.
Building the Network [00:39:21] Barry talks about building the infrastructure, network, and phone system for a city, including the challenges he faced and the improvements that were made.
Data Processing in the Navy [00:46:09] Barry talks about his experience working in the data processing department on a naval ship in 1987, including the use of punch cards and ticker tape for data input.
Conspiracy theories about the moon landing [00:51:15] Phil discusses conspiracy theories about the moon landing, including questions about how they navigated and slowed down upon re-entry.
Leadership Articles / Emerging Topics / Nagging Issues
A revolutionary podcast focused on solving IT challenges and growing the value of IT.
