You Can't Do That? Watch Me. — Jeremy Duncan on Tech, Mentorship & Staying Human

You Can't Do That? Watch Me. — Jeremy Duncan on Tech, Mentorship & Staying Human

Jeremy Duncan is a cloud platform solution architect with 20+ years of experience, Fortune 500 engagements, and a reputation that precedes him — green glowing shoes and all. But behind the accolades is a story built on grit. Raised by a single mom working three jobs, Jeremy grew up watching hustle from a bar stool at a Nashville watering hole and turned that into fuel. In this episode, Jeremy takes us from a maraschino-cherry childhood to a 10-year run as a reserve police officer — all while building a career at the top of the ServiceNow ecosystem. We get into his work connecting Ukrainian war refugees to American sponsors through the Goldman Sachs-backed welcome.us platform (later the subject of a Tribeca film), his unsanctioned mentorship cohort turning nurses and veterans into tech professionals, and his honest, grounded take on AI, workforce transformation, and how leaders should navigate the noise. He closes with two words that say it all: Choose joy. ✅ KEY TAKEAWAYS * Grit is inherited — Jeremy's drive traces directly to watching his mom hustle across three jobs. The foundation of his work ethic wasn't a college campus, it was a bar stool. * Intangibles over credentials — When mentoring, Jeremy doesn't look for degrees or certifications. He looks for people who are already the "go-to" for computers, who lean in naturally, who want to sit behind a screen. * Technology with a human center — His most meaningful career moment wasn't a Fortune 500 deployment. It was connecting Ukrainian refugees to American families, one platform, one family at a time. * Imposter syndrome is universal — Even the most decorated architects feel it. The answer isn't to ignore the change — it's to ride it. * AI will change IT, not destroy it — Marketing is ahead of engineering. The pendulum will correct. The skill of the 21st century is prompt engineering, not just tool mastery. * Don't let leaders swing the pendulum too far — The C-suite mistake Jeremy sees repeatedly: wholesale pivots instead of bite-sized, thoughtful AI adoption that starts with the soul-crushing work nobody wants anyway. * Faith and family are the real grounding agents — When the stakes are highest, Jeremy doesn't look at the spreadsheet. He looks up. 🔑 KEYWORDS / TAGS ServiceNow, Cloud Architecture, AI and the Future of Work, Mentorship,  Workforce Transformation, Human-Centered Design, Prompt Engineering,  Imposter Syndrome, Tech Leadership, Faith and Career, Origin Story, Reserve Police Officer, Ukrainian Refugees, welcome.us, Grit and Resilience, Choose Joy CHAPTERS * Jeremy Duncan's Origin Story * Mentorship and Paying It Forward * Meaningful Projects and Humanitarian Impact * The Future of Technology and AI * The Economic Impact of AI on Employment * Trust and Security in Technology * Navigating Change in Leadership * Personal Grounding in a Tech-Driven World * The Human Element in Technology Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2537772/support]

Who's Building Your Software Now? IT, the Business, or the AI?

s1e33 Who's Building Your Software Now? IT, the Business, or the AI? This episode of The Wired Garage with Pops digs into how software delivery is being fundamentally restructured — not just accelerated. Pops and Steele walk through the evolution from traditional IT-led development to a multi-persona development model, where business users (citizen developers), professional developers, platform teams, and AI agents all share responsibility across the app lifecycle. The conversation starts with the "why" behind citizen development — IT backlogs, understaffed teams, frustrated users waiting months for simple solutions — then moves into how governed, low-code platforms let business users get in the game without blowing up the architecture. They draw sharp lines between citizen development (process-governed, platform-scoped) and Shadow IT (your cousin's 99-cent app running on Bill's laptop). From there they transition into agentic AI — what separates a chatbot from an agent, how AI agents plan and execute autonomously or with a human in the loop, and why governance applies to machine personas just like human ones. The episode wraps with a live screen share walkthrough of ServiceNow Studio and App Engine Studio as real-world examples of governed sit-dev platforms, plus a broader call to action for teams to start experimenting now. Keywords: citizen development, multi-persona development, agentic AI, low-code no-code, Shadow IT, ServiceNow App Engine, ServiceNow Studio, governance, blast radius, human in the loop, AI agents, workflow automation, platform ROI, digital transformation, pro-code vs low-code, guardrails, two-lane highway, delivery velocity, compliance by design, enterprise AI Key Takeaways * Multi-persona development is the new operating model — business users, pro devs, admins, and AI agents all contribute on the same governed platform * Citizen dev ≠ Shadow IT — the difference is process: a pipeline from idea to production vs. winging it with whoever knows somebody * The "Two-Lane Highway" principle — how much breadth you give someone reflects trust, character, and risk tolerance; guardrails build confidence, not restriction * Risk, Complexity, and Blast Radius — three filters to determine whether a task belongs to a citizen dev, a pro dev, or an AI agent * Agentic AI is a governed persona on the platform, not a side experiment — it plans, executes, and can operate autonomously or human-in-loop depending on stakes * Executives want ROI proof before scaling AI — excitement is real, but accountability, decision rights, and governance have to come with it * Pro devs should be advancing the ball, not building email management workflows — free them up for what actually moves the business * The workforce shift is already in motion — IT pros have always had to evolve; this is just the next lane change, and language/prompting skills are now table stakes * Low-code tools like Make.com, Zapier, and AI assistants are accessible entry points for anyone wanting to get started today Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2537772/support]

Cloud-Managed Security Without the Headache with Kyce Poya

s1e32 Cloud-Managed Security Without the Headache with Kyce Poya In this episode of The Wired Garage, host Pops interviews Kyce Poya, founder of Apex IT and Security. They discuss the complexities of IT security, the importance of simplifying technology, and the innovative solutions Apex offers. Kyce shares his journey into the IT world, the challenges of building a business, and the evolving landscape of security technology, including the role of AI and analytics. The conversation emphasizes the need for proactive security measures and the value of partnerships in delivering effective solutions. Keywords: IT security, cybersecurity, technology partnerships, physical security, AI in security, fleet management, IT leadership, business growth, customer experience, security solutions Takeaways: * Kyce Poya emphasizes the importance of simplifying technology for better user experience. * Building Apex IT was driven by a desire to serve customers better. * Partnerships with technology providers are crucial for effective security solutions. * AI is transforming physical security through advanced analytics. * Proactive security measures can prevent incidents before they occur. * Understanding customer needs is key to delivering effective solutions. * The security industry has evolved significantly beyond traditional systems. * Installation services are an integral part of Apex IT's offerings. * IT leaders should ask critical questions about their current security measures. * Patience and strategic thinking are essential for success in business. Sound Bites "How do you keep people safe?" "We do installation as well." "Be patient and take your time." Chapters * Introduction to IT Security Challenges * Kyce Poya's Journey into IT and Security * Building Apex IT: A New Approach * Streamlining Security Solutions for Clients * Key Considerations for Retail Security * The Role of AI in Physical Security * Innovations in Fleet Operations and Management * Future Directions for Apex IT * Mindset Shifts in Security Leadership * Lessons Learned as a Business Founder * Advice for Aspiring IT Professionals Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2537772/support]

AI Agents Are Replacing IT Workflows — Not People. Here's the Difference

s1e31 AI Agents Are Replacing IT Workflows — Not People. Here's the Difference Is your IT operation ready for AI agents? Not chatbots. Not automation  rules. Actual agents that observe, plan, and act on their own. In this episode of The Wired Garage with Pops, Steele and Pops go  under the hood of Agentic AI in ITSM — breaking down how AI agents  are changing incident triage, change management, and CMDB health in  real IT environments. 🔧 What we cover: - Why traditional ITSM automation is getting brittle - How agentic AI thinks vs. how old automation rules work - LIVE demo inside ServiceNow AI Agent Studio - 3 real use cases: Incident Triage, Change Co-Pilot & CMDB Health - Guardrails, blast radius, and why autonomy has to be earned - The metrics that actually tell you if agents are working - What executives are asking — and what IT leaders need to answer 💬 The quote that says it all: "If you thought a bad process could run fast when automated...  wait until you add AI on top of that." Whether you're in IT ops, running ServiceNow, leading a team, or just  trying to understand where AI is actually landing in the real world —  this one's for you. 🔔 Subscribe for more no-hype tech talk from the garage. 📩 Got a story or question? Send it our way. ⏱️ Chapters: - Welcome to The Wired Garage - What Is ITSM Really? - Why ITSM Still Struggles - Why Old Automation Gets Brittle - Agentic AI: Observe, Plan, Act - Guardrails: Data, Scope & Autonomy - Recommendation → Supervised → Autonomous - Controlling the Blast Radius - Specialized Agents vs. One Superstar - Use Case #1: Agentic Incident Triage - LIVE DEMO: AI Agent Studio in ServiceNow - Use Case #2: Change Management Co-Pilot - Use Case #3: Agentic CMDB Health - Measuring CMDB Health Before & After - How Executives Are Responding - Metrics That Actually Matter - Pitfalls & Guardrail Failures - How to Prepare Your Team - Rapid Fire Takeaways #AgenticAI #ITSM #ServiceNow #ITAutomation #AIAgents #CMDB  #ChangeManagement #ITLeadership #WiredGarageWithPops #ArtificialIntelligence Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2537772/support]

Navigating Messy Enterprises - Insights from Experienced Architects

s1e30 Navigating Messy Enterprises   Insights from Experienced Architects  This episode of The Wired Garage with Pops is a roundtable with three “recovering” enterprise architects discussing what enterprise architecture really looks like in practice over a career. They frame EA less as a job title and more as a mindset that bridges business strategy with the messy reality of technology, legacy systems, and organizational behavior. The conversation covers recognizing “messy” enterprises, saying no (or “not yet”) to cool tech like AI and new platforms, governance and decision frameworks, empathy and frontline experience, and how their beliefs and communication styles have evolved. * EA is a mindset, not a title. You don’t stop being an architect when the job title changes; it’s a way of thinking that follows you into leadership, platform ownership, and solution delivery. Architecture is as much about people, context, timing, and decisions as it is about diagrams and standards. * What makes an enterprise “messy”? “Messy” isn’t just lots of tech; it’s unclear decision-making, weak governance, overlapping tools, and skills spread too thin across too many platforms. Mergers, half-in/half-out cloud moves, redundant monitoring tools, and fragmented information repositories all contribute to mess over time, often from good intentions. A clean decision structure and a clear plan can coexist with temporary mess; the real danger is unmanaged complexity and poor visibility, especially for security. * Role of the architect: giraffe, not wizard. A good architect is like a giraffe on safari: they see farther, spot danger early, and buy the organization time to choose options instead of reacting in panic. The value is in anticipating issues, proposing options (hybrid models, phased approaches), and structuring decisions so mess is prevented or at least contained. * Saying “no” (or “how”) to cool tech. Often the right call is to say “not yet” to AI, new SaaS, or hot platforms when knowledge management, data quality, or operating models aren’t ready. The architect’s job isn’t simply “no”; it’s reframing the conversation to “how do we get there?” with a realistic path, timeline, and alignment to business priorities. Start with business outcomes and capabilities, then choose solutions and platforms last; starting from tools locks you in and reduces long-term flexibility. * Governance, frameworks, and alignment. Using themes, epics, and idea portals helps ensure every piece of work ties back to business strategy and prevents scattered, one-off projects. Any governance framework can work, but the critical part is using it consistently so decisions are traceable and you can understand and revisit past choices. Feedback loops and organizational change management are needed early and often, so you can see how decisions play out (e.g., a 3‑day install becoming 14). * Empathy, communication, and frontline experience. They stress empathy: everything in IT is in service to someone, and it’s easy to forget that if you never see real users. Frontline roles (help desk, service desk, customer success) are invaluable; going back periodically keeps you grounded in how people actually experience your systems. One example: a CMDB/CSDM explanation was reframed as a ballet analogy tailored to an executive’s interests, which made the concept finally stick. Great architects practice empathetic storytelling—knowing the audience, choosing the right narrative, and over-communicating during change. * Avoiding “villain” status between business and IT. Architects often sit between business leaders demanding outcomes and IT teams building and running systems, which can make them the perceived “villain.” Transparency in how decisions are made, involving engineers early, and allowing people to see and participate in the conversation builds trust even when the answer is no. You can’t be an “Oz behind a curtain”; visible participation, feedback, and iterati Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2537772/support]