Talk to Th3 Doc with Steve Meek

🎧 This episode of Talk To Th3 Doc features Ryan Young, Fractional CIO at The Fulcrum Group, Inc., as we explore a quiet but costly problem facing municipalities and growing organizations: IT risks that hide in plain sight until they become public, painful, and expensive. Most leaders don’t lose sleep over hackers first. They lose sleep over outages, audits, downtime, and accountability — and those risks usually come from deferred decisions, unclear ownership, and reactive IT planning. 🔥 Why this episode matters If you’re a city manager, SMB owner, nonprofit leader, or IT decision-maker, this conversation will help you: See where operational IT risk really comes from Understand why governance matters more than tools 🎧 Listen on your favorite podcast platform: 👉 https://pod.link/1807560282 📌 Explore more episodes + resources: 👉 https://www.fulcrumgroup.net/talk-to-th3-doc-podcast/ 👍 Like • 💬 Comment • 🔔 Subscribe for more leadership conversations at the intersection of business and technology. 👤 Guest Bio Ryan Young is a Fractional CIO at The Fulcrum Group, Inc., where he helps municipalities, utilities, nonprofits, and growing organizations make disciplined, defensible technology decisions. Ryan specializes in IT governance, cybersecurity planning, compliance readiness, and long-term technology alignment — especially for organizations that need executive-level guidance without a full-time CIO. 🫀 Vitals 📊 Why these metrics matter to leaders: Organizations without standardized IT governance experience longer outages and slower recovery Audit stress increases when ownership and lifecycle planning are unclear Operational disruption often costs more than the original technology investment These are operational risks, not theoretical ones — and leadership visibility determines outcomes. 🩺 Medical History In this episode, Steve “The Doctor” Meek and Ryan Young unpack how hidden IT risks form, why reactive IT creates long-term pain, and how leaders can bring clarity, trust, and accountability back into technology decisions. 🧪 Exam ⏱️ 00:00 — Welcome & framing the leadership problem ⏱️ 02:05 — The current state of municipal and SMB IT ⏱️ 05:28 — Budget pressure vs. real IT risk ⏱️ 07:02 — Why trust matters more than tools ⏱️ 09:45 — Governance gaps and audit stress ⏱️ 13:04 — Operational overload and firefighting ⏱️ 19:49 — Compliance realities for municipalities ⏱️ 24:00 — Innovation vs. stability in public sector IT ⏱️ 31:07 — AI curiosity, fear, and misuse ⏱️ 39:41 — Leadership accountability and ownership ⏱️ 48:08 — Asking better questions about technology ⏱️ 55:40 — Final thoughts on visibility and trust 🩹 Treatment Plan (Resources & Prescriptions) Risk-based IT planning instead of reactive spending Governance and lifecycle management Fractional CIO leadership models Quarterly Success Reviews and executive visibility Trusted advisory relationships over vendor chaos 📣 Guest Call to Action 📩 Email Ryan Young: ryoung@fulcrumgroup.net 📞 Phone: 817-898-1287 Reach out if you want to discuss governance, compliance readiness, or long-term IT planning. 🎧 Podcast Call to Action If this episode helped you see IT risk differently: Subscribe to Talk To Th3 Doc Like, comment, or favorite the episode Or connect with The Fulcrum Group for a consultation: 👉 https://www.fulcrumgroup.net/talk-to-th3-doc-podcast/ 🎧 Listen On Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeartRadio | PocketCasts | Amazon Music 🌐 Explore More Episodes: Talk To Th3 Doc Podcast | The Fulcrum Group, Inc. 📩 Email Steve: thedoctor@fulcrumgroup.net 🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevemeekcissp/ 🏢 Fulcrum Group Contact Info 📞 Sales: 817-337-0300 🌐 Website: IT Services For DFW Businesses | The Fulcrum Group, Inc. 📧 Email: sales@fulcrumgroup.net 🔗 LinkedIn: The Fulcrum Group, Inc. 📺 YouTube: The Fulcrum Group YouTube Channel 🐦 X: @TheFulcrumGroup 📘 Facebook: The Fulcrum Group, Inc. 📸 Instagram: TheFulcrumGroupInc