TheNavigator_Vol1Issue1_v1.5_digital-singles

the navigator
why migration? // data at 180mph // artificial dinner // cloud hero world tour //
some cool stuff // miles ward of google cloud // how to not be replaced by robots //
thoughtcast // brian conte //
published by launch cg : vol.1 no.1 : spring 2019 : $ - C.R.E.A.M.
ai ?
If AI is the future, then why is it everywhere now?

the navigator
vol.1 no.1 : spring 2019

FROM THE
EDITOR
In 2008, The New Yorker Magazine wrote
about the demise of print, talking about a
“palpable sense of doom.” They highlighted
Philip Meyer, who, in his book “The Vanishing
Newspaper” (2004), predicted that the final
copy of the final newspaper will appear on
somebody’s doorstep one day in 2043.
Which should be about the same year Elon
says that, upon the death of our biological
body, we’ll be able to upload ourselves into a
new unit and continue living as a computer.
They also talked about the inevitable slipping of
the public trust in newspapers. Got that one.
So, in typical contrarian form, we decided to
launch a print piece, The Navigator. Don’t
worry, just a quarterly thing. But when you
get hundreds of smart and driven people
working with several smart and driven clients,
cool things occur that seem worth sharing.
And with everyone’s inboxes clogged, perhaps
a refreshing somethin’-somethin’ to hold in
your hands, pin-up, share, leave in
the loo, wrap your fish in, and
recycle is a nice way to carry
on a dialogue and express our
ongoing salute to humanity.
It seems apropos that a
modern-day business
and technology
consultancy should
commit their inaugural
publication to everybody’s
subject of the moment, AI.
Following are reflections
on moments we feel are
relevant and conversations
with some very smart people.
Yours truly,
Tad Harmon
Chief Creative Officer
Launch Consulting
//1

I:FUTURE
Is AI the Future
of Business?
Pages 3-6
Why: Migration &
Partnerships
Pages 7-10
How&Tell:
Data@180 MPH
Pages 11-16
Artificial
Dinner
Pages 17-18
Cloud Hero
World Tour
Pages 19-32
Miles Ward:
the Interview
Pages 35-36
How to Not Be
Replaced by Robots
Pages 37-38
ThoughtCast
Pages 39-40
Mr. AI:
Brian Conte
Pages 41-42
© 2019 LAUNCH CONSULTING
//2

Futurist Leonardo Da Vinci pondered whether
Artificial Intelligence would ever be realized.
IS
AI
THE
FUTURE
OF

What is the future of AI/ML and
how do you practically apply its
power for your business?
Did you know that 60%
of businesses from all
industries combined have
implemented a Machine
Learning artificial
intelligence strategy to help
in day-to-day operations
and to have a clearer
vision of the future?
AI used to be the stuff of science fiction.
However, businesses now use AI every
day to increase efficiencies, save money,
increase ROI, improve customer experience,
increase customer satisfaction, and make
meaningful and accurate predictions
about the future of their business and
where their industry is heading in order
to gain an edge over the competition.
A 2017 study conducted by IDG found that
89% of business leaders who have adopted
AI technology agree that it has provided their
business with a competitive advantage.
This same study found that 81% of
business leaders agree that AI technology
has reduced costs significantly and has
also improved the overall satisfaction
and experience of their customers.
//4

ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE
ISN’T JUST THE
FUTURE…
IT
Another 2017 study conducted by Deloitte
Access Economics found that businesses
implementing AI technology typically realized
between two and five times ROI on their AI
project within the first year. A 2017 study
conducted by Harvard Business Review
Analytic Services found that 82% of business
leaders who have adopted AI technology
are primarily using it to turn their data into
valuable insights through predictive analytics.
“This is what is keeping business leaders
awake at night: how to harvest and make
sense of their data for competitive advantage.
Machine Learning is allowing companies to
surface the untapped value in their data.”
- Fausto Ibarra,
Director of Global Product Management
for GCP
Real, tangible applications
for every industry.
You may be wondering: How can AI help
my business be more successful? Below
are just some examples of the most
popular ways in which five industries
utilize AI in their day-to-day operations:
Healthcare
• Predictive modeling
• Process automation
• Customer behavior analysis
• Better diagnostics from patient data
• Disease identification & risk stratification
Financial Services & Insurance
• Predictive Analytics
• Risk analysis & Fraud detection
• Customer segmentation
• Marketing campaign management
• Credit worthiness assessment
Retail
• Credit risk assessment
• Predictive inventory planning
• Supply chain management
• Customer behavior analysis
• Market segmentation and targeting
• Customer ROI & lifetime value
Media/Entertainment
• Recommendation engines &
personalized experience
• Predicting emerging trends
and consumer demand
• Process automation
• Customer behavior analysis
Technology
• Improve customer experience
• Predictive analysis
• Customer behavior analysis
• Analyze and meaningfully utilize massive
amounts of data
Be an industry disruptor
without disrupting
your business.
Take advantage of everything AI technology
can offer and become a disruptive force in
your industry without disrupting your business
during the process. Launch has helped many
companies big and small seamlessly integrate
AI technology while preparing employees
and other stakeholders on how to take full
advantage of the technology. Launch has
the expertise to integrate the right Machine
Learning APIs into your IT infrastructure
to meet the exact needs of your company.
Once these Machine Learning solutions
are integrated into your IT infrastructure,
they are fast, scalable and easy to use.
We find AI solutions
that truly empower.
What good is implementing AI Machine
Learning in your business if it is difficult to
use and understand? Launch continually
seeks out AI services that have the aim of
making those services more simple, useful,
and applicable to any business’ unique
challenges. We look for cloud platforms that
utilize tools that allow for simplicity in using
Machine Learning and cut costs by eliminating
the need to hire a team of data scientists
while offering affordable data storage that
is extremely flexible and scalable. We love
Machine Learning tools that also provide
economical pricing; Machine Learning resource
management that is free, and pricing that
only charges your company per training job.
//5

’S NOW.
“
This is what is keeping business leaders awake at night:
how to harvest and make sense of their data for competitive
advantage. Machine Learning is allowing companies to
surface the untapped value in their data.
Fausto Ibarra
Director of Global Product Management
for GCP
Ask for an AI strategy assessment today:
LaunchCloudServices.com
Neural-net-based Machine
Learning services also have
better training performance
and increased accuracy
compared to other Machine
Learning systems.
Businesses can also rely on multilayered
secure infrastructure, expert engineers, and
commitment to transparency. Launch can
help you take advantage of various cloud
platforms’ proven, pre-trained models.
We create custom models with cloud
Machine Learning engines and the most
popular Machine Learning libraries across
the globe. Our clients can use proprietary
customer ML accelerators to run and scale.
Secure like Fort Knox
& 100% compliant.
Understandably, security threats are a top
concern for any business, and this threat is
only increasing every day. Launch can put
top-rated security features to work for you
so your company can get the most out of
using AI technology. We make sure your
cloud environment and information is secure
with endpoint, anti-virus, and malware
protection. According to a 2017 study
conducted by IDG, 86% of business leaders
who have implemented AI technology agree
that it has enhanced their cybersecurity
efforts. Does your business need to remain
HIPAA compliant? FERPA compliant? COPPA
compliant? No problem. We find partners that
regularly undergo independent verification
to ensure that you can put your trust in their
products to help your business stay compliant.
Don’t be left behind.
Why has your company not taken advantage
of what AI technology can offer? Does it seem
too overwhelming and complicated? Are you
not sure how it could help your company?
Does it seem too expensive? Are you worried
it will disrupt your current operations during
the implementation process? Perhaps you
have security concerns or are apprehensive
about training employees about how to use
new technology. Whatever your reason,
contacting Launch for a free assessment
may put your mind at ease and help clear
up some misconceptions you may have
about implementing AI technology in your
company’s IT infrastructure. When you
contact us, you won’t be talking to a pushy
salesperson trying to meet their quota. You
will be talking to a consultant who has
their own entrepreneurial and industry
expertise who genuinely loves helping
businesses succeed with the power of AI.
//6

HY:
IGR
TION
ARTN
//7

&
YOU
CAN
IMAGINE THE
SCENARIO.
Your business is flying high and it’s finally
time to migrate to the cloud. You hire
a consultant (woo hoo!) and they
set you up with a “Lift and Shift,”
suggesting you move whatever you’ve
got to whichever platform you like.
//8

HY:M
ION &
ERSH
HE F
SEEMS LIKE A
FAST PATH.
The phrase is clever, more so because…
it rhymes. Plus, everyone else is doing it.
So, why not dive in and get this party started?
Among a host of other services, Launch is a
company that helps its customers Lift and Shift,
as well as Move and Improve (another rhyme),
which includes application changes as part of
the migration. We’ve seen that before “start
the party,” it helps to step back, think deeper,
and engage in the dreaded, “We need to talk.”
Our Cloud Migration Workshop is basically
a lot of talking with some pretty cool results.
It’s a series of progressive discussions, starting
with what makes our clients successful in
their industries. Of course, then comes the
technical deep dive (our solution architects
love this part), looking into the architecture
and system workloads, looking at migration
goals, KPIs, priorities, and interdependencies.
This information is bundled up into a suggested
proof of concept, migrating one or more
workstreams to validating the migration.
The POC is usually the first step toward a
bigger picture. Before dashing into the fray, it’s
good to create a road map that tells you where
you’re going, how the pieces fit together, and
how resulting business goals can be achieved.
Forging ahead is a lot easier if you know you’ve
got a giant forest to weave through
or a looming cliff to avoid.
THE LARGER
STRATEGY
ALWAYS NEEDS
TO BE YOUR
NORTH STAR,
AND IF YOU
CAN’T QUITE
SEE IT YET,
WE CAN HELP.
//9

IGRA
PAR
IPS A
UTUR
Ask for an AI strategy assessment today:
LaunchConsulting.com/AiServices
//10

OW&
DATA @ 180 MPH
How Human Centric AI is helping NTT Indy Car Series
Team Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Win Races.
//11

“
In this era of the sport,
it would be impossible to operate
without data acquisition.
James Hinchcliffe, Driver
No.5 Arrow Electronics Honda
TELL
“The evolution of data acquisition has really
revolutionized Motorsports,” says NTT Indy
Car Series driver James Hinchliffe. “In this
era of the sport, it would be impossible
to operate without data acquisition.”
If anyone needs “accelerated data” or “data
at the speed of business” or whatever
the hell hyperbole you see on every
PowerPoint presentation ever, it’s an IndyCar
team – the living breathing metaphor
for fast data in the information age.
The Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
team combines data and driver and
engineer experience to win races.
Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
recently teamed up with Launch to build an
interactive dashboard app that will assist the
race engineers to manage the cars in real time.
“Every second is crucial,” says Arrow SPM
driver Marcus Ericsson. “You need to
get the data quickly; you need to try and
quickly analyze it and then take out the
information from it. That’s why you need
to have the data there extremely fast.”
It’s not just about getting the data quickly,
it’s about how fast that data can be put
to use in order to gain every possible
competitive advantage. With an average
8-seconds in a pitstop to make adjustments
to the car, every split-second counts.
“We run a live telemetry system that
provides the driver with a certain amount
of information on the steering wheel and
then a significantly greater amount of data
to the pit stand for the engineers to analyze
on the fly,” says Hinchliffe. “Between the
data the engineers have and feedback from
the driver, decisions are made on what, if
any, changes are made during pitstops.”
Ask for an AI strategy assessment today:
LaunchCloudServices.com
//12

“
Every
second is crucial; you ne
GPS: 986° 37° 1345°
Tire Temperature: 114°
//13

ed to get the data quickly, you need to try and quickly
analyze it and then take out the information from it.
Marcus Ericsson, Driver
No.7 Arrow Electronics Honda
Data @ 180 mph | the Navigator
Speed: 178 MPH
Lateral Acceleration: 367 MPH
Ask for an AI strategy assessment today:
LaunchCloudServices.com
//14

Data @ 180 mph | the Navigator
“
Launch is going to help us save time just from the
usability of the program they’re coming up with.
Will Anderson
Arrow SPM Race Engineer.
E
ID

In the pit stand, the team race engineer, race strategist,
and data acquisition engineer are monitoring all the
incoming information to determine race strategy. These
guys are looking at weather conditions, driver feedback,
and the car’s telemetry. The telemetry automatically
populates in the app and the team can easily input
driver feedback and environmental conditions.
“We’re collecting all of this disparate information
to create a story,” says UI/UX Designer Larissa
Wright. “Alone this info is interesting, but may not
be actionable until the whole story is filled in.”
“
I don’t believe AI will ever
replace the race experience of
the driver or the race engineer,
says Gish.
What it does do is track and
evaluate the decisions of
the race engineer and the
performance of the driver, so
they can go… faster.
“It’s all about making decisions,” says Scott Gish,
Launch Senior Software Development Engineer.
“What we’re doing is consolidating the information
and presenting it in a format that shows as much
information possible as quickly as possible.”
“When I saw what they were doing, it felt complicated and
inefficient,” says Wright. “They were toggling through
multiple open windows and massive spreadsheets, and
literally typing every word the driver said into those
spreadsheets. Driver feedback is just one small example
of something we hope to automate for these guys, so they
can spend their time thinking strategically about the race.”
“Launch is going to help us save time just from the usability
of the program they’re coming up with,” says Will Anderson,
Arrow SPM Race Engineer. “There will be a lot less manpower.
There will be a lot more automated entry, automated things
happening in the background that we don’t have to then
manually enter. Honestly, the end result in how that can
make the car go faster is, if we have more time to test
the cars on the track more often, we gather more data.”
“These guys are chasing 1/100th of a mph. Every minute
we save them in a practice session means another
lap around the track to get more data and driver
feedback,” says Scott, “which is another opportunity
to tune the car and improve performance.”
This combination of human experience and intuition with
hard data and AI in one dashboard is being used in multiple
industries. “What we’re doing is automating as much
as possible, so people can spend more time thinking and
doing, and less time on the busy work,” says Wright.
“I don’t believe AI will ever replace the race experience of
the driver or the race engineer,” says Gish. “What it does
do is track and evaluate the decisions of the race engineer
and the performance of the driver, so they can go… faster.”
Ask for an AI strategy assessment today:
LaunchCloudServices.com
//16

When Launch needs to put our stuff out
on the table, we like to do it over dinner.
We might seat solution architects with
data scientists, cloud devs with creative
directors, business analysts with sociologists.
Whomever is there, there is never a shortage
of opinions, passion, laughter, and solutions.
JERRY
Everyone here is probably pretty honest in
saying, “Hey, AI is a great tool. It can help
farmers. But it can also help run war games,
or actual wars.” And it’s that knowledge that
allows us to say, “Okay, we’re the guardrails.
What are we doing
to make sure that
things are okay?”
CHARLENE
We’re not dumb. There
is a very dark side to this,
right? There is. And the
hard thing for me is when
and how can you control
it, right? As an individual.
SORAYA
I am a Sociologist. I see it a little bit differently.
I don’t see it as good or bad. I think it just is.
And it’s a process of social change. I think
about how our platforms now have changed
the structure of our economy, where people
are more independent, and creating their own
opportunities for their own employment, and
I think that’s just going to grow. Is it good
or bad? It isn’t about being good or bad. It’s
just about us growing and embracing it.
BRIAN
Human centered AI is recognizing that AI
is best used in conjunction with the human.
There’re so many
examples where, you
know, the combination
of human and machine
is better than either of
them alone. I mean most
of the applications I
would say right now that
are out there in the real
world with AI, whether
it’s helping doctors scan
radiology reports or
helping with customer
service or whatever, it’s
a conjunction between
human and AI.
JERRY
We know enough
about the underlying
technology and how
it works, that you’re
willing to trust it, but
let’s be honest, we are not representative
of America, right? We know more about
how technology works than most people
walking down the street. How do we
translate our comfort with AI to a farmer
who only sees that technology has destroyed
their workforce over the last 20 years?
SORAYA
By 2030, they’re saying 70% of companies
will have some aspect of AI embedded in
their system. And if you’re a company who
is not invested, you’re going to fall behind,
and you’re going to disappear. So that’s a
reality too. If you’re trying to save jobs, in a
system that is evolving, you’re not doing
your workers any help. You’re not. You have
to help them evolve with the system.
RTIF
//17

“
By 2030, 70% of
companies will have some
aspect of AI embedded
in their system. And if
you’re a company who is
not invested, you’re going
to fall behind, and you’re
going to disappear.
Soraya
BRIAN
In general, I’m more optimistic about the
whole prospect of growing jobs versus losing
jobs. There was a couple of recent optimistic
things in the news. There was a study that
showed that while most companies go into
AI thinking they’re going to save costs, the
ones that actually successfully implement
AI end up saying that it increased revenue
rather than saved cost. That two jobs were
going to be created for everyone loss.
CHARLENE
The C-Suite at enterprise companies are kind
of just scared to death of AI. I heard one say to
Brian, “Will you come and teach my corporate
executives how not to be afraid of AI?”
TRAVIS
We knew the C levels were not gonna get in
and understand ROI, and all this stuff. I mean,
are you kidding me? We can create a fantasy
land, but that’s not how you sell this, right?
So, like what we did in the Disney experience,
where it was like, okay, cool. It’s your birthday.
The kid goes crazy. The execs all got it.
It was no longer how many billable hours,
it was how many millions can I throw at
this, and then how do I make these 50
other things, right? And then it was like, “by
the way, that’s AI.” Right? That’s all they
needed ... “okay. I get it now. I get it.”
Ask for an AI strategy assessment today:
LaunchConsulting.com/AiServices
This (Beauty and the Beast) rose, right?
It’s dead, and you walk up to it, it comes
to life for you because it’s your birthday,
right? We had the C level execs come in
and then we brought a kid, who’s never
seen this. And you throw them in front
of that thing, and it’s their birthday… and
all of a sudden, the rose comes to life.
ICIAL
We threw a dinner party for AI experts… and…
here’s an excerpt.
Watch the video at launchconsulting.com
//18

LOUD
ERO
ORLD
OUR
ONLY TWO THINGS
CAN HAPPEN
AFTER 2 AM
THAT DON’T
INVOLVE SLEEP:
1 NOTHING GOOD
2 A GREAT IDEA TO REVOLUTIONIZE
GOOGLE CLOUD MARKETING.
//19

For those of you pressed for time, I’ll summarize the rest of the article here: Launch and Google
developed Cloud Hero over a four-month period—taking it to conferences and Google events
around the world. Experiential marketing + competitive developers = product love.
//20

21

CONCEPT
It started on a dark and stormy night in late December ‘17.
The temperatures in the Pacific Northwest were a blistery 45°,
not cold enough to snow but wet enough to reinforce
the gloomy Seattle stereotype.
Local restaurant 13 COINS was the wellspring
for what is now Cloud Hero.
With an average IQ tipping 140, a group of Launch and
Google Solutions Architects devised a back-of-the-napkin
‘U2’ concert experience for Google Cloud Platform.
BUILD
A CONCERT EXPERIENCE
FOR
GOOGLE CLOUD PLATFORM.
Ask for an AI strategy assessment today:
LaunchCloudServices.com
//22

23

PRODUCTION
Google had thrown down a pretty hefty gauntlet:
Design an experience for developers and creators to explore the possibilities of GCP,
in a way that — unlike most training experiences — didn’t suck.
Leveraging Miles Ward, the Bono of the Cloud,
we conceived and built an interactive game and corresponding
roadshow-style live event, in which app developers and engineers faced off
against each other to stand-up services and infrastructure in GCP.
BEST OF ALL:
IT DIDN’T SUCK.
IT ROCKED.
Ask for an AI strategy assessment today:
LaunchCloudServices.com
//24

25

COMPLETION
In 4 months, Cloud Hero and its lovable mascot, Skylar,
went from the 13 COINS restaurant to 12 locations around the world. Cloud Hero breaks down
the essence of the cloud platform, enabling them to showcase their brilliance in a fun event
without all the clichés, jargon, and boring demos that attend most company show-and-tells.
NO CLICHÉS, JARGON,
BORING DEMOS, LAUGHABLE
MONOLOGUES OR BULLSHIT.
JUST AN AMAZING,
GAMIFIED, INTERACTIVE
LEARNING EXPERIENCE.
Ask for an AI strategy assessment today:
LaunchCloudServices.com
//26

04
07
02
05
06
DESTINATIONS
1. Mexico City
2. London
3. Tokyo
4. Seattle
5. San Francisco – NEXT
6. Washington, DC
7. Bend, OR
8. Santiago
9. São Paulo
10. Bogotá
11. Tel Aviv
12. Osaka
01
10
08
09
Mexico City
4 months of preparation came to a head in Mexico
City, our official Cloud Hero beta test location. We
were hoping for the best but prepared to solve for
the worst as is almost cliché when launching a new
product: Power outages, natural disasters, heart
attacks, you name it! When we arrived at the event
grounds and into our home for the next two days—a
Buckminster Fuller geodesic dome in the middle of
a horse track—the whole team was blown away. We
were in the big leagues and things were going well.
Dress rehearsal went off without a hitch and we had
made great connections with the LATAM Google
Team. After a rocky start the event was a success.
Everybody earned their margaritas that night!
Travis Pruitt
Senior Solutions Architect
Osaka, Japan
1 cancelled flight; 2 layovers; 36 hours airborne;
48 hours on the ground; 3 karaoke songs
sung—all contributing to the perfect Japanese
experience. Osaka was the second of 2 trips I
made to Japan at the end of 2018 and I was again
blown away by the people of Japan. Cloud Hero
went swimmingly well, a true testament to the
Google Japan team and the pride they take in
their work. Osaka is famous for Takoyaki (octopus
balls), puffer fish, and amazing restaurant sign
displays as pictured on the left. I will be back.
Dylan Kinsella
Product Manager
//27

12
11
12
“
Cloud Hero is the most fun I have had at Google Next.
It was a real challenge, so everybody was very
focused and willing to win.
I would say it was very positive and thrilling.
Ask for an AI strategy assessment today:
LaunchCloudServices.com
Lorenzo Ridi
Cloud Hero Winner, Google NEXT
Tel Aviv, Israel
Fun fact: Bethlehem is in Palestine! Which we
were surprised to find out during a tour of Old
Jerusalem. After a successful Cloud Hero event
in Tel Aviv, some of the team decided to stick
around to immerse ourselves in some of the most
historically significant cities in the world. When
our tour of Jerusalem was complete, it was time
to go Bethlehem. We had to switch vehicles and
tour guides to cross the border into Palestine. Our
swanky tour bus was replaced by a series of cars
and vans. Despite the high-speed driving down
narrow and crowded roads, we arrived safely to the
birth sight of baby Jesus. Yeah. THAT baby Jesus.
Lee Christofferson
Head of Production
Bend, Oregon
Bend has a uniform and that uniform is strongly
rooted in flannel and IPA. Cloud Hero Bend was the
inaugural stop for the 2019 Cloud Hero roadshow.
Working with local tech companies and developers,
Launch and Google produced a localized version of
Cloud Hero with an accompanying Exec Connect
roundtable. The event bridged the gap of technology
and business, showcasing the power of GCP and how
transformational it can be for business objectives.
CBD water on tap plus 12 inches of snow made
for an interesting 24 hours in Central Oregon.
Marco Green
Solutions Architect
São Paulo, Brazil
We knew going in that delivering Google Cloud
Hero in Brazil would be challenging due to the
fact that the one person at our company who
spoke Portuguese wasn’t able to make it. Over
the last year as we deployed Cloud Hero 11 times
in 8 countries, we’d relied on the team’s high
school language skills. What did we discover?
That a selfie is a celebration in any language!
The people of São Paulo are creative, business
savvy, entrepreneurial and dedicated to doing
good. During our trip we went from meetings…
to espresso and Pao de Queijo (Brazilian
cheese bread) at an office park with an outdoor
ping pong table and hammocks. Note to self:
install at Launch offices under rain cover!
Leslie Redd
Director
//28

Mexico City
San Francisco
Santiago
Santiago
San Francisco
San Francisco
São Paulo
//29
Mexico City
Mexico City

Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
San Francisco
Tokyo
Mexico City
Seattle
Mexico City
//30

O, INSOM
AKE HEA
REAT TH
AN HAPP
FTER
AM
//31

NIACS
RT:
INGS
EN
Cloud Hero
//32

NAVIGATORS IN THE AGE OF TRANSFORMATION ©
Premier Partner

MILES
WARD:
THE
Miles
Ward
Director of
Google Cloud
Solutions
Dean
Graziano
Serial
Entrepreneur,
Launch
Resident O.G.
//35
INTERVIEW
Serial entrepreneur-cum-Launch consultant Dean Graziano is
well qualified for his mission of helping customers capture
future opportunities. Years of riding the cutting edge of tech
have sharpened his instincts for hiring and networking, making
him a walking catalog of invaluable resources and connections.
In 2004, Dean founded Visible Technologies—one of the
first social media monitoring analytics platforms. Today,
he’s picking the brain of Visible Employee Number Four,
AKA – Miles Ward, Director of Google Cloud Solutions.

36
Here are the choice-cuts from their call…
Dean Graziano: You’ve come a long way since the Visible
Technologies days. It was my first start-up. We’ve
been family ever since. It’s still one of the top social
media monitoring analytics platforms, so we did good.
Miles Ward: Plus, I met my wife there.
DG: I mean, I don’t think there’s anything
better than that happening.
MW: What we were trying to do is an appreciable
fraction of what Google tries to do, right?
DG: Right.
MW: Take and construct a full-text searchable, indexed
slice of the internet. If you ask core Google
engineers, “How does Search work?” They say,
“Well, you make a full-text searchable index of an
appreciable slice of the visible components of the
internet.” I’m like, “Dude, I did one of those, but I
was trying to do it in Sequel server at Visible!”
DG: Now data’s commoditized, right? You can get the
fire hose of data. When I tell people how we used
to collect data, they’re like, “What?” It’s insane.
MW: Yeah, in the salt mines, with pick axes.
DG: It was data as unstructured as you
can get and still go grab it.
MW: You’d had to find somebody willing to pay the extra
mile to get the insight that’s on the other side of some
gnarly thing [mountain of data]. Then technology
shows up and says, “Oh you figured out a way to
extract value by putting this in an organized pattern?
Awesome.” And then the machinery of development
kicks in and zip—[extraction] is trivial.
Isn’t that how technology works? It hunts down
opportunities for value creation and systematizes
them. From—Maybe we should print this picture—
to—Maybe we should print these pictures bigger—
to—Why don’t we just get our own printer? That’s
scalability—that systematic approach, increasing
the throughput that delivers value. That’s what
all these businesses are hunting down.
DG: I think all the stuff we see in movies is right
around the corner. You and I are both in the
AI space, where’s the future going?
MW: It’s easy to get swept up in the visual and visceral
and say “I want to shake hands with a robot! We’ll
go on a hike together!” Narrow application of these
technologies is powerful enough. Being able to use
modern prediction and extrapolation in modern
Machine Learning is going to make predictions more
accurate. A lot of the risks can be reduced in a lot of
places, and where there’s too much manual labor—that
stuff gets a lot easier, really quickly.
That’s not to say that there isn’t a huge amount of
problems left to solve, but you’re going to solve them
using slightly different tools in slightly different ways,
hopefully to much more scaled effect.
I had a good conversation with a [Google] customer
in banking. I proposed to the CIO and CFO that
they can’t really groc what AI can do for their
business if until they start some projects right
now and figure it out. But they were thinking in a
scaled way already. They said, “I don’t want to be
able to execute a single project. I need to build a
machine which executes thousands of projects.”
Every little part of my business, I expect to have-
DG: Automated.
MW: Right. You’ve got to ask: How many parts of our
business currently use statistics? Who’s likely to
walk through our front door? Who’s a risky bet to
make on an investment or give a loan? How do we
communicate to our regulators about our liquidity? In
all these places, predictions are based on a statistical
math that’s 200 years old. And it’s not that a machine
running the math is that much better, it’s just by using
so much more data, you make predictions that are
materially more accurate.
The Google example that’s most mind blowing for
me is our data centers. We consume about a fifth of
the X86 processor cores manufactured on a yearly
basis. It’s a gigantic physical facility. They have to
run those things efficiently. Shave a little off here
and that’s big bucks that go back into the coffers.
We’re on our trillionth revision of the software that
manages power and cooling inside of these facilities.
Last year, we turned all that software off. Take the best
thinking, by the best engineers at Google, working
on the most instrumented data center facilities in
the world, doing everything they could do to figure
out the very best way to control those tools. Instead,
build a Machine Learning model that digests all the
same inputs that they see, and all of the changes
they’ve made over the last ten years affecting the
turning on/off of the coolers. And our system’s
not 4% more efficient, it’s 40% more efficient.
DG: That’s amazing.
MW: These are parts of the business where 1% is
monumental for a lot of different manufacturers—
folks in oil and gas and energy, any businesses
where outputs are already at scale, where single
digit percentages matter, and where they’re using
statistics—90% of businesses on the planet. By
applying machine money, they get a step function in
accuracy. That’s giant. It’s literally a multi-trillion-dollar
opportunity.
To capture that opportunity, you’ve got to do the
leg work of having the data organized and having
your systems ready to go. You can’t just phone
it in and poke the ML button on the side of the
spreadsheet and purr… out it goes, but there’s a lot
of spots where companies have a big opportunity.
DG: Dude, I love you, great talking to you. It warms
my heart to see the impact you’re making.
MW: Dean, you were a big part of the family that
I have in technology, so I really value your
participation as a partner as we plug in to
some of these incredible new things.

HOW TO NO
BE REPLAC
BY ROBOTS
or HOW TO HELP YOUR EMPLOYEES STOP
WORRYING AND EMBRACE
THE AI REVOLUTION.
01
begin
NOW ENTERING EXISTENTIAL DREAD:
Home of Your AI Overlords.
72%
76%
75%
of Americans express wariness or concern
about a world where machines perform
many of the tasks done by humans.
of Americans are concerned
automation of jobs will exacerbate
economic inequality.
of Americans don’t foresee
new, better-paying jobs replacing
those lost to automation.
(Pew Research)
CAUTION!
FEAR IS THE MIND KILLER:
The negative impact of fear.
02
research
NEUROSCIENCE TO THE RESCUE!
Through our understanding of neuroscience, we
know that the best way to combat existential
dread is through unique, positive experiences.
• Inhibits ability to listen and
retain information
• Decreases cognitive processing
• Enhances other negative emotions
Jerry Nguyen, PhD, Launch Solution Architect
set-back?
03
THE PROBLEM?
Positive experiences are remembered less powerfully than negative ones:
• Negative experiences only require a single occurrence to be encoded strongly
• Repeated positive experiences lose impact quickly
//37

T
ED
solutions
04
THE SOLUTION TO
“THE LOOP OF DREAD”
• Consistent exposure to new positive experiences!
• The human brain optimally processes information in
short and medium time lengths. Focusing on near term
goals provides powerful positive feedback
• Our brains create connections between experiences and
actions. Linking specific actions with positive outcomes
can begin to present clear pathways to success
positivity
05
LEADERSHIP CAN CHAMPION
A POSITIVE VISION FOR AI:
Promote a realistic understanding of AI’s potential because
“the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
• Allay fears with a more inclusive vision of AI
• Foster collaboration
• Invest in building a strong data strategy
• Cultivate learning agility
06
empowerment
AN ENABLED AND
EMPOWERED WORKFORCE
AWAITS YOU!
The key to successful AI implementation
is an emphasis on learning agility.
Create a program highlighting:
• Higher order thinking skills
• Social and emotional skills
• Business acumen
• Technology skills
NOW LEAVING THE
VALLEY OF FEAR:
Welcome to the positive reality.
The overall effect of AI on
the workforce is a net gain of
58 million jobs by 2020.
success
07
YOUR ROADMAP FOR SUCCESS
You need a coordinated plan that engages and excites to embrace a positive future with AI.
Some steps to help you get there:
• Maintain a positive attitude and orient yourself and your employees
to actionable short- and medium-term benefits of AI
• Highlight real-world experiences that demonstrate the positive changes that have occurred
• Outline the concrete steps your company will take towards
AI adoption that supports your employees
• Build a transparent communication channel with your employees
to hear their concerns and help allay their fears
//38

HOUGH
TRAFFIC KILLING
YOUR MORNING BUZZ?
OUR TEAM
RECOMMENDS SOME
PODCASTS TO MAKE
YOUR COMMUTE
MORE TOLERABLE.
pursues her goal of founding Rent the
Runway – a website renting designer apparel
at affordable rates. It re-sparked the sense of
magic I feel as a Project Manager at the start
of a new assignment, helping me add energy,
positivity, and momentum to my team.”
Danny Cork
Senior Writer/Producer
Lorraine Haney
Practice Director,
Workforce Enablement
Podcast: 99% Invisible
Episode 322: The First Straw
“99% Invisible suggests that the most ordinary
objects may have the most important
stories to tell about human nature and our
changing society. This episode explores
the evolution of the disposable straw, from
its beginnings as public health tool to its
current polarizing role in US environmental
politics. The bends and twists in the history
of the straw, mirrors key turning points
in American business and culture.”
Podcast: Scriptnotes
Episode 375: Austin 2018 3-Page Challenge
“Invaluable writing advice from two working
screenwriters. This episode features their
ongoing Three Page Challenge, in which
aspiring screenwriters submit the first three
pages of a script for the hosts’ feedback. It
shows how easily we writers assume our
audience will understand information as
intended, without establishing elements
crucial to that understanding. This
episode is a reminder of how important
it is to consider multiple dimensions
of context when communicating.”
Katie Worral
Project Manager
Sandra Neihaus
Senior Manager, UX Strategy
Podcast: Freakonomics
Episode 340: People aren’t
Dumb: The World is Hard
“Freakonomics explores “the hidden side
of everything” with in-depth interviews of
experts specializing in economics, human
behavior, psychology, and many others.
This episode adopts the perspective of the
relatively new field of behavioral economics,
asserting that people aren’t dumb; the world
is complex and difficult. Figuring out how to
do complex tasks in the modern world – such
as saving for retirement – is hard. So how
can we leverage human “irrationality” to help
people to save for retirement, or address any
of the other difficult challenges they face?”
Podcast: How I Built This
Episode: Rent the Runway with Jenn Hyman
“How I Built This tells stories of notable
entrepreneurs and their companies. Each
episode is chockful of valuable takeaways
and inspiring journeys of how today’s most
successful companies got their start. This
episode follows Jenn Hyman as she boldly
//39

TCAST
Scot Gish
Development and Integration Manager
Podcast: Roguelike Radio
“Roguelike radio is a podcast dedicated to
roguelike games. Rogue was one of the first
procedurally generated games ever developed
for the computer. It was a dungeon crawler
where every time you played, the dungeon
was randomly generated, and your character
played until they died. How long could
you stay alive? It was incredibly popular. It
spawned an entire industry of roguelike
games. So, this podcast has been going
FOREVER. It talks about game development,
strategy, how developers procedurally
generate the content. I’m incredibly interest
in that aspect of it—I am a developer who
procedurally generates content. I find it a
good place for inspiration and tools and idea.”
Christina Ricks
Human Resources
Podcast: Dr. Wayne W. Dyer Podcast
I met Dr. Dyer’s philosophy in book form when
I read The Power of Intention a few years ago. I
discovered his podcast in 2017. Dr. Dyer’s focus
on mindfulness, living authentically and with
intention, and creating harmony and balance
by staying present is what really speaks to me.
In business, and especially in HR, things can
change so quickly that the swirl can sometimes
seem overwhelming. Having Dr. Dyer’s tool
box at my disposal often allows me to cut
through the chaos and focus on the core issue
in a meaningful, productive way. Sure, this can
be challenging at times but to at least be able
to be mindful in any situation is major! And
this isn’t something limited to work; these
practices work in real life, too. Dr. Dyer’s
podcast reminds me that at the core of it all is
an awareness of self that serves me personally
and professionally, allowing me to stay positive,
productive, and to always put people first.
Greg Young
Director of Client Operations, MediaAmp
so I typically listen to “Giant Bombcast.”
giantbomb.com/feeds/podcast/
I also love cars, so I like the conversations
from the folks over at “Wrench Nation.”
wrenchnation.tv/feed/podcast/
Finally, I am a huge beer enthusiast
and enjoy listening to several podcasts
put out by “The Brewing Network.”
thebrewingnetwork.com
Liz Thomas
Senior Partner
Podcast: Skimm’d From the Couch
Skimm’d From the Couch is one of my
favorites. The founders (two women in their
early 30s) invite powerful female leaders and
entrepreneurs over to their living room couch
where they have vulnerable and enlightening
conversation about their journey. They share
every step of their rise to the top, including
their major wins and loses along the way. Some
of my favorite nuggets are when share things
like the worst decisions and advice they’ve
had and who they call when they need help.
Podcasts: Giant Bombcast, Wrench
Nation, and The Brewing Network
I have a long commute every day, so podcasts
come in handy on my drive to keep me from
road rage! I couldn’t narrow it down to just
one. I have three hobbies that center around
what I might be listening to at any given time:
I’m an avid gamer and like to keep up
with what the latest trends and reviews
Ask for an AI strategy assessment today:
LaunchCloudServices.com
//40

MR. AI:
BRIAN
CONTE
Do you call yourself a scientist,
//41

TN: Wow. Ok. So, you’re kinda smart?
BC: That’s not what my wife says.
TN: Then what happened?
BC: I started interviewing for jobs and one really stood
out. The interviewer looked like a football coach
and was just as rah-rah. He gave me hard technical
problems to solve and then spent the rest of the
time convincing me to come work at his company
that I had never heard of, called Microsoft. That was
Steve Balmer. I joined Microsoft as employee 225.
I remember that I was so excited about my new
job that I wrote this very excited acceptance letter,
which Microsoft published in their newsletter.
TN: Do you still have a copy of that?
The Navigator: Brian, do you call yourself
a scientist, or a technologist?
Brian Conte: Probably a technologist.
TN: Why are you a technologist?
BC: I’m left brain, as they say. Although Jerry, our
resident neuroscientist here says the right brain/
left brain thing isn’t really a valid concept. Anyway,
I’ve always been interested in science and math
because I’ve always wanted to know the exact
answer; I prefer things that are black and white.
TN: Tell us more about yourself.
BC: Well, I’m originally from New York. And I
have been in technology most of my life.
TN: Tell us a little more about that.
BC: I started in high school programming on a local
mainframe and then one day a teacher brought in an
IBM 5110 computer, the predecessor to the IBM PC.
I was immediately hooked and ended up getting a
job that summer programming in New York City.
TN: What did you study in college?
BC: I majored in physics up until my senior year and
then switched to computer science because I felt
that there was more opportunity to advance the
state of the art in that relatively new field.
TN: Where did you study?
BC: I ended up getting a BSE in Electrical Engineering
and Computer Science from Princeton.
TN: So that’s all? And, Fast Track?
BC: I pulled together a unique combination of specialists
who could help Fortune 50 companies and start-ups
get out in front of their competition. We were agile
and able to work quickly. We provided web, software
and app development solutions. When I joined
Launch, I found that you were the perfect extension
to scale what we were doing. You folks also buy-in
to the concept of working smartly and quickly.
TN: And how’s that working out for you.
BC: So far, so good. Leading the AI team here has
already led to several engagements.
TN: Tell us something we should know about you.
BC: Well, my wife is a sociologist. She keeps me
very honest when it comes to AI and how it
could affect the global market. And how data
could be utilized if in the wrong hands.
TN: Wow. You must have some interesting
dinner conversations.
BC: Very.
TN: Thanks BC. We’re very happy you’re here.
BC: Thank you, and so am I.
or a technologist?
//42
BC: Yeah, but I rather not share it, it’s kind of embarrassing.
TN: That’s understandable. Ok, what
did you do at Microsoft?
BC: I worked on Windows 1.0, Multi-Media, and OS2. As part
of this work, I helped develop Microsoft’s first browser.
TN: So, what did you do after Microsoft?
BC: I started hDC, the first Windows-only software company
and I ran that for about ten years. We were acquired by
WRQ, where I remained as CTO for a while and helped
spearhead a few of their more noteworthy products.
And then I started Fast Track Team. Along the way,
I helped Microsoft run its Imagine Cup worldwide
student competition for 10 years. I also designed
and built the Smart Home of the Year in 2006.

fin

NAVIGATORS IN THE AGE OF TRANSFORMATION ©
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