How Culture Always Beats Strategy in Digital Transformation with Frank Sweeney of Arizona Department of Child Safety

David Wright is joined by Frank Sweeney, Chief Information Officer and Assistant Director of Support Services of the Arizona Department of Child Safety, to discuss Frank’s journey from a history major to a technology leader, and the crucial role of innovation in public service. They discuss Frank’s mission to protect children and empower frontline workers through technology, the importance of culture over strategy in innovation, and the power of staying curious and patient in one's career.

Key Takeaways:

00:00 Introduction.

03:21 The most important thing is to stay curious and not close your mind to technology.

07:18 An internship with Arthur Anderson after college started the drift toward technology.

11:47 Failure is not bad; it's something you go through to get to something better.

15:32 Avoid hubris, verify and reverify, and get your team involved in decisions.

19:31 As a leader, spend time mentoring and helping each person grow.

22:02 Culture will always beat strategy, especially with a mixed-generation workforce.

26:50 Joy is a choice you determine for yourself every day, unlike conditional happiness.

31:11 Increasing frontline worker time with families directly correlates to better outcomes.

35:09 AI development code is often reusable, unlike old programming languages.

Resources Mentioned:

Arizona Department of Child Safety website

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