Key Takeaways:

• Transitioning from military to civilian IT requires earning the team's trust through transparency and acknowledging that you won't always be the smartest person in the room.
• AI is a massive asset for SEO and content meta-descriptions, but leaders must be cautious as Google is increasingly penalizing AI-generated blogs that lack organic human input.
• Managing technical debt is best handled through small, agile batches—building, testing, and deploying incremental updates to avoid unmanageable legacy issues.
• Effective IT-to-Executive communication relies on a structured 'Issue-Action-Suggestion' model to respect the limited time of stakeholders.
• Cybersecurity is a constant arms race where AI is used by both defensive tools and malicious actors to automate threats.
• Professional growth in IT doesn't always require a traditional degree; mentorship, hands-on troubleshooting, and continuous learning are equally valuable.
• A high-performing IT culture is built by removing the 'fear of faults,' allowing teams to collaboratively learn from mistakes and improve processes.