Collaborate, to simplify problems and solutions with Tom Pierce

In this episode, I asked Tom Pierce, the president and founder of Integrated Information Systems (I2S) responds to my question on how the ‘integrated’ in his company name is internalized by his clients. He responded to that question and shared many more interesting thoughts in this episode. He shared:

• How their weekly 5 hour workshops for clients, to get vibrant conversations going
• How he uses music in some of his interactions
• His belief in segmentation and appropriate responses, rather than fragmentation
• His experience with music, when practicing first base alone and getting the big picture when the full team came together
• His metaphor from baseball, on being present and aware of the other players and take decisions
• Why preparation and practice trumps planning alone
• How Covid had a negative impact on collaboration
• About drawing from how children learn music to make software teams more effective
• How the artistry of code can be better when a team member ‘listens’ to the rest of the team members
• How children are very perceptive, while AI [alexa] is not
• His career tips for those considering a career in IT and those considering a switch mid-career, from non-tech to tech roles
• He also draws from his experience of holding his first grand child in his hands the first time.. Beautiful!, in responding to a question of patience and a sense of urgency or rushing through life
• How he finds time for being interested and engaged in multiple activities



Tom Pierce is the president and founder of Integrated Information Systems (I2S) of Louisville, Kentucky. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Wake Forest University (1981) and a Master’s in Divinity (1993) from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. 

After serving as an officer in the US Army, Tom has been immersed in the design and support of manufacturing software, as well as in the data-driven analysis of business and financial systems, primarily in large manufacturing facilities within the Aerospace Defense sector. 

A self-described MRP philosopher and ERP contrarian, Tom is a passionate advocate of simple approaches to complex problems. As a stubbornly resolute moderate, his company seeks to promote intelligent integrity by avoiding the opposing traps of overly simplistic naivety and overly complicated sophistication. 

For roughly four decades, Tom has focused his career and his company on the pursuit of trustworthy clarity and practical understanding of information, which is the light of all human pursuits.