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Listen "Episode 9 – Leadership Tips from Dr. David Bray"
Episode Synopsis
ANDY CROWE ● BILL YATES ● NICK WALKER ● DR. DAVID BRAY
NICK WALKER: Welcome to Manage This, the podcast by project managers for project managers. And whether you’re new to project management and just starting to think about becoming certified, or whether you’re a veteran project manager with a string of certifications under your belt, this program is for you. I’m your host, Nick Walker. And with me are some veterans who have been in the trenches and on the mountaintops, and they’re here to share their expertise with you: Andy Crowe and Bill Yates. Guys, good to see you.
ANDY CROWE: Good to see you, Nick!
BILL YATES: Great to see you.
NICK WALKER: Hey, I know you two have been looking forward to this podcast for some time, talking with our special guest today. And, you know, since we began these podcasts, it’s really struck me that the world of project management is big. And we’ve talked to people who have done some magnificent things, and in a variety of venues. But I have to confess I’ve kind of been looking forward to this guest, as well.
As you know, I’ve been in broadcasting for many years, first in radio, then in television. And so I’ve been aware of the workings of a particular agency that we’re going to be talking about today, the Federal Communications Commission, or the FCC, ever since the ‘70s, when I got my official FCC license to broadcast over the airwaves. But today’s technology is light years from the ‘70s. Today’s management and leadership concepts are light years from where we were back then. And that’s where today’s guest comes in.
BILL YATES: And I think we’ll find this is going to be one of these guys that’s incredibly intelligent, yet a humble leader. I can’t wait to hear his comments.
NICK WALKER: All right. Well, let’s get right into it. Dr. David Bray is the Chief Information Officer for the Federal Communications Commission and has led a transformation of the FCC’s information technology since 2013. David, thanks so much for joining us here on Manage This.
DAVID BRAY: Thanks for having me here, Bill and Andy.
NICK WALKER: Hey, before we talk about your project that revolutionized the technology at the FCC, give us a little bit about your background. I understand you began working for the U.S. government when you were 15?
DAVID BRAY: Yes. I actually had to get a work permit, and it was actually at an electron beam accelerator facility. They were throwing electron beams against the wall, and they were interested in individuals who could help out with doing computer simulations. And I was able to pitch in.
NICK WALKER: At 15. That’s...
BILL YATES: Yes. This is Bill. David, I think I was cutting grass at that age.
DAVID BRAY: Well, I was fortunate enough, my grandfather got a PC when I was five, and he gave it to our family. And no one else in the family really took to it, and I just was interested in both programming as well as taking the computer apart and putting it back together again. And so that apparently turned into a marketable talent of sorts.
NICK WALKER: Yeah, evidently. Now, I understand that you and Andy Crowe really go back a ways. And can you reveal a little bit about this without, you know, revealing any secrets here?
DAVID BRAY: Sure. Happy.
ANDY CROWE: Yeah, David and I both worked at an organization in Atlanta that did – it did web development. It did infrastructure development. And we crossed paths there back, I guess, right before Y2K? Is that about right, David?
DAVID BRAY: Yup, it was 1998, 1999. And, yeah, I was doing stints – it was a Microsoft consulting firm, and basically working with Andy. But also I would do trips with Habitat for Humanity. So I’d work for about three to four months, and then do a one-month’s trip with Habitat for Humanity overseas, and then come back.
ANDY CROWE: And David was always a big deal. But, you know, now since then he’s become a really big deal.
DAVID BRAY: Oh, no, I’m not.
NICK WALKER: Welcome to Manage This, the podcast by project managers for project managers. And whether you’re new to project management and just starting to think about becoming certified, or whether you’re a veteran project manager with a string of certifications under your belt, this program is for you. I’m your host, Nick Walker. And with me are some veterans who have been in the trenches and on the mountaintops, and they’re here to share their expertise with you: Andy Crowe and Bill Yates. Guys, good to see you.
ANDY CROWE: Good to see you, Nick!
BILL YATES: Great to see you.
NICK WALKER: Hey, I know you two have been looking forward to this podcast for some time, talking with our special guest today. And, you know, since we began these podcasts, it’s really struck me that the world of project management is big. And we’ve talked to people who have done some magnificent things, and in a variety of venues. But I have to confess I’ve kind of been looking forward to this guest, as well.
As you know, I’ve been in broadcasting for many years, first in radio, then in television. And so I’ve been aware of the workings of a particular agency that we’re going to be talking about today, the Federal Communications Commission, or the FCC, ever since the ‘70s, when I got my official FCC license to broadcast over the airwaves. But today’s technology is light years from the ‘70s. Today’s management and leadership concepts are light years from where we were back then. And that’s where today’s guest comes in.
BILL YATES: And I think we’ll find this is going to be one of these guys that’s incredibly intelligent, yet a humble leader. I can’t wait to hear his comments.
NICK WALKER: All right. Well, let’s get right into it. Dr. David Bray is the Chief Information Officer for the Federal Communications Commission and has led a transformation of the FCC’s information technology since 2013. David, thanks so much for joining us here on Manage This.
DAVID BRAY: Thanks for having me here, Bill and Andy.
NICK WALKER: Hey, before we talk about your project that revolutionized the technology at the FCC, give us a little bit about your background. I understand you began working for the U.S. government when you were 15?
DAVID BRAY: Yes. I actually had to get a work permit, and it was actually at an electron beam accelerator facility. They were throwing electron beams against the wall, and they were interested in individuals who could help out with doing computer simulations. And I was able to pitch in.
NICK WALKER: At 15. That’s...
BILL YATES: Yes. This is Bill. David, I think I was cutting grass at that age.
DAVID BRAY: Well, I was fortunate enough, my grandfather got a PC when I was five, and he gave it to our family. And no one else in the family really took to it, and I just was interested in both programming as well as taking the computer apart and putting it back together again. And so that apparently turned into a marketable talent of sorts.
NICK WALKER: Yeah, evidently. Now, I understand that you and Andy Crowe really go back a ways. And can you reveal a little bit about this without, you know, revealing any secrets here?
DAVID BRAY: Sure. Happy.
ANDY CROWE: Yeah, David and I both worked at an organization in Atlanta that did – it did web development. It did infrastructure development. And we crossed paths there back, I guess, right before Y2K? Is that about right, David?
DAVID BRAY: Yup, it was 1998, 1999. And, yeah, I was doing stints – it was a Microsoft consulting firm, and basically working with Andy. But also I would do trips with Habitat for Humanity. So I’d work for about three to four months, and then do a one-month’s trip with Habitat for Humanity overseas, and then come back.
ANDY CROWE: And David was always a big deal. But, you know, now since then he’s become a really big deal.
DAVID BRAY: Oh, no, I’m not.
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