Building Trust in AI: Insights from NICE

[00:00:01] Michael Quince: When you look at leadership and leaders, it’s really not about titles. It’s not about org charts. It’s really about influence and trust. And so you can have the smartest technology in the world, but if your team and partners don’t feel empowered and supported, you’re not gonna go far. This is what shaped my leadership style. So, I would say one of my superpowers is really building a culture for success. Invest in the people, and I truly believe the result will follow.

[00:00:28] Intro/Outro: Technology has transformed how we live, work, and connect. And behind that change are visionary people with bold ideas. Welcome to The Bridgecast, where host Scott Kinka explores hybrid work, AI, and our evolving future with tech’s brightest minds. Presented by Bridgepointe Technologies, the nation’s leading tech advisory firm. Experience a better way, the Bridgepointe way.

[00:00:58] Scott Kinka: Hi, welcome to The Bridgecast. Today, I’m joined by Michael Quince. He’s the regional vice president of partner sales for NICE. If you believe Kristen Bell, the nicest company in America right now, right? A global leader in AI-powered customer experience and conversational AI platforms. Michael spent over a decade leading channel sales and marketing initiatives at companies like NICE, of course, but also 8×8, ShoreTel—stalwarts in the unified communications and customer experience industry. You’ve been helping organizations define and execute partner strategies that drive revenue, innovation, and market impact, deeply experienced in orchestrating complex relationships. One of those is ours, and I’m sure we’ll get into that today. But, lots to talk about. Michael, welcome to The Bridgecast.

[00:01:41] Michael Quince: Scott, thank you so much for having me. I’ve been waiting to join this Bridgecast for so long, so now is the time. Super excited to be here with you.

[00:01:49] Scott Kinka: Well, I’m thrilled that we were on your to-do list. We’re super excited about that. Let’s just jump right in. Um, while people are in their car or on the treadmill or whatever that is. You guys have been in the news, in advertising of late. If, you know, listeners have spent any time in customer experience, obviously, it’s a name that’s known. Gartner Magic Quadrant just dropped. You remain in the top right quadrant, leading the, you know, the industry. You’re at the forefront of AI-driven customer experience. You played a pivotal role in shaping strategies around that. So, I’m an IT leader. Like, just describe NICE for me. Get me caught up if they’re not familiar.

[00:02:27] Michael Quince: So, NICE as a leader, we were primarily known back in the day for our contact center. Right? So, NICE is the leading, if you look at the Magic Quadrant these days, we’re up in the Gartner far right corner, eleven in a row for our contact center platform. So, that’s pretty exciting to be that market leader. And now, as part of that, we also purchased a company called Cognigy, which was a leader in conversational AI. So, part of our strategy now is really leading with those AI solutions as the market dictates us to do that. Right? So, not only do you get a market leader within the contact center or the CX space, now you’re getting the same conversational AI as we continue to merge these companies together. It’s exciting times to be at NICE.

[00:03:12] Scott Kinka: Yeah. That’s amazing. And you already jumped on the landmine because I was like, what can we talk about at the pre-show?

[00:03:17] Michael Quince: Well, let’s get into it.

[00:03:20] Scott Kinka: So, let’s just jump right there, and then we’re gonna come back because I want to learn a little bit more about you. But let’s just talk about Cognigy and what’s going on there.

[00:03:27] Michael Quince: Yeah, I mean, everyone’s obsessed with generative AI right now. It’s the big story, and it’s all about the orchestration across all the modalities within the workflows. And this is one of the reasons why we bought Cognigy. I know that we evaluated several companies. And based on that evaluation, Cognigy by far was the market leader in this space. This is why we decided to enter into an agreement with them. So, the value that’s gonna add to our customers long-term around conversational AI, whether it’s a stand-alone or whether it’s sold with our contact center platform, it’s gonna be really super beneficial to our partners and to our customers to give them the ability to cross-sell and upsell AI within their customer base today. We’ll go into more detail when you and I are together on stage at your event in a few weeks, and I look forward to sharing a lot more in regards to what that’s gonna bring to our partner community and the opportunity that we have together when it comes to NICE and Cognigy coming together.

[00:04:25] Scott Kinka: That’s amazing. And while we’re on people coming together, yeah, you did mention our Tech Summit. Probably no secret that NICE and Bridgepointe Technologies are partners. Let’s just talk about that a little bit. What’s the position of the partner in this, et cetera? And what makes your approach—you know, NICE and broader, but you, you’ve been all over this industry, you’re a well-known commodity—what makes your approach to partner sales kind of strategically different in this crowded tech ecosystem out there?

[00:04:51] Michael Quince: It’s funny. Uh, I’ve been doing this a long time, and you never get bored doing it because the technology changes, the partnerships change, and the ecosystem changes all in a good way. So, this is really an exciting time to be working together in the tech sector. In an AI-first world—that’s what I’ll call this. You know, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say we’re in an AI-first world right now. It’s really not about moving product. It’s about multiplying the impact. And partners like yourself, like Bridgepointe, strategic advisors who help customers adopt AI successfully, become really the trusted technology advisors within this space. You have to really translate the features into real business outcomes, and we have to shift that mindset from how do I get more seats sold to how am I building an ecosystem that accelerates adoption and creates a long-term value. This comes into the value that Bridgepointe offers. Not only are you selling a solution, but you’re also doing the deployment, and you’re providing stickiness, and you’re providing the trust that your customers have for a long-term successful experience that customers expect. So, as this ecosystem evolves and we see how partners are evolving, partners have a really important role of reducing the fear of adopting technology that could be a little uncertain to them right now.

[00:05:56] Scott Kinka: That’s super interesting. How does that sort of partner—I don’t wanna say maybe partner-first is a little bit aggressive, but, like, you know, partner—how does that partner-led ethos shape your management philosophy, the way that you work both inside the organization and externally?

[00:06:20] Michael Quince: I mean, at NICE, we embed the ethos by making collaboration the default, not the exception. Partners aren’t just part of our process. They’re at the table with us. They’re co-selling. They’re innovating. And one of the things we have to do a better job of together is celebrating those wins. So, it’s embedded within the fabric of everything that we do as a company. So, it’s just a muscle memory that we continue to, to, uh, work on together.

[00:06:41] Scott Kinka: Got it. I’m gonna use this question as a transition and talk a little bit about you. We jumped right into what was going on with Cognigy, and we, we’re gonna introduce you in a minute, though.

[00:06:49] Michael Quince: That’s exciting. I’m glad we did. It’s great.

[00:06:52] Scott Kinka: Yeah. I’m glad we did. This is an interesting time. What keeps you up

[00:06:55] Michael Quince: at

[00:06:55] Scott Kinka: night?

[00:06:55] Michael Quince: Oh, gosh. There’s a lot of things that keep me up at night. And so when I think about going to sleep at night and not getting that full eight hours that you’re supposed to get, there’s a lot of things. I don’t worry, right? But what I focus on is curiosity. And my job here as a channel leader is making sure that we’re better today than we were yesterday, that we’re gonna be better next year than we were this year, and we’re enabling our partners to be successful with the NICE product solutions. And so that’s what keeps me up at night. And I’ll tell you this, I’m gonna sneak this in here. I do my best thinking on my John Deere when I’m out in my yard by myself cutting the lawn. Some of the best ideas I’ve ever had have come that way. So, when I’m trying to sleep at night, I’m really thinking of what impact can we work on together at NICE with our strategic partners to really be better than we were. And if you’re not thinking that and you’re not thinking about an evolution of a channel program, I don’t think you’re always gonna be as successful as you possibly can be. You know, as an executive and as a leader, what would you say your superpower is? I don’t really like talking about superpowers, right? Because then there’s kryptonite that offsets superpowers, always. Okay, what’s your kryptonite? Oh my gosh, I have a lot of kryptonite. We’re not gonna go into that on this podcast, but I’ll, I will tell you. When you look at leadership and leaders, right, it’s, it’s really not about titles. It’s not about org charts. It’s really about influence and trust. And so you can have the smartest technology in the world, but if your team and partners don’t feel empowered and supported, you’re not gonna go far. You know, this is what’s kind of shaped my leadership style. So, I would say one of my superpowers is really building a culture for success. Invest in the people, and I truly believe the result will follow. Does it happen immediately? No. It will happen over time, though. So, trust, belief in your people, and building a culture from within. Never expect organizations to say, we’re gonna build this culture on your behalf. I believe that teams are responsible for building that culture within itself, and that will permeate throughout the organization.

[00:08:53] Scott Kinka: If we have time, we’ll cycle back to that because I think, you know, our listeners are CIOs and IT directors who, you know, they’re used to guys like you, and they’re used to their CEOs. They kind of taking the stage in the board meeting, you know, and they’re sort of reacting to what, and I think my personal opinion, and I’ve talked to so many of them, is that’s changed so dramatically since COVID. In many ways, the person making the IT decisions in the business is as strategic or more strategic than many of the roles that are around the table. But part of that is, like, you know, the culture-building piece and the story-building piece is difficult in there. We just did an episode talking about, uh, storytelling, um, that I thought was really interesting. But I’m gonna hold that for a minute because, one, we didn’t fully get into you. So, background. Where are you driving that John Deere tractor? Like, just give us, like, the keen story so we can get to know you a little bit.

[00:09:41] Michael Quince: Yeah, I mean, I started in this industry when I was 22 years old. I started at Northern Telecom. 22, right out of college, sitting at my first desk with my little Mac computer, and, man, I thought I hit the jackpot. So, to be at a company that size so young was just really, really special. And so I’ve been in this industry since I’m 22, and I don’t look bad for 36, Scott. So, I mean, I’ve not been doing this for very long. And so I’ve never left the tech sector. So, I started with Northern Telecom, then I moved to, when that, unfortunately, didn’t work out over a period of time, I moved to Polycom. Video conferencing was big at the time, so that was also the bleeding edge of technology, then went over to ShoreTel, 8×8, and now here at NICE. And so my career has really been in this tech sector, working with partners at so many different jobs and experiences within different organizations within some of these companies, and I’ve been very, very fortunate to work for some of the best. And I’ll say that a lot of my learnings came from really, really, really important people in my life that were mentors that a 22-year-old, you seem to think you know everything, but you know nothing. And it’s they really helped mold me and, and, and really helped me concentrate on things that were most important.

[00:10:50] Scott Kinka: I look back at that time in my life, and I’m like, this is the time when I was never more confident and knew us. I have to do this as an aside because I think it’s super interesting. And people that listen to the episode all the time know I’m always like, let’s get the name right. Let’s do it. You have, you know, you’re a known commodity in this space, and I have heard your name. It’s like the shortest name that is pronounced a hundred and ninety-seven different ways every time you call. So, it’s Quince, but you were telling me on the pre-show a story about what it was.

[00:11:17] Michael Quince: Yeah, it’s so funny. My kids growing up hated their last name because they were called Quince, Quince, everything but what their last name is, and they just called me all I’m like, “It’s okay. It’s okay. Just politely correct them.” So, my last name’s Quince, Q-U-I-N-C-E. Um, but the story goes something like this. So, my grandparents are from Sicily on my dad’s side, and they migrated to America like a lot of, a lot of people do. And the spelling of my last name at origin was, uh, was, uh, Q-U-I-N-C-I, Quinci, right? And that was the original version. And so as my grandparents migrated over to New York, uh, the “I” looked like an “E,” and the American version became Quince, and they never changed it. So, Q-U-I-N-C-E. So, um, it is Quince and and originally Quinci. I mean, I like them both.

[00:12:03] Scott Kinka: Yeah. Exactly. You know, one, you can say when you’re talking with your hands.

[00:12:07] Michael Quince: Yeah, exactly. In the household I grew up in, there was a lot of this, Scott, a lot of this.

[00:12:13] Scott Kinka: I love it. Let’s transition just a little bit. I’m gonna talk quite a bit about AI on here. And here you are. You’ve talked about you guys have made, I mean, arguably, one of the splashier, I guess that’s the best way to say it, one of the splashier acquisitions in the space, you know, and AI in general. You know, a lot going on. You talked a little bit about where you guys are at. I mean, I know the, the ink’s drying on getting all this stuff done, probably still in the spot where you can’t tell us a ton. But let’s just transition to just kind of AI in general, and you can, you’ll mention Cognigy as it matters in there. But, I mean, you, you guys, um, let’s take that background, put it aside. You’re out. You guys hired Kristen Bell, who probably is the nicest, pun intended, person in the world. You know, you’re talking about AI that puts people first. Feels a little bit counterintuitive right at the end of the day, because in some cases, you’re replacing a person with a bot, and, you know, how do you think about kind of balancing cutting-edge AI innovation with, you know, design with experiences that feel human? You know? And you used the word trust when you were describing the partner thing. Experience that feel trustworthy also. How do you guys think about that?

[00:13:14] Michael Quince: Look, innovation for the sake of technology really just isn’t enough. So, the North Star always doesn’t make life better for the customer and easier for the partner. So, when you look at human-centered AI, right, means designing solutions that feel intuitive, predictable, and trustworthy. We constantly ask ourselves whether our AI could pass the, “Can my mom use it?” test, right? That’s going to how I think to view it. If it feels confusing and impersonal, well, then it’s back to the drawing board. The balance comes from pairing advanced technologies with empathy, context, and usability, so it enhances those relationships and not replaces them. That’s the human element of this. You know, AI is not gonna replace what you and I are doing here today. This is a conversation about the technology, but you gotta make sure it’s not impersonal, it’s not confusing. And there is that element of I’m feeling comfortable and secure, and, you know, there’s empathy there, uh, when you look at, um, the human aspect of what AI brings. And I think our ad campaign kind of summarizes that a lot, you know, with Kristen Bell. There’s a lot of humor in that, and, and I think we try to make it come across in a way that there is a we are making AI human.

[00:14:23] Scott Kinka: It’s the thing that it makes me think about is it’s almost counterintuitive kind of in some ways where you’re like, yeah, we’re gonna put people first in a lot of ways. People’s experience with a nonhuman conversation, like, the conversational technology and the AI technology, we put them together, but in reality, they’re two separate sets of tech and you’re sort of using them together. So many people’s first experience with talking, you know, to a nonhuman on the phone, that was not powered by AI. It was powered by a, you know, binary decision tree in an IVR. Like, how much does the legacy of kind of the nonhuman spoken word over the phone affect people’s feelings about adopting it with AI? Like, sometimes, is it a big, I mean, are you kind of arm wrestling people over, “No, it’s not that anymore”? Like, give us some of the historical context.

[00:15:13] Michael Quince: And you make a really, really good point there. Right? Because you know as well as I know when you back in the day, when you would call an airline, it was very robotic. It didn’t communicate like a human, and it wasn’t sharing all of the knowledge that we think that that IVR decision tree kind of bot didn’t know enough about how to help us. Right? And it failed because we didn’t trust it. And I think that’s part of it. Right? And you just wanted to hit 00000, right, just to talk to somebody just because we didn’t feel like we were getting the service that we needed. You know? So, I mean, one of the things that I think partners—and I’m gonna take this back to partners, Scott, if you don’t mind. I think one of the things that a partner ecosystem can do is that when you’re working with companies like NICE that have the market-leading solution in conversational AI, and one of the reasons why we bought Cognigy, is that giving it another try and reducing those fears. This technology is not here to replace humans. It’s here to enhance the customer experience and then really allowing other folks that maybe were doing things that weren’t making the company money and redeploying those people to more profitable ways, you know, for the company to, to make money. Right? So, so I know there’s a long-winded answer, right? But the technology’s come so far, and I can’t wait to show a lot of folks out there what this technology is going to do. For example, I saw a demo of Cognigy just last week, and, uh, the use case was booking an entire flight, right, from beginning to end through the AI process. And it really was the most human experience that I’ve ever seen in all my years, you know, working with different technologies, and so even the humor that was in there. So, I think we just kind of really work together to make sure that customers are comfortable using the technology because the market really is demanding it. And we just want to make sure that it’s clearly understood the role of AI and how it’s going to support organizations and make them more friendlier, the human experience, and add value to their organization so they can continue to accelerate their growth. That was a long-winded answer, and I apologize for that.

[00:17:17] Scott Kinka: No, no, no, no. It was a good one. These are long-winded questions. We grapple with this stuff all the time on the podcast. You’re talking with customers all the time, and, you know, you’re obviously, this journey with Cognigy is beginning, but you guys have had embedded AI capabilities in the platform for some time. I’m an IT leader. I’m listening to this right now. You’re a guy who’s been jamming this stuff every day. You talk to customers every day. Give them some advice. Like, what are the pitfalls that they should be avoiding when they’re thinking about their own AI adoption? Whether that’s conversational AI or what should they stay away from?

[00:17:47] Michael Quince: The number one pitfall to me is treating AI like a download-and-go product. Here you go. Good luck. I think that is a crucial mistake. It requires enablement, context, calibration. You just can’t put AI on a product sheet, call it a SKU, and say, “Let’s go.” We need to avoid that by investing in the education and real-time feedback loops on what the customer’s trying to—what is their end goal? Right? What are their business objectives? Agility sometimes doesn’t always—agility doesn’t mean chaos. It means creating a framework that we can experiment and scale quickly and never just get stuck in that beta cycle forever. So, to me, it’s really making sure that our customers and our customers in general understand the solution that they are buying, what that solution’s going to do for them, and then really making sure that they’re comfortable using it. It just can’t be go-sell. So, we’ve got to, we’ve got to really make sure that we were providing that level of comfortability to customers.

[00:18:45] Scott Kinka: I love what you’re saying about kind of training and use the word framework, which I think is a brilliant use there because they—we’re in a little bit of this, like, chicken-or-the-egg model in some businesses. Right? Like, we’re doing cloud a little bit again where the board of directors has gone to the CIO. Like, “Go get some. Like, we want some AI. We gotta have it.” And I mean, that’s an admirable request in a lot of ways. But I think the challenge too is that, you know, we’re doing the same thing again. Like, we’re trying to fit a technology in without the use case, and the use case requires the users, but we need a framework before we can get the users on it. I know we didn’t talk about this in the pre-show, but I’m gonna just throw a curveball at you, right? Like, is just AI literacy in general inside of the business a problem that the company should be trying to tackle? Do the actual use cases that you build a project around come out of just letting people play?

[00:19:32] Michael Quince: Look, at the end of the day, revenue is the scorecard, but adoption is the game. So, you understand what I’m saying here. We measure success by the stickiness and the comfort, and are our customers actually using AI after six months? Right? So, it really—and I’m gonna go back to this, right? It’s expanding the use cases. Every CIO is like, “The line of business is demanding, ‘I need AI. I need AI. I need AI.'” Right? So, what does that really mean? Does it mean you need a chatbot, or do you need to embed it in your workflow where decisions are made quicker and you’re pulling data from the CRM? Right? Is your calls going down and customer satisfaction going up? Is your revenue up? Is your churn high? Are you really winning? You know? So, these are the things that have to be evaluated when you’re looking at adopting a solution. Right? So, there’s a demand out there, but I think, well, again, it gets back to the education and the enablement of what this really means for the company that’s looking to adopt the technology. And so how does it becomes—because it means nothing if, if a customer says, “Okay, I’m adopting an AI strategy,” and only 5% of the company is using whatever technology software from an AI perspective. Then you go, “Okay, why did I do this? It doesn’t make sense.” So, you have to remove the fear, make customers feel comfortable, and then really measure the stickiness and the adoption rate of these users that is, that are actually using the technology.

[00:20:50] Scott Kinka: What are the downstream, you know, usage is one thing, but ultimately, it’s got to appear on the balance sheet. So, like, when you’re meeting with customers, what are the metrics that they’re using to kind of truly capture whether they’re delivering value?

[00:21:02] Michael Quince: Yeah, I just hit on this a little bit. Like, are your support calls going down? Is your customer satisfaction going up? Is your revenue increasing as a result? Because maybe now your answer—you’re you’re getting to problems quicker, which is building a higher customer satisfaction rate. Because now you’re—nobody likes being stuck on hold. Nobody likes that. Even when you call, you’re like, “This is ridiculous.” And how many times are you gonna do repeat business with a company that can’t answer your questions or get to you on the first, for first call resolutions? Probably not back, right? Especially nowadays. So, I think those are some of the downstream measurements that you have to look at when you look at AI adoption.

[00:21:38] Scott Kinka: Yeah. I think the key for most people is, like, these are not new measurements. The principles of the business are still the same in the AI.

[00:21:44] Michael Quince: The technology changes, the principles are still the same. It really is. Are you reducing your churn? Is your customer sat going up? We live in a global economy. Right? And things are moving so fast. We are a people that don’t like to wait on anything, unfortunately. Right? I like to say, “I’m not a doctor; I don’t have patience.” So, and I think that holds true for a lot of people. So, uh, the patience wears thin, unfortunately, so we have to make sure that those types of measurements are in place for success.

[00:22:11] Scott Kinka: Got it. We touched a lot of things, and maybe we, you, we got to most of it. But is there any kind of other advice? I mean, you’ve mentored leaders. You’ve built teams. You’ve enabled partners to succeed. You’ve sort of touched every piece of the tech ecosystem front to back. What would be the advice you’d give tech executives who want to create a culture where they’re nimble enough to make this work, right? Ideas flow freely. They’re shared openly. There’s not risk of failure, but innovation and trying something is rewarded. What would you say to an IT leader?

[00:22:39] Michael Quince: If I would sum it up as a closing and and a key takeaway is that lead with people, enable your employees, let the technology do the heavy lifting and not the other way around. So, people are your biggest asset, and they’re the ones that are gonna really adopt the technology. So, make sure they’re comfortable with it. And we’re fortunate enough at NICE to have an ecosystem of partners that help us do that. So, we’re, we’re very fortunate that way. So, that’s how I would sum it all up.

[00:23:02] Scott Kinka: I love it. Well, speaking of sum it up, let’s get to some fun questions.

[00:23:05] Michael Quince: Oh, I like fun.

[00:23:06] Scott Kinka: The first one is maybe fun. Depends on what your answer is, but I need a shameless prediction. Give me something. It doesn’t even need to be about AI/CX. It could be about sports. It doesn’t matter to me. We’re just gonna look back in twelve to eighteen months and see if you were right.

[00:23:18] Michael Quince: Okay. This is a tough one. Haven’t put a lot of thought into this over. So, I’m gonna—we had a, we talked a lot about technology. Let’s talk about some fun stuff. Okay? My prediction for the next twelve to eighteen months is that the Dallas Cowboys may actually make the playoffs.

[00:23:35] Scott Kinka: Wow. Now do they just flame out in the first round?

[00:23:38] Michael Quince: Yeah, probably. You know, they become maybe a second-round playoff team. Now I probably just offended half the country here, and so this is my opinion and not the opinion of NICE.

[00:23:47] Scott Kinka: Okay. Totally fair. Well, as you know, I’m from Philadelphia, so I don’t know how I feel about that. We’re just, we’re, we’re enjoying the fact that the Dallas Cowboys perpetually find ways to trip over their door jamb all the time.

[00:23:59] Michael Quince: Exactly.

[00:24:00] Scott Kinka: All right. We’ve talked a lot about the future, Michael. And, um, you know, sci-fi has been telling us how the future’s gonna go for the last thirty years, and a lot of it’s around AI. But you can choose whatever dystopian future you think we land in. Maybe it’s the zombie apocalypse and you’re surviving out there. You have your phone, only one application on the phone still works, but you choose which one it is. Which one would it be?

[00:24:23] Michael Quince: Okay, it’s probably—there’s a lot of apps right now. I’m in a fantasy football league with the same guys for ten years, so that app is super important to me. But I would have to say I need Spotify, right, because I probably wanna play a lot of R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It.” And so I like to play that.

[00:24:40] Scott Kinka: See what you did there? Nice.

[00:24:42] Michael Quince: You like that? I’d probably play that over and over again. So, I need the music.

[00:24:47] Scott Kinka: What are you reading right now?

[00:24:48] Michael Quince: I’m rereading a book. It’s called The Best Team Ever, and it’s really about building culture. I’m really working at looking at really emphasizing the empathy part of, of team building.

[00:24:57] Scott Kinka: That’s so funny. You probably know this because he says it all the time from stage, but our CEO, that’s his management ethos. It’s hashtag Best Team All The Time. Best Team Ever. I love that. Well, speaking of teaming, we’re thrilled with the relationship, obviously, that we have with NICE. We’re out there in the field making things happen with you guys and thrilled to be able to do that. Thrilled to have you on the, uh, on The Bridgecast today, Michael.

[00:25:18] Michael Quince: Scott, I enjoyed this. It’s the highlight of my day, highlight of my week, so I really, really enjoyed our time together.

[00:25:25] Scott Kinka: Amazing. If listeners do want to dive a little bit deeper into NICE, maybe more importantly, learn a little bit more about you individually, what would you recommend that they do?

[00:25:32] Michael Quince: Uh, you can reach out to me on LinkedIn or send me a note, you know, michael.quince@nice.com. Happy to have any kind of conversation you want about what we’re doing at NICE or technology in general or just meet for a cup of coffee.

[00:25:44] Scott Kinka: I love it. I’m gonna hit you with one more and then we’re gonna go. Give some of your philosophy, your business philosophy in a single sentence for tech leaders.

[00:25:52] Michael Quince: People first. I love it.

[00:25:54] Scott Kinka: Awesome. Well, thank you, Michael.

[00:25:56] Michael Quince: Uh, thank you so much. Really enjoyed it.

[00:25:58] Scott Kinka: While you’re getting your coffee, I’ll say goodbye. That’s a wrap on this episode of The Bridgecast. If today’s conversation gave you something to think about, obviously, please leave us a review. Obviously, share this with your team, and, uh, we’d love to see you on a future episode. Thanks a lot. Listen, if you made it this far, there must have been some good content, or you’re just a fan or a relative of mine. In either case, we appreciate you spending your most valuable asset with us, your time. We don’t take that lightly. We’d also like to say one more time that we’re appreciative of Bridgepointe Technologies and their belief and sponsorship of this show. We hope that if you or someone you know is thinking about your company’s digital transformation or simply the next IT project that you may not have the resources, budget, or time to get to, I’m sure that Bridgepointe, one of the country’s fastest-growing technology advisory and procurement firms, can help. Check out bridgepointetechnologies.com. Don’t forget the “E” on Bridgepointe, or simply reach out to me at skinka—S-K-I-N-K-A—@bpt3.net. Also, take a minute, please, if you would, to give us a five-star review on your favorite platform. It helps give us the visibility to reach other people like you. Thanks for listening to this episode of The Bridgecast. I’m Scott Kinka. And until next time, there’s a lot of noise out there in business and in life. Do what you can to be the signal.