Everything's Real, Everything Matters, and Everyone Knows It w/ Quadrant Concrete CFO Joseph Graziano
Release Date: 07/15/2025
Cat Negotiations, Dishonest Chatbots, AI vs AI in the Job Market, and More Real World AI Use Cases
Raw Data with Rob Collie
Rob finally cracked his years long standoff with the podcast lair cat, and the fix was hilariously simple. That small victory ends up setting the tone for the whole episode, because everything that follows has the same energy: real problems that only make sense once you shrink the solution down. As Rob talks through the cat truce, Justin brings in a different kind of chaos. A customer service bot that sounded fully in command yet never actually did the thing it said it did. Pair that with a hiring queue full of AI written applications, and the whole picture starts to come into focus. Once you...
info_outline
Customizing AI for Your Business is Crucial But It Isn't Hard
Raw Data with Rob Collie
Everyone’s talking about AI like it’s plug-and-play. Spoiler: it’s not. In this episode, Rob digs into why Big Tech’s billions in AI R&D haven’t yet turned into matching revenue — and what that means for the rest of us. The truth? The real business wins don’t come from off-the-shelf models; they come from smart customization. Rob breaks down the “magic Lego brick” approach that separates hype from practical reality, showing how everyday tools like Power BI and Power Automate can connect to AI in surprisingly simple (and powerful) ways. He also revisits Bill Krolicki’s...
info_outline
Is AI a Bubble?
Raw Data with Rob Collie
When the bubble pops, what’s left standing? Everyone’s calling AI a bubble — and yeah, there’s some wild stuff happening behind the scenes. Billions changing hands between the same few tech giants. Investments that look more like circular loans than innovation. But what if the real bubble isn’t AI at all? Rob breaks down what’s really inflating, what’s not, and why your business shouldn’t lose sleep over it. The headlines may sound like the sky’s falling, but the tools driving real results aren’t going anywhere. Some bubbles burst. Others just float higher. Listen now to...
info_outline
Getting Specific with AI via Categories: Chat, Headless, and Embedded
Raw Data with Rob Collie
Everyone’s talking about AI. Almost no one’s getting specific. And that’s the problem. Rob and Justin break down the three categories that matter: chat agents you talk to, embedded assistants baked into your workflows, and headless systems running quietly in the background doing the grunt work nobody wants to do. This isn’t theory. This is how AI is finally working for real companies. They walk through Vendor Bot, Scheduler Bot, and Budget Bot — small, focused tools that do one thing exceptionally well. Because here’s what keeps happening: the “one bot to rule them all”...
info_outline
AI Agents for the Manufacturing Industry, w/ Interpak CFO Bill Krolicki
Raw Data with Rob Collie
AI without the committee: Most manufacturers are still holding meetings about AI. Bill Krolicki just built it. As CFO of Interpak, he didn't wait for a strategy deck or a vendor pilot—he wired Power BI and Power Automate into a self-running operation. His bots read supplier emails, catch late shipments before they blow up production, and update the ERP while everyone else is still asking who owns the spreadsheet. Rob Collie and Justin Mannhardt sit down with Bill to talk about what happens when finance stops waiting and starts building. From "Vendor Bot" to the soon-to-launch "Budget Bot,"...
info_outline
AI is "Just" a New Faucet, plus the Value of Getting Specific
Raw Data with Rob Collie
Last week we got a facelift—new name, new look, same deep data dives. This week? We prove the rebrand wasn't just cosmetic. Rob kicks things off with a time machine moment: his first gig at Microsoft in the '90s, building the Windows Installer. The running joke back then? "Installing yesterday's apps tomorrow." Cut to 2025, and that exact same code shows up while he's configuring an AI tool for data modeling. Build something right, and it really sticks around. And that’s the bridge, AI context management isn't some brave new world. It's the same discipline that made Power BI models and...
info_outline
YOU are the AI Cavalry
Raw Data with Rob Collie
Everyone’s talking like AI is coming for your job. Rob’s here to tell you it’s coming for your skill set. If you already think in tables, models, and relationships, congratulations—you’re built for what’s next. This episode is part pep talk, part reality check, and all proof that data people aren’t getting replaced. We’re getting promoted. Rob takes you inside Microsoft’s campus and out into the real world, where big firms are burning millions on AI theater while mid-market teams quietly pull ahead. The twist? You don’t need to change the AI to win with it. You just need to...
info_outline
Can AI Go Straight from Requirements to Power BI Models?
Raw Data with Rob Collie
Nobody loves requirements docs. They’re the corporate equivalent of writing a novel just so someone can skim the back cover. The real question is whether you can ditch all that and go straight from “here’s what I need” to a working Power BI model. In this episode, Rob and Justin push AI into that role and see what breaks, what builds, and what actually saves you time. Turns out, the magic isn’t in making AI look impressive on a demo slide. It’s in whether it can wire up tables, relationships, and measures fast enough that your team can skip the plumbing and jump right to the good...
info_outline
AI Isn't Magic - It's Middleware (And That's Good News)
Raw Data with Rob Collie
Large language models aren’t magic. They’re pivot tables for words. That’s the real breakthrough — not a crystal ball, not a robot overlord, but a new way to roll up all the noise in your business into something you can actually use. And that’s why AI belongs in the middle layer. Just like BI gave you visibility across systems, AI is becoming the connective tissue for all the unstructured stuff that never fit neatly in a database. Sure, every product is rushing to bolt on “AI features,” but those sidebars and pop-ups can only see the data inside their own walls. The real power...
info_outline
What Exactly IS an AI Agent? We Propose a Friendly, Non-Gatekeeping Definition
Raw Data with Rob Collie
This isn’t another AI think-piece, it’s a full-on data brawl. Copilot is out here plagiarizing Rob’s pivot table crusade while the self-appointed nerd police try to lock down the definition of agentic AI. Meanwhile, thirty years of fantasy football become the unexpected proof that tuning beats buzzwords every single time. What starts as a slip from Copilot turns into a bigger story about how AI really works. Off-the-shelf tools can sound impressive, but they collapse into clichés when they’re not tuned to the person using them. The difference isn’t just in efficiency, it’s in...
info_outlineLet’s say your business runs on sun, sweat, and schedule precision. You’ve got crews in the field, materials that don’t wait, and about 90 minutes to get it right before the product turns into a thousand-pound paperweight. That’s the world Joseph Graziano lives in. He’s the CFO of Quadrant Concrete and also the guy keeping the trucks moving, the forecasts dialed in, and the safety records spotless. Because in the mid-market, you don’t get extra people. You get extra resourceful.
Joseph shares how he helped transform a boots-on-the-ground concrete business into a data-forward operation without fancy titles, inflated budgets, or a fleet of consultants. From field-collected data to real-time cashflow forecasting, he’s found the sweet spot where better reporting leads to smarter, calmer decisions. You’ll also hear why operational transparency isn’t just about ROI, it’s about reducing chaos, building trust, and creating a culture where everyone sees what matters.
If you’re trying to lead your business through complexity without adding complexity, this episode can be your blueprint. Data doesn’t have to be fancy to be powerful. It just has to work. Listen now and see what it looks like when grit meets insight.