After almost 20 years in the Dynamics channel (counting Great Plains software as part of that), I am taking a new step in my career and leaving both IBIS and the Dynamics channel.
The build up to this decision has taken a few years, deep soul searching and a basketful of reasons. Boiling it down to just a few, I’d have to list the following:
- Frustration: Microsoft’s unwieldy structure and work tax on the Dynamics channel just occupied too much of my attention, taking it away from our people and clients.
- Risk: The constantly high level of risk in ERP implementation concurrent with decreasing operating margins. The risk reward relationship is to skewed to risk.
- Boredom: I’ve done ERP for 20 years and keep seeing, and solving, the same problems.
- Focus: Those of you that have worked closely with me over the last 10 years have seen the level of effort I’ve brought to BI in the Microsoft ERP and CRM space. I’d like to continue that focus without other operational distractions.
- Love: I love being directly involved with clients – working cooperatively to forge strong relationships, develop creating solutions to business problems, watching those solutions help their lives and business. In my role at IBIS, and as a member of the channel, my career path was taking me further away from that love.
- Joy: After looking at what brought me career joy for the last 10 years, it was being in service to the client, developing business with them, and watching a great team deliver to them. I wanted more of that.
- Leadership: Finally, I wanted to find an extraordinary group of leaders that felt, acted and worked in a culture that supported the love I have for clients, the joy I find in the work and the care I have for the people with whom I work.
I informed IBIS in June I intended to depart and left on August 15th. IBIS is a company populated with great folks who I will remember for the rest of my life and I wish the company and its team members the greatest levels of success and happiness.
On September 29, I start with North Highland Worldwide Consulting (http://www.northhighland.com) as Vice President, Market Leader for the Data and Analytics division. North Highland was founded in 1992 by David Peterson with the premise that consulting could be better, that client’s come first, that the team must be of the highest caliber and that caring must be a core part of the culture. It is now an employee stock owned company with offices throughout the US and UK. NH provides management, strategy, technology, and digital marketing consulting services to some of the greatest firms in the world, such services including, obviously, BI, data and analytics to bring insight and clarity to complex, data rich customer problems.
This will also be my final Death of Reason post. I’ll be moving everything over to LinkedIn to provide a consolidation of my social activities to a single location.
Lastly, I want to make certain everyone knows that out of the channel is not about leaving behind my close friends and business relationships. I have been, and will continue, reaching out to my network to check in, say hi, and make certain we all continue growing ourselves and our careers.
My best to you all…
Dwight
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