About Redbeard

Professional

Managing Consultant at Conexus SG based in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas. I mentor, train, motivate and coach consultants through complex and challenging implementations and support incidents.

I work closely with clients and sales staff in understanding, documenting and implementing solutions to meet client requirements. Elicit information and document business processes, rules and requirements and the gaps between current and future states.

I conduct requirements reviews with consultants and key stakeholders. Serve as a liaison between consultants, programmers and affected business units during conception, design, development, quality assurance and release management. 

I also assist project managers in preparation and management of project plans and status reports. Serve as a senior technical fellow for support resources and system users. 

As a consultant with deep roots in Manufacturing and Distribution my primary focus is Dynamics GP (Great Plains) consulting, specializing in addressing the needs of distribution and manufacturing organizations, though I am also experienced in Professional Services Automation, Field and Depot Service, Equipment Rental, Core Accounting functions, Fixed Assets and Customer Relationship Management. 

My experience has provided a keen understanding of compliance issues, and their impact on organizations with these requirements; audit, Sarbanes Oxley (SOX) and the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

Deep experience with Extract Transform and Load (ETL) projects have developed skills in data validation, clean-up and transformation. I have designed, developed and deployed numerous bridges between Dynamics GP & SL and various line-of-business systems. 

I am also intimately familiar with financial statement preparation and custom reporting, augmented by a deep knowledge of Dynamics GP and SL data structures, SQL query skills and report design know-how (FRx, Management Reporter, SSRS, GP Report Writer, Crystal and Access). 

Personal

Gulf War veteran (no, not that one, the first one).  I served honorably on the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) from 1988 to 1992.  I know numerous fun (and not so fun) facts about the Big-E, feel free to ask or check out this link: 

Life on the Big "E" USS ENTERPRISE (CVN-65)

My primary duty was serving as Military Police; known as Master-at-Arms in the Navy.  I am living proof you can take the man out of the Military but you can't take the Military out of the man.  If you ever see someone who seems like they are missing their Military, they may never have had it in the first place.

I have always been an enthusiastic agent for change, spending much of my time drastically altering the processes and systems of the organizations I have worked with.  As far back as my service in the Navy I was developing and implementing macros to support electronic reporting, criminal statistics and asset tracking databases, electronic versions of military instructions and manuals with tools like DBIII+ and Word Star.

Based on my experience, when organizations don't invite you in the front door to be an enthusiastic agent of change, the process can be especially challenging, so when I was offered the opportunity to work as an ERP consultant, I jumped at the chance and never looked back - almost 20 years later, I am still an enthusiastic agent of change, but now companies invite me in through the front door.

I worked my way through college with the aid of the GI Bill, managing a 4.0 GPA in all transferable credits - if you're curious about the wiggle word transferable, ask me, there is a story behind that B++++ (short version, a professor desperately did not want to hand out his first A in a particularly difficult course).

I spend an inordinate amount of personal time pursuing paths parallel to my professional life.

Free Time (what Free Time)

I have 5 children - known as the alpha-brats; Alex, Brandon, Cheyenne, Devin and Ethan.   My wife was only convinced to cease and desist when I declared child number 6 would be named Fletcher Freedom Forrest Lee - boy or girl. Alex is 26, Brandon 22, Cheyenne 20, Devin 18 and Ethan 17.  My children are a constant source of both pride and embarrassment to me, but they come by it honestly. 

I have a tiny dog, named Tiny-dog, who is the cutest thing you will ever see - I have pictures (see below).  This is Tiny Dog spooning with Nashville, my niece's dog.

I am a competitive DEFENSIVE PISTOL shooter (member of the IDPA).  This is a hold-over from my days spent as a Master-at-Arms.  It's just a fact, please do not think ill of me because of it.  I am also an avid video gamer - my nerdy kids and I bond through these activities.

I am a voracious reader.  I read 3-4 novels a month, or week, if they are really good.  My son, Devin, nephew, Matt and I have similar literary tastes and spend tons of time discussing novels we've read.  

I publicly revile technical manuals and fantasize about writing technical manuals people will enjoy reading as much as I love novels.  My favorite instructive book to date is "The Goal." I have purchased and permanently loaned multiple copies of this book.

I ravenously consume cinema and am typically an easy target for Hollywood.  I have found some redeeming qualities in every movie I have watched with three notable exceptions.  I walked out of Jimmy Hollywood, The Light of Day and the 1990 movie titled Mirror Mirror, not to be confused with the 2012 Snow White adaptation starring Julia Roberts.  

At one time I was both a skilled artist and percussionist (and drum major) but have let these skills atrophy.  I imagine I would be fair to middlin' at either, should the need arise.   You never know when you might witness a crime or need to lead a band onto the field at halftime.  

The nickname, Redbeard?  When I left the Navy, after having shaved every day for 5 years, I took a shaving hiatus.  What happened next, took everyone by surprise, including me.  I grew a righteous red beard.  Having brown hair and eyes, this was completely unexpected.  The rest is history.  To be frank it is nearly gone to grey, and the red is now only visible in sunlight.