I've also spent a good deal of time dealing with people, processes and procedures.

I love data/information. I believe in rules and regulations. And I really believe that a great many issues are due to a lack of these being defined well (rules/regulations/processes/prodedures), and that it is cumbersome to know what they really are. In addition to believing in these, I also believe strongly in creating simple processes and procedures in order to facilitate what people must do for the successful accomplishment of their goals.

I also have a desire to see the best for people, whether they are my peers, my "superiors", or my subordinates, I want to help them achieve their proper purpose in life. "Proper" can be defined as that which benefits them, and benefits others. Those "others" include their peers, "superiors", or my subordinates as well as clients/customers.

Integrity is everything. And through the application of integrity I lost business, not because I was asked to do something unethical but rather to do something that really would not have been in my client's best interest. Sure, I would have benefited. But if it really didn't need to be done, then it wasn't the right thing to do. As a corollary, I did gain business due to being known for integrity - my clients knew I was honest and straightforward and I believe I received a lot more business simply due to that.

I spent some of the past few years working within a church organization more so than computer consulting. If you are not familiar with such an environment, I believe you will learn something from the following.

Ever work within an environment which depends primarily upon volunteers? If so, you know that cooperation and respect is truly needed, as well as knowing people and knowing what you can expect. Unlike a business environment where one can be fired or reprimanded, this environment requires a lot of adaptability. One also learns to throw all assumptions out the window. What was my first assumption? What would yours be? It was that church folks could be trusted to do what they say they'll do. One soon learns it is not much different within the church than outside of it. Another assumption had to do with positions in life. Often the most dependable people were those with a lower "stature" in life. Some of that too was due to having a simpler life with less demands made upon it.

Communication was key, as it is in any environment. When people understand the who, what, where, when and why (and how), they often became more involved and at a deeper level. Yet communicating that, and doing so effectively, is always an issue. Consider this: look at what I've written so far. How much have I been able to communicate, and to what level of understanding? I understand it - because I wrote it! But what about you? Was this written effectively, yet efficiently such that you've even gotten to this point, and will continue reading?

Well, suffice it to say that I learned a lot about myself and about others through that church experience. I went from little involvement (I was always involved as we helped start the church), to being deeply involved, ending up the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, and the focal point for communications at the end (church services ended April, 2004). I learned taking responsibility is a great way to grow personally as well as realizing so much as to what is required to get things done.

I also discovered that I would much prefer to work with people than with computers. In spite of our flaws, there is a much better feeling to seeing someone's life made better than there is from something working well on a computer. Yet, as much of the balance of this document says, a great deal of my life has dealt with computers.

Application wise, I have dealt with many facets, primarily with regard to supporting manufacturing and financial operations, including edi and intercompany transactions.

I've also worked in managing programmers as well as project management. I've worked "in" house, "out" house (don't say it too quickly!) and independently.

My clients, past and present, have been very happy with the work I have done for them. Much, if not most, has been in training individuals and groups, finding solutions to reporting needs, developing software solutions to fulfill requirements, or simply find more efficient ways to do things. I much prefer the "people" side of things but the technical has really helped pay the bills!

Much of what I have done has been development - designing, programming, implementing and supporting.

Now, this is not simply programming. It begins with the client saying "I'd like to be able to...". Then I take it from there to say "how about this". It progresses to me determining just how to create the "this". There are a couple of websites I've done which attest to that: www.cja.us and www.journeyhomemen.com. (Or go to the menu on this page and look at the development projects). To bad you don't see the inner workings of how some of that happens "automagically".

In a "normal" world of software development, this would mean working closely with the user and with technical folks to determine all the necessary steps and to create the code. I have not had that luxury. For the most part, I am all those folks! And in many cases, though not always, the client has no one who understands enough of the technical details to be of help. That's the software development side of what I've done.

There is also the need to understand the application side as well - the "what" does this do? I find training is usually not high priority - except in the most successful of businesses. Sorry, that's just the way it seems to be yet training is a vital part of success. We believe in a mandatory 12 years of schooling yet don't train on the job? Hmmm, let's put that guy out there to repair that electrical wire and assume he knows what he's doing. Or let's have this guy pilot this ship without training. Why do we assume that if it isn't life threatening, the person doesn't need training? Often times, that 'life' is that of the company and that lack of training could end in the demise of that company. It too has a life. Okay, I'm off my soapbox!

Then, there is the outsourcing side. Here, the client does not have anyone who understands the software in depth so I am their support person. This can be anywhere from setting users up with access to writing ad hoc reports via a report writer to simply explaining what the user needs to do to use the system.

In the past I have done on-site training in places such as Chihuahua and Monterey, Mexico, Winnipeg, Alberta, Canada (in December - do you have any idea how cold it gets there?!), Mesa, Arizona, Chicago, New England, etc.

Speaking of training, have you ever done it? It tends to be quite tiring, but really rewarding. There is nothing quite like seeing someone realize something for the first time...

That's primarily it. Oh, I didn't mention that in all of this, my clients tend to become my friends. This is the part I truly like. They learn that business isn't as important to me as their welfare. I used to refer to my work as one of making heroes. When I left a client, my intent was for those I worked with to be viewed as heroes. That would result in me having someone who tended to appreciate what I did for them. That is very worthwhile. There are always those who don't appreciate things, but they are also the ones who don't grasp a lot of life's concepts. Oh well...

I hope these few paragraphs have helped. In a nutshell, I like to solve problems and to see people grow (there is nothing quite like that look of the light bulb going on!).

I have two mottos: 1) I don't work for you, I work with you and 2) my job is to work myself out of a job. Now that latter one causes me lots of interesting challenges!

I recommend you click on the links above or below to my Services and/or Resume pages to learn more!