Legendary Podcast: Kelly Gustafson on Value of Community, Continous Education, Dynamics 365 F&O
Welcome to the “Legendary Podcast,” hosted by Dynamics Communities Editor Cam Sessinger. The “Legendary Podcast” is a video podcast series featuring Community Summit North America Legends, highlighting their career expertise, community involvement, and Community Summit experiences.
In episode 4, Cam interviews Kelly Gustafson, Community Summit North America Legend, UG Expert, Microsoft MVP, and Delivery Manager of Solution Architecture, Argano. The two discuss how Kelly came to be involved with Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations, her career trajectory, the value of community, and continuous education.
Highlights
00:50 — Kelly got her start working with Dynamics 365 AX/F&O while working at a peanut butter factory, she explains. There, the company underwent a large migration from its previous system to Dynamics 365 AX. From there, she began attending Community Summit North America, as she was “interested in learning more about the system — just understanding the ins and outs of everything.”
02:53 — As she reflects on Community Summit North America 2023, Kelly notes something that stood out to her — “there are always people who just want to understand the basics of the system.” This, she explains, is something she tries to encourage the community to do.
“Go out there even if you’ve never spoken before. Get out there and do a basic one-on-one session, because there are people who want those sessions, and I’ve seen a few of them. And they’re always so well attended.”
04:28 — Diving deeper into the community theme that is so apparent in the Microsoft Business Applications space, Kelly explains that “this community has been everything to me and my career.” With a colleague, Kelly started the local Kentucky User Group meetups for FO/AX users.
05:40 — Currently, Kelly is the Delivery Manager of Solution Architecture at Argano, where she manages a team of solution architects. The other half of her role, she explains, is serving as a solution architect, where she helps clients identify and implement solutions based on individual needs. She notes her “area of expertise” — “For me, I think what I’m really good at is understanding Dynamics in general.”
07:49 — In closing, Kelly notes the importance of education. “I feel like in this world, if you’re going to succeed, you have to always be learning.” In addition to content, blogs, and videos that already exist, she explains that a promising way to learn — and continue to share the wealth of knowledge — is by creating your own content.
