MVP Insights: Shawn Dorward on Community, Mentorship, Summit NA Speaking Engagements

Welcome to “MVP Insights,” a podcast that explores the universe, ideas, and opportunities of the brightest stars in the Microsoft business applications ecosystem. 

In episode 17 of the podcast, Shawn Dorward, Vice President, Fulcrum Group, sa.global, Microsoft MVP, joins John Siefert to discuss his experience in becoming an MVP, his areas of expertise across Microsoft Biz Apps, and previews his sessions at Summit NA 2024.

This episode is sponsored by Community Summit North America, the largest independent gathering of the Microsoft Business Applications ecosystem, taking place Oct. 13-17, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Register today to connect with thousands of users across the Microsoft business applications ecosystem at the for user, by user event.

Key Takeaways

• MVP overview: Shawn explains his journey to becoming an MVP. During a Convergence conference, he raised his hand to ask a question, which prompted his (now) friend and colleague Kim Peterson to ask him to speak at the event. He took that chance and “the rest was history,” as he found something that was filling a gap in his professional life: helping others. Over the years, he continued to present and speak at conferences in a way that was similar to his own learning, and he developed the “Life Hacks” series of sessions. His mentors, Belinda Allen and Mark Polino helped him to obtain his MVP status.
• Areas of expertise: Though he began in the GP world as a consultant, he began to learn Navision (NAV) and eventually, Dynamics CE/CRM and Power Platform.
• Overcoming challenging projects: “There’s no such thing as a simple implementation,” notes Shawn. Every implementation is at risk of failing, which is why having a robust methodology helps. In his experience, tough projects came with poor methodology, not poor consultants or clients.
• Shawn at Summit NA: Shawn explains that when crafting his sessions, he aims to “quantify” his learnings and when sharing them, he aims to ease the journey for those new to the organization or product, or those expanding their knowledge. He finds joy in teaching and providing comprehensive resources to ensure valuable takeaways from his sessions. You can learn more about the full list of sessions Shawn will be leading at Community Summit NA 2024.

Stream the audio version of this episode here: