About Us
"Keith D. Sutherland and Lawrence J. 'Butch' Sheets are forming a new business dedicated to delivering high-quality IT Service Management training based on the IT Infrastructure Library. This new partnership, known as Service Management Dynamix™ LLC, reflects our commitment to delivering the best training experience to our clients. We believe that our approach will provide our students with the knowledge they will need to successfully pass their certification exams. More importantly, it will also provide them with the knowledge they will need to put this information to practical use. We believe our nearly 70 years of combined IT experience and 20 years of formal IT Service Management knowledge will be a valuable asset for our customers and will provide them with a significant advantage in developing, deploying, and executing their Service Management initiatives.
The above is from a June 29, 2009 communication, when we announced our newly formed company. The story is really very simple - there came a point in time when Butch and I realized that our personal friendship was founded in going through and passing our Service Manager Certification exams together back in 2001. More importantly, we both strongly believed in the framework, both of us trying to respect it in our day-to-day professional lives. My first official exposure to ITSM (as a topic) occurred in 1997. I resonated with ITSM on a personal level due to my earlier career experience with Electronic Data Systems (EDS). It seemed to reflect largely how we ran data centers then... so, to me, it seemed like common sense. Now, of course, we have books and classes that speak specifically to that approach. Butch was also introduced to ITIL in 1997 while attending a conference with his manager. After the conference, Butch was asked if he had learned anything from the conference and his reply was that the Caterpillar IT organization could use some of the ITIL process best practice. This comment led to Butch being given the opportunity to learn more about ITIL and the potential benefits that could be realized by Caterpillar. The belief that Butch and I had in this process was so strong that we were drawn to the associated national organization, itSMF USA, which led to both of us (and others) helping to start the Heartland LIG. This led to helping with the startup of other LIGs. Butch (really got carried away and) went on to become President of ITSMF USA, later receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award. Over the years, these involvements have served us both well, as we have met so many who share our passion for Service Management.
Our many years of experience in Information Technology, coupled with our passion and knowledge of ITIL® and other frameworks/methodologies gives us the best chance to be effective with our customers. Our extensive IT experience was forged in the various industries we have worked in, and enriched by the many talented IT resources we have had the fortune to work with in the Manufacturing, Banking & Finance, Health Care, and Customer Care industries. This broad base of experience enables us to understand, and be empathetic towards, the challenges our students face at their organizations, whether they are trying to formalize an implementation of ITSM or mature the existing practice.
Since my high school years, I always dreamed of having my own company, and would know when the time was right. This partnership is the culmination of those dreams. You may have heard of or recognize the name of the song "God Bless The Child That's Got His Own", recorded by Billie Holiday. The theme of this song is accomplishment and the ability to choose. Butch and I have already realized great personal satisfaction and fulfillment from the efficient start-up of Service Management Dynamix. We look forward to continued personal and business satisfaction and fulfillment. This satisfaction will come from a job well done and this means providing a great delivery experience for our customers. Fulfillment will come later, after learning from our ‘students’ that they have experienced success as a result of our time together, whether defined by success at the exam, implementation of ITSM related projects, and/or continued progression of their careers.
- Keith