Category Archives: Leadership

The Roadmap

We are working on the Roadmap again. It is a great exercise to plan the next 1-5 year’s goals and tie them back to department and company goals. I want to at last get select rights to production a thing … Continue reading

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SQL 2014, BIDS and SQL Server Data Tools

With SQL 2014 the tools used by developers are not part of the installation media and in fact SSMS is not even necessary for some. Be prepared to discuss with the development group what are the options before any SQL installations take place … Continue reading

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Buy and Hold is not Buy and Forget

People generally like things. And thinking their things help. Is this not true? It applies to IT too, specifically regarding applications. Doesn’t more=better? If you have to configure and support all kinds of packet sniffing, email PHI inspecting, password hacker … Continue reading

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In The Beginning

Like everyone with taste, I love Dune. I’ve read it countless times and I am not exaggerating. Dune, like all literature, conveys philosophy; for example, one well known quote from Dune is: “A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care … Continue reading

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Leadership

The criteria for being a good leader, lots written about that! A good leader enables the group to make a decision thus gaining the insights of many. People won’t speak unless they feel safe and supported. Ideas need to be properly … Continue reading

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Tier 1, 2 and 3

One day it hit me how unusual it was that senior level people were receiving calls from end users as part of the call rotation. (Happily for us, the dbas were not in the list.) True story: my very first job … Continue reading

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Educating Your Developers

Great departments have great people. No kidding! How do we end up with quality developers? Time has shown it we can’t hire the best for every position and, inevitably, something will come up which will require growth, whether personal or professional, … Continue reading

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Meetings

We had a discussion at work about meetings, specifically the level of detail needed during round robins being used as an FYI technique. I like the idea that it is a formal time to bring up some ad hoc topic. … Continue reading

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Weather Check

A favorite sanity barometer is how many emails are in my inbox. No joke: I know everything is copasetic when I have no more than 50. Too many more and it is time to stop, prioritize and communicate.

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