I was just called out (see here) to blog about this topic by a good friend Mike Walsh who’s twitter name is @mike_walsh and it has been a long time since I blogged so here goes. First off lets be realistic and recognize that we as humans all have flaws and weaknesses and each of us places them into higher of lower categories if you will based on our own priorities in life. Since this is essentially a technical blog I will stick to that category and spare all of you the other boring details:).
Technically I think my greatest weakness is part of what I am doing at this moment and that is documentation in some fashion or another whether that is a blog entry or a formal report for a client. It’s the act of transferring my thoughts to paper (or digital form) that gives me the most trouble. Now don’t get me wrong, it is not that I don’t want to do this or even that i don’t know what to say. In reality I think that is part of the problem. I have all these thoughts and ideas in my head but when I attempt to put them in writing they don’t always come out like I envision in my head. I feel there are two parts to why this is. One is that I always seem to be thinking too steps ahead of where I am in the writing process and it is hard for me to stay on track. The other is that I am a bit of a perfectionist and it seldom seems good enough for me.
OK I know this will sound a bit egotistical but the fact is I know I am good at what I do and that I have a lot of knowledge locked up inside my head. I just can’t seem to transfer it the way I would like in writing all the time. If I could simply have the luxury of speaking what is on my mind direct to the recipients I would be all set. And as a close friend of mine says that a Vulcan Mind Meld would go a long way:). I don’t think most people can comprehend how excruciating of a process this is and even limiting in some ways for me. For instance this very fact is what has kept me from writing my own book or even chapters in others. Many of you probably have seen my somewhat regular articles in SQL Server Magazine over the last few years and say well there is proof this isn’t the case. Well let me tell you, each article is a slow and painful process for me. But I have used them as a stepping stone towards working out this weakness in my life. Maybe this isn’t a weakness that I should be pointing out as a consultant but I always strive to be honest and straight forward when I write my reports to the clients so why stop here. I want to thank Mike and all the fellow Tweeters that have recently encouraged me to open up on this and to let them know that they will all get theirs in due time :).