Search results matching tags 'PASS' and 'Developer Community'

Why I Love the PASS Summit

andyleonard — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 18:00:00 GMT

Introduction

I was chatting with my friend and business partner Brian Moran (@briancmoran) about PASS and shared how the PASS Summit 2004 was a turning point in my database professional career. Brian agreed with me that this is a compelling account of the good that can come from PASS and the SQL Server Community, and suggested I post this story. I posted it a couple years back, so I simply copy it here.

The Story (reposted from Things I Know Now)

I was struggling with my new career as a DBA. I felt I was in over my head and, any minute, I was going to be discovered and fired. I am not making this up. About the time I attended the PASS Summit 2004 I got a few successes under my belt - enough to feel more secure in my job but not enough to convince me I knew anything about very large databases in SQL Server.

It was The Year of the Storms in Florida. Orlando looked like it had been bombed. It was ugly, but the conference went on. I stood in line at the hands-on labs to meet Ken Henderson. I was devouring The Guru's Guide to SQL Server Internals and Architecture along with Kalen Delaney's Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2000. I credit both authors with saving my career, incidentally.

I heard Ken dispensing no-nonsense advice to people. I think some thought to "teach him a thing or two," and he respectfully but firmly resisted this with the gentleman in line in front of me (poor guy). I was next, and was probably visibly shaking in my shoes. I explained to Ken that I was pretty new to large SQL Server databases and was a web developer that had been thrust into a new position at work. I told him about my approach - relying on my engineering training and testing heavily - and explained the symptoms I was seeing. Ken made a few excellent suggestions, which I wrote down and which, unsurprisingly, put me right on top of the issues I was describing. I thanked him profusely and started away. He said "Hey, you're approaching this like I would."

I felt like the kid on the old Coke commercial - the one where Mean Joe Greene throws him his jersey. I know it sounds cheesy, but I entered that room as a guy learning databases and left it a database professional. The difference for me was the confidence that I was approaching this problem like Ken Henderson would.

Passion

Occasionally I get questions from concerned community members and friends about my passion for the SQL Server Community, my attention to detail surrounding the behavior of PASS leadership, and PASS elections.

This is why: I love the PASS Summit.

The PASS Summit has tremendous potential when it comes to impacting the lives and careers of SQL Server community professionals. My career and life was changed – for the better – by this encounter at the PASS Summit 2004. I’ve heard numerous accounts from other SQL Server Community members that echo this sentiment. I want this to continue.

I know from experience - from reading the blogs and comments of the many volunteers involved and from conversations with PASS leadership - that conducting the Summit is hard work. Many will never see the amount of work required to organize a small event; much less a larger one the size of a Summit. Trust me, it’s more work than you imagine. When done correctly, it looks easy. For the most part, PASS leadership makes the Summit look easy – which means they’re doing a good job with the Summit.

But I also know PASS could be better. PASS leadership has made mistakes. All of them are forgivable mistakes – especially considering many of PASS’ leaders are volunteers – but it’s simply going to take more time to forgive some of them. I think it’s normal and good for any organization to make mistakes and that those mistakes are forgiven in time. Wanting PASS to better serve its community and the larger SQL Server Community drives my passion.

Conclusion

The PASS Summit 2011 is approaching and it’s a great event for SQL Server professionals. The technical content is good, but the networking opportunities are stellar. If this is your first year attending the PASS Summit you’re in for a treat: The PASS Orientation Committee is in its second year – and thriving! My friend Thomas LaRock (Blog | @SQLRockStar | SQLPeople) has more information at that link, but the most important thing you can do today is let PASS know you’re coming to the Summit and are a First-Timer.

I’ll be there. If you read this blog and plan to attend the PASS Summit, please find me and introduce yourself. I’m the fat guy with a fu.

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SQLRally Nordic!

andyleonard — Fri, 13 May 2011 20:00:00 GMT

As announced here and at the inaugural SQLRally by Andy Warren (Blog | @sqlAndy), you can unleash your inner Viking at SQLRally Nordic 8-9 Nov 2011 in Stockholm! Interested? Register today!

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Be Heard–Let PASS Know Your Preferred Sessions!

andyleonard — Tue, 10 May 2011 14:00:00 GMT

When PASS gets community right, I like to point it out. Allowing folks to vote on the sessions they would like to see is the right thing to do.

You can provide your feedback here. You can also filter sessions by category (for example, Pre-Conference Sessions). Nice work.

Kudos PASS!

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The PASS Elections Review Committee Needs Your Feedback

andyleonard — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 02:02:00 GMT

Introduction

PASS has had an ERC (Elections Review Committee) forum running for a few months now. There's been surprisingly little feedback, though lots of reads. Here's what it looks like tonight:

That's 1,662 views and 37 replies by my count. Not very many replies...

Jump In!

Now's the time to let PASS know what you think about the current elections process. The ERC members are good people who are trying to make things better. If you have something to add - as simple as "love it!" or "hate it!" - they need to hear from you.

Solution

Personally, I have definite opinions about PASS Elections. I think I'm right (but I'm biased); and I also realize well-intentioned people can disagree. For me, it's all about community. You don't have to be an expert in community governance to express an opinion.

So let the community be heard! Speak up!

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What Should PASS Be?

andyleonard — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 17:30:00 GMT

Introduction

As he does so well, Andy Warren (Blog | @sqlAndy) has issued a challenge to the community: What Should PASS Be? I'm sure lots of people have responded already, but I've been struck by two: Grant Fritchey's (Blog | @GFritchey) What Should PASS Be? and Robert Matthew Cook's (Blog | @sqlmashup) [blog] What Should PASS Be? #sqlpass.

They're... Different

I don't know Robert well. That doesn't mean there's something wrong with Robert. It simply means he's one of hundreds of the cool SQL people out there with whom I haven't yet developed a relationship. I hope to remedy that soon. A quick search reveals he has over a decade of experience in database technology. I love interacting with folks with that amount of experience. I always learn new technical tricks, and I often glean professional insights as well.

Grant is a friend. We have a lot in common professionally and personally: we both work with SQL Server, we're both passionate about the community, we're both published and are writing now; we're both involved in Scouting and have reputations as being wallflowers when it comes to personality. Ok, that last one was to check if you were paying attention. In truth, Grant and I share a disdain for politics and a preference for an engineer's version of the truth.

I find the following response in Robert's post:

There is nothing I would “fix”. Why did Andy place it in quotes? To me there is nothing “broken”. PASS has smart, caring and loyal members at all levels.

I understand the sentiment and agree with the last sentence.

Grant's post requests PASS concentrate on its strengths:

They’ve been trying to work on their perceived or actual weak points for years. Time to switch. Start working on the strengths. Even though it’s largely volunteer run, there’s more training coming out of the PASS organization than anywhere else. Focus there. Work the strengths of the organization.

I think that's good advice.

My Two Cents

I think the PASS leadership needs to trust the PASS community. I would say they need to trust the SQL Server Community, but it's best they start small and work their way up. There are years of habits to adjust and, in some important cases, reverse.

It's good that PASS leadership is concentrating on process. It's important for everyone to recognize process is no substitute for execution. Process and execution are complementary, but make no mistake: you can execute without a process. Often, the first execution provides the template for future processes (this is called leadership). This template is dual-edged - as it matures it carries with it a mixed bag of this initial seeding. Some parts of the process grow to become weeds, other parts produce awesome fruit. Processes should be ever-improving: There should be tending; there should be pruning.

It's never acceptable to say "That's the way we've always done things."

My advice:

PASS needs to put its community first. Currently, the PASS community is third; behind preservation of status quo of the PASS Board and sponsorship dollars.
PASS needs to trust its community. This is not the same as putting the community first.

Implementation

Throwing around generalities is a pretty safe strategy - it places the implementation up in the air and, when done, leaves residual platitudes. It's easy but it's not leadership. Here's how PASS can implement:

Abandon the NomCom. The current main function of the NomCom is to provide an election straw man. "It wasn't Board's fault; it was the NomCom's." "It wasn't the NomCom's fault, the Board voted." Enough already. If one of the many imagined scenarios that currently justify the NomCom's existence emerges, I suggest the Board do something crazy: lead. Make a decision (and make the vote public). Take a stand. Make the call. Without excuse and without throwing (albeit willing) volunteers under the bus.
Move the Summit in one upcoming year. Move it back to Seattle for the following year, but move it - once - to at least see the difference between real and imagined advantages and disadvantages.
Transparency - communicate more. It'd be awesome to see "minority responses" written by those who disagreed with decisions. The notion of standing united costs more credibility than anything gained by projecting the appearance of solidarity.

Conclusion

Please do not confuse the popularity of a decision with its correctness - the two are decoupled. A popular decision != the right decision. The corollary also holds: An unpopular decision != a courageous decision.

Like Grant, I've gotten a lot out of PASS - more than I've put in. The training PASS offers is awesome. The community facilitated by the Summit is astounding. But all of this - all of it - is tainted by poor execution.

Andy

PASS Summit Location Redux

andyleonard — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 17:59:00 GMT

Introduction

To quote Ronald Reagan, "There you go again." The Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS) is considering locations for future PASS Summits. The apparent answer is:

You Can Have The Summit Anywhere You Want...

... as long as it's in Seattle.

PASS conducted a survey on this about a year ago, and I commented on the results and PASS' (mis-)interpretation of said results in a post entitled On PASS Summit Locations, Time Will Tell.

"It's About Community"

I think every member of the PASS Board needs a sticky note on a mirror they look into each morning that reads "It's about community." It seems more and more decisions are about the business of producing a Summit, and there's nothing wrong with running a business that produces a yearly Summit. But this pesky community stuff keeps coming up.

Why is that?

I think members of the PASS Board do not trust the community. It shows in elections and session selections and the interpretation of surveys. For a while there, PASS leadership made statements like "We are the Community." I don't doubt the sincerity of the person who made that statement - he believed it to be true at the time. But the veracity of that statement has suffered from poor decisions. It's more accurate to say "PASS is a Community."

And the PASS community does some awesome stuff. The Summit is the biggee, Virtual Chapters are cool, 24 Hours of PASS is awesome. It's the other stuff that suffers - stuff that, coincidentally, involves the SQL Server Community en masse.

"Pull Up"

Every time I criticize PASS - recently at least - someone on the PASS Board takes it personally. That doesn't concern me. What concerns me - saddens me actually - is watching the organization that helped me and others advance our profession and careers unwind in such a fashion. Rather than worry about the ramblings of an old redneck with a blog, I wish PASS would spend its time fixing the widening cracks in the organizations' foundation.

I do not want to see PASS relegated to "has-been" status. It was a great organization. Everyone loves a comeback.

Pull up PASS. Please.

Conclusion

PASS can fix this today. They can announce the PASS Summit 2014 or 2015 will not be in Seattle. They can make that happen. They have a year or two to find another location and put money down. And those locations exist. I implore the PASS Board to do just that.

Andy

PASS Goals and the SQL Server Community

andyleonard — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 12:00:00 GMT

Introduction

I was honored to sit at the blogger's table during the keynote sessions at the PASS Summit 2010! Our official job was to promote the Summit keynotes via social media and our blogs. Our unofficial job was to pick on each other.

Rob's response? "Realised is spelled with an 's', not a 'z'."

Goals Are Good

In the kickoff session for the PASS Summit 2010, Rushabh Mehta announced some lofty goals for the organization to achieve by 2015:

250,000 members
1,000,000 hours of technical learning available to members
PASS Summit 2015 attended by 7,500

These goals are a stretch and I admire them for that reason. And I am confident the goals are achievable and that PASS can achieve them. I think there will need to be significant changes in the PASS organization to accomplish these goals, but I see the potential beginnings of that change in the organization's leadership - the PASS Board - even now.

Votes and NDA

One important change is Individual PASS Board votes will now be disclosed. According to Rushabh's PASS blog:

This is a topic that has been under active discussion for a few months and was also part of our board agenda for today. The board voted unanimously to make individual votes public except for topics which are considered NDA by the Board.

Conclusion

The PASS Board is making changes and moving in the right direction with these goals and changes. I applaud them.

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Draft SQLRally Pre-Conference Seminar Proposal

andyleonard — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 GMT

Introduction

Andy Waren (Blog | @sqlAndy), Jack Corbett (Blog | @unclebiguns), and Kendall Van Dyke (Blog | @SQLDBA) have been busy. They're working on SQLRally - a regional PASS event scheduled for May 2011 in Orlando. Andy does a good job explaining the thinking behind the event in his 31 Aug 2010 post: Positioning SQLRally in the PASS Event Universe.

Pre-Cons

Andy's 1 Sep 2010 post on the topic (SQLRally Pre-Con Selection Process – Draft for Comment) includes a draft document outlining a proposal for the pre-conference selection process. I see improvements over the current PASS Summit pre-/post-conference selection process (which I blogged about here). There's even community engagement in the mix.

The Big (Medium) Deal

I think Kendall summed it up well in this tweet:

Andy and the crew also did a good job with this table:

	Summit	SQLRally	SQLSaturday
Attendance	+3000	Max 600	Avg of 250
Price	$995 – $1995	$299	Free
Duration	3 Days	2 Days	1 Day
Sessions/Tracks	160+	40-48	12-50
Keynote	Yes	No	Sometimes
Exhibit Hall	Yes	No	No
Organizers	HQ	HQ/Local Chapter	Local leaders
Meals	Seated buffett	Boxed lunch	Pizza/Box Lunch

SQLRally is positioned as a regional event. I think regional SQL Server events is a market that's currently underserved and look forward to PASS's offering. Given the SQL Server Community talent behind this event, I'm sure it will be awesome!

:{> Andy

What I Did as a PASS Regional Mentor

andyleonard — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 11:00:00 GMT

Introduction

A couple people commented on my Stepping Aside post, asking what a PASS Regional Mentor does exactly. I think that's a fair question, although me answering it now may be a little too late!

What I Did

I helped a few groups get started, mainly by answering questions. The questions ranged from "Where do I begin?" to "How do I contact speakers?" and "How do I get swag?" and "Where and when should we meet?"

I mediated some disputes in the community - not a lot, as we have very few disputes in the community.

I spent time at the PASS Summit and SQL Saturdays talking with "pre-leaders" - encouraging them to start user groups, assist existing user group leadership, and becoming involved in SQL Server community events.

I assumed the role of a SQL Server User Group Leader Advocate in communications and meetings with PASS leadership.

Conclusion

This isn't everything I did as a PASS Regional Mentor. This is the stuff, sufficiently vague and generalized, I feel comfortable sharing publicly. I am honored to still have the ear of Douglas McDowell, who is the PASS Board Director who manages the Chapters portfolio. And, as I said when I stepped aside, I remain available to anyone seeking advice in the developer community. I don't know everything about communities, but I will freely share the little I know.

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Stepping Aside

andyleonard — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 11:00:00 GMT

I've been honored to serve as a PASS Regional Mentor for two years.

My goal is to step out of the way of some folks who can bring fresh and new ideas to bear. I believe this is the best argument for term-limits and this provides an opportunity for me to mentor a couple / three people on how to do regional / national UG and Events mentoring as they assume the role I leave. For them, this will hopefully be another bullet on their MVP Nomination response (the people I suggested are not MVPs - yet).

I have the utmost respect for the PASS Regional Mentor program. I think it's one of the coolest ideas to come out of PASS's chapter program. Like all programs of this type, it needs constant improvement. During my tenure I learned a lot and got to work with some really cool people.

I will continue to respond to questions and provide advice about how to start and operate user groups and coordinate community events like Code Camps and SQL Saturdays. I am simply returning to doing so in an unofficial capacity.

Andy