Search results matching tags 'Professional Development' and 'Ethics'

Managing Technical Teams Series Landing Page

andyleonard — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 11:00:00 GMT

Introduction

I'm taking Brent Ozar's (Blog | @BrentO | SQLPeople) suggestion regarding my ramble-rant about the software business. At the Spring 2011 DevConnections Conference in Orlando, I had an opportunity to sit down with Brent for a good long chat. One of the first things he said to me was "You need to put up a landing page for your ramble-rant!" When Brent gives me advice about blogging, I listen.

I will update this page as I post new parts to the series and include a link to this post in future post introductions.

The current posts in this series are:

The only downside is I'm going to update this post when I write the next post. I will include a link which - if clicked - will yield a page not found error of some sort. That behavior will remain until the post actually goes live, and then the link will take you to the page and post without error. I understand that may be disconcerting, so I will include the date and time the post will go live and I'll add italics to those posts. I'm not going to return to this page the instant the posts go live to remove the date-time stamp or the italics. I will update the page when I write the next installment.

Cool?

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My Last "Catch-Up" Post for 2010 Content

KKline — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 20:57:00 GMT

I did a lot of writing in 2010. Unfortunately, I didn't do a good job of keeping all of that writing equally distributed throughout all of the channels where I'm active.

So here are a few more posts from my blog, put on-line during the months of November and December 2010, that I didn't get posted here on SQLBlog.com:

1. It's Time to Upgrade!

So many of my customers and many of you, dear readers, are still on SQL Server 2005. Join Kevin Kline, SQL Server MVP and SQL Server Technology Strategist for Quest Software and Brent Ozar, SQL Server Domain Expert for Quest Software as they introduce the top ten features and capabilities in SQL Server 2008 that they find to be the most exciting and valuable.

2. Dealing with the Micromanaging Boss

This is probably my favorite professional development article of the year. Micromanagers make us feel untrusted and stymied by their constant need for tediously detailed and frequent updates, constant changes to minor details of our work, and overly developed attention to administrative details that really don’t matter in our daily job. But there’s hope! Get all of my career advice on dealing with micromanaging bosses here.

3. [Video] Troubleshooting Memory Pressure on SQL Server

This is a little bit of an older video. But it's still useful info if you're working with SQL Server 2005 or 2000. Check it out here.

4. [DBTA] What the Heck is Microsoft's Database Product Trajectory?

I was once asked what I thought Microsoft's overall product trajectory for SQL Server was, in light of Oracle's rather obvious trajectory of acquiring multiple application vendors who will, in turn, deploy more and more of their applications to the Oracle database platform. You can read all about my thoughts in my monthly column at Database Trends & Application magazine - [READ MORE]

5. Eight Characteristics of Excellent Leaders [Plays Well With Others]

In this installment of my professional development column called Plays Well With Others, I talk about what distinguishes truly great leaders. There's a lively discussion on the topic and I encourage you to take part. Read it here.

6. The Shape of Database Licensing Costs to Come [DBTA]

One fall semester many years ago, I was a university freshman. Actually, I was anything but "fresh." I was dumb enough to think that 8 a.m. was a wonderful time to attend Economics 101. After staying up until the wee hours most every night, the "dismal science" took on more than one meaning as I set my clock just early enough to get to class on time. Along with 30 other very naïve classmates, I staggered into class and did my bleary-eyed best to focus on the lessons at hand. There were lots of Greek compound words and lots of graphs.

I learned, for example, that the word economics derives from the Greek "oikonomikos," which means, approximately, "death by slidedecks" and, specifically, "house" (oikos) and "management" (mikos). I barely survived the experience and never took an 8 a.m. class again. Imagine my surprise, then, when a lesson I'd learned (and promptly forgotten) all those years ago jumped back into my consciousness late last year. - [READ MORE]

7. So You're the Boss Now... [Plays Well with Others]

If you have any ambition at all, you have probably wanted (and possibly gotten) a promotion over your current colleagues. If you've been there before, you know that once friendly relationships can get, well, weird. Read my tips and tricks for how to make the most of this situation in this professional development article.

8. The NoSQL Movement - Hype or Hope?

NoSQL is no fad. And you need to be in the "know", not necessarily in the "No". Gno? Pneu? Too many phonetically similar pronunciations! Read my thoughts on the NoSQL movement on one of Database Trends & Applications magazine's most popular articles of the year. - [READ MORE]

9. Effectiveness and Efficiency at Work [Video]

In this golden oldie (yes, two years constitutes "old"), I present my thoughts on how to be both effective and efficient on the job and in life in general. And if you didn't know that these are different concepts, then you need this video most muchly.

10. What's Your Data Management and Retention Policy? [DBTA]

If managing your corporate data for the long term isn't currently on your mind, it should be, and in several different ways: cost, performance, business continuity, and compliance. [READ MORE]

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Originally Posted on YoutTube November 12, 2008.

Political Calculus - PASS Nominations

KKline — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 20:23:00 GMT

Pardon me, sir. Do I have a dog in this fight?

Do I have a dog in this Fight? If I did, it'd be the Warner Brothers Barnyard Dog.

After my term of service on the PASS board of directors ended in December of 2009, I fully intended to stay far, far out of the way. It's an intention that I've largely been able to fulfill,excluding the odd conversation with an occasional board member or committee chair looking for a little impartial advice when weighing some consideration or other.

If you keep up with going's on within PASS, then you'll know that there's been some hullabaloo lately. Please reference paragraph 1 again at this point to understand that I don't really know much about all this hullabaloo. (I read one blog post by Stuart Ainsworth and decided to henceforth avoid all other mention of the situation). I mentioned that I've been trying to stay out of PASS' way, correct? But sometimes you just can't dodge a bullet, even when you're bustin' out some Matrix-like moves and goin' all Neo/Keanu Reeves on it.

To wit, I was happy to volunteer in hosting our first Music City SQL Saturday, which also happened to occur the day after the PASS board of directors wrapped up their quarterly meeting here in beautiful (and hot) Nashville, TN. The two events were destined by the stars to overlap. Which also meant I was going to be hearing about said hullabaloo (reference paragraph 2, above), despite my better efforts to get out of its (the hullabaloo's) way.

(I'm being a bit disingenuous about being surprised that these events having some overlap. I hosted a party at my house the Friday before our SQL Saturday for our event speakers and also invited all of the PASS directors and staff who were still in town as well. So they were all coming together, like neutrons hurtling towards a chunk of uranium 236. You DO KNOW what happens when neutrons are hurtled at uranium 236, right?).

Yeah, and then what?

Foghorn's idea of a dog fight

So despite trying to steer clear any PASS-related controversies, I'm compelled to speak up, albeit in as limited a fashion as I can manage. Most of the people involved, from candidates to committee members, are friends. I wrote endorsement letters for almost half of the candidates who made it to the Nomination Committee (NomCom) interview stage. So I'm far from being a totally impartial judge of how individual persons were treated. But, for what it's worth, I'm trying to make my post less about personalities and more about the overall direction of the process. In other words, I'm trying to be constructive, not destructive.

A lot of people have put out opinions about the PASS Election process and you can read more yourself here:

PASS Election Discussion Forum

PASS Candidate Discussion Forum

Since the call to vote is now open, I hope you'll take some time to get informed about the overall process as well as the candidates standing for election.

So what's your point?

Lots of people have complained about lots of things in this round of elections (so far), but what's anyone going to do about it? Well, my point in this and subsequent blog posts is to produce recommendations about the election process that will better it for PASS and the wider community.

I've asked several friends in the SQL Server community, as well as individuals unrelated to PASS or SQL Server but who have experience on corporate boards of directors, to join a group discussion focusing on the question:

Tit-for-Tat, eh Foghorn?

“Many in the community seem to think that the PASS election process is badly broken. Do you think that PASS needs to implement fundamental and far-reaching changes to its election process, or does it only need some fine tuning? Please explain your thoughts?”

So now that some of the personal aspects of the discussions have calmed down, the main point I want to make is that we can make this better. But this will take a concerted and focused discussion to decide on the consensus.

Guest posters are waiting in the wings. Let the discussions begin!

To forward this discussions, I've asked guest posters to make open with their initial thoughts on their own blogs or here, for those who don't have their own blogs. Some have already posted their opening thoughts, which I will repost here. Once the opening statements are all posted, we'll begin to work through the various points and topics (refer to the PASS discussion forums above) to see if we can drive consensus for concrete methods and steps for the nominations and election processes.

With that, you're also invited to participate. If you have thoughts around process (not personalities), I invite you to participate either through posting comments here and on our future posts and, if you're interested, to participate as a guest poster yourself.

Join the wider discussion here.

I look forward to your thoughts and feedback!

-Kevin

Follow me on twitter @kekline

Now on SQLPASS, "Can Integrity Be Learned?"

KKline — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:29:00 GMT

Ok, I admit it. I've done about as good a job publicizing my monthly professional development column, Plays Well With Others, as NBC did when the transitioned Jay Leno back to the Tonight Show.

So I'm going to try to better, henceforth and forever more! Two entries ago, I talked about the The 8 Characteristics of Exceptional Leaders. This month, I'm drilling into the characteristic on that list that generated the most controversy in emails and messages - "Absolute Integrity". Many people took issue with the concept that integrity can be learned, instead believing that integrity is innate, like a sense of humor or a dancer's rhythm.

What do you think? Read the article here and weigh in with your opinion! (Be forewarned - the PASS website is free, but does require registration. And I encourage you to do so since there are many other great resources there to take advantage of.)

Enjoy,

-Kevin

Twitter @kekline

New on SQLPASS.ORG - Dealing with Micromanagers

KKline — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:41:00 GMT

In my regular professional development column for the Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS), Plays Well With Others, check out my latest post on dealing with micromanagers.

Those TPS reports are due at 3:30 pm sharp, Mister!

If you've ever dealt with a manager who questioned your every move, hijacked meetings, nit-picked over inconsequential details, or made you jump through endless hoops of administrivia, then you know what I'm writing about.

This article is part one of a two part series. Part one deals with identifying how and why managers become micro-managers. Part two, coming in the next issue of the PASS Community Connector, gives you strategies you can use to survive and even thrive in these scenarios, and also tells you when to cut-n-run.

There are already questions showing up on the post. So come join the fun. Post your own questions or experiences, and help the community grow.

Enjoy,

-Kevin

Twitter @KEKline