Voice of the DBA

Author: way0utwest

  • The Pace of Data Platform Change

    I was watching Vicky Harp in the 2020 October GroupBy conference recently talking about her challenges of working with the SQL Server platform as it’s grown. It’s a good keynote, with Vicky noting that she started with SQL Server 2000 and the journey to today is incredible. There’s a great view of her world at the 10:00 mark (after the start).

    She had this quote, which I found really thoughtful. This is something I think is true and something that many of us don’t like.

    “Usually growth comes at the expense of the previous comfort of safety.” – Josh Waitzkin, The Art of Learning.

    What’s your response? Run, fight? Embrace change? Resist doing anything different? I think many of us want to think that we easily embrace change, but think about the last time someone wanted to change something at work? Reorg, new protocol, etc. Did you resist and think it was silly or go along and give it a chance? For many people, it’s the former.

    To be fair, it is for me as well, and I think many people that have some success in their career often want to stick with the things they are experienced in. That’s not necessarily a problem, but it is worth investigating and embracing some new things, just to see if they might be better.

    The data platform is certainly one of those technologies in my life that has changed dramatically, and the pace is sometimes overwhelming. At this point, it’s hard to keep up, and hard to understand sometimes if new tech is better or worse. I’ve started to try and assume there is some good reason why Microsoft makes some changes, and then experiment, test, and evaluate the tech.

    Not just once when something is released or I encounter it, but by also watching what others do and then learning where they’ve had success or failure. ADF is one of those areas where I initially dismissed it as a poor port of SSIS, but I’ve come to appreciate some of the ways in which this is an improvement to many flows, especially with hybrid workflows.

    The data platform is an exciting place to work these days, and I hope you embrace some of the changes and see where a new technology might improve your environment. Of course, lots of traditional features out there work very well, and it’s not worth changing just to change. Make sure there is value and an improvement in some way, beyond you just enjoying working with something shiny and new.

    Steve Jones

    Note: Podcasts are suspended for a week as I deal with the PASS Summit.

  • Daily Coping 11 Nov 2020

    I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here.

    Today’s tip is to change your normal routine today and notice how you feel.

    It’s PASS Virtual Summit week, and I have some commitments for the talks I’m doing. However, my talk today is in the afternoon, so I have some time this am. I’m going to change things up and go for a morning walk and get some exercise, then come in an work later into the evening.

    We’ll see if I like the chance. I typically prefer to work early and stop, but I’ll try something new today.

  • PASS 2020 Board of Director Endorsements

    The election for the next PASS Board of Directors starts today, with a slate of 7 for three spots. I asked them for their vision last week, I’ve read the few statements published, and I attended the AMA on Twitter yesterday (Tuesday).  I wanted to see what the candidates had to say and then decide.

    Tl;dr Here are my endorsements, reasoning to follow.

    • Steph Locke
    • Joey D’Antoni
    • Hamish Watson

    I wrote the rest of this first, thinking through things and then provided my result above.

    Things that Matter

    There are some things that matter to me, and I’m voting for someone that represents me. So, these are the important items I look at.

    Communication

    I am big on communication and transparency. We’ve often had to write and disclose plans ro how we are changing SQLServerCentral over the years. I need to provide justification, even if it’s hard or I get criticism. I also believe that explaining yourself doesn’t mean people agree, but they can understand your rationale.

    I see too little of that from the PASS org. The communications are also careful and couched to avoid commitments, limitations, or disclosure in advance. Not enough debate and discussion in the public sphere for things that aren’t secret/financial/HR related.

    I have had discussions with Steph Locke, and I’ve seen her publish, blog, and debate specifics for events and business. I have seen that from Joey this year as well, with his posts on PASS. Like them or not, agree or not, I think this sort of public thought is important.

    In the last year, I counted up blog posts on the PASS blog from others. I found

    • Lori – 5
    • Hamish – 1
    • Roberto – 1

    Jose’s site is down, but I didn’t see a statement or other item. So, for that, Lori leads for communication.

    Diversity

    I want diversity in a board, to present different views and help push others to make informed and thoughtful decisions. The current BoD is:

    • 4 women, 8 men
    • 6 US, 3 non-US
    • 4/11 non white

    There is an open seat, but this is a fairly diverse group. However, I think more minorities help with different thoughts. I also think more variety of business experience matter, as well as different culture/geographies.

    With that in mind, I like Lori as a women with a different perspective. I like Steph, Joey, Roberto, and Hamish as independent business owners. I like Roberto, Jose, and Hamish as non-US citizens.

    Quite a toss up here for me. I lean towards non US people here. PASS needs to grow outside the US. Or, I think it should. Need is probably the wrong word.

    Business Acumen

    Pass is a not-for-profit business. Not a non-profit, but their aim isn’t money, or at least, not a lot. Here’s a definition I found

    Not-for-profit organizations are types of organizations that do not earn profits for its owners. All of the money earned by or donated to a not-for-profit organization is used in pursuing the organization’s objectives and keeping it running. (emphasis mine)

    I did see a definition that not-for-profits are run by volunteers, which would mean that PASS can’t hire someone. I don’t know if that’s true, but I do know that PASS tends to make money to keep PASS and the Summit going. Not a lot else.

    Some other things, but really, it’s a bit of a treadmill. Is that the best use of money? Should 360Sales cost $400k to make $460 (round-ish numbers)? I don’t know, but I want more business savvy people, not corp employees thinking about this. There is a difference. I’ve worked for a lot of people and owned a business. You view things differently and it’s not an easy skill to acquire.

    Steph is my top person here, though I also think Roberto, Hamish, and Joey are people I consider.

    Conclusion

    At the end, as I work through this, Steph and Joey check a lot of boxes for me. They were easy choices.

    The last one is harder. Hamish is on the board, and has diversity of thought and business experience. However, I haven’t seen a lot from him this past year. Same for Roberto. I don’t know Jose, and honestly, am not sure Matt brings something different from Joey.

    I like Lori, and I appreciate her comms. I also think a diversity of gender brings different thoughts.

    In the end, Hamish has only had a partial term, and when I doubt, I tend to be a “vote them out” person. The diversity and passion he brings are outstanding. The communication and engagement less so, but he gets my vote and endorsement. I’m also going to be a thorn in his paw during the next year to engage more with the wider community.

  • Daily Coping 10 Nov 2020

    I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here.

    Today’s tip is to sign up for a new course, activity, or online community.

    I don’t need to sign up, but I’ve let some of the work I was doing on guitar fall away a bit. Not a good idea, as I a) paid for courses, and b) it’s a good break. Not that I’ve given up, but I stopped participating in some of the courseware.

    I’m making it a point today to start another one of the courses I had paid for with Marty Music and Guitar Jamz. Looking over my list, I know I’d started the blues course, but I’m going to switch to the Legends of Classic Rock and do something different.