Ten Essential Traits for DBA Success

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Hard-Work_thumb.jpgThere is greatness within you whether you believe it or not. Over the years there are certain skills that have helped me along the way that, in turn, may help you along your journey. These traits are by no means written in stone and some will not agree that these are important and that’s okay; what I can say is that these traits are at the backbone of some exceptional DBAs I’ve met along the way.

 

 

Technical Traits

Backups – Think about this a moment if you will. A backup is pretty much the most fundamental aspect of database administration one could do. Let’s put this into more general terms; I view database administration as a service ( I thank Grant Fritchey (B|T) for that – Database Administration as a Service). Now, with that said whether you are new to database administration or not it is imperative to find out what the backup strategy requirements are for your business units and get your backups aligned accordingly. Let’s take this a step further and ask this question;  if you are taking good backups then are you restoring/testing these backups?

Automation – Yes folks; I am a key advocate for automating as much as you can. This relates back to making database administration tasks run as efficient as possible. By doing this it will free you up to do even more types of database administration tasks. Some things to consider automating are:

  • Code Deployments
  • SSIS Deployments
  • Job tasks
  • Alerts
  • Health Checks
  • Patches
  • Server Level Changes
  • SQL Installations
  • Unit Tests

Sysadmin Rights – I think this one speaks for itself. If you don’t know who has sysadmin rights on your servers than you are doing it wrong. Find out who has this type control on your SQL Server if you haven’t already done so.

Disaster Recovery – Organizations and businesses that do not have a plan in place could fall into a few categories. The categories that I’ve seen which seem to be more prevalent, outside budget concerns, are realizing the importance but not knowing how to get there, and not knowing that a disaster recovery plan can even exist. Whatever the case may be laying out a good plan in case of disaster should be a must for any data professional.

Monitoring – This is an integral part to any DBA related job. You have to be monitoring your daily processes, policies, and procedures. Whether you are utilizing home grown coding or monitoring utilities by third party affiliates it is an absolute must that the data professional is aware of processes that may go awry before they happen; or for that matter knowing that things are going smoothly as well.

Non Technical Traits (a.k.a. Soft Skills)

Communication – One of the keys to becoming a great communicator is not becoming a great talker – big difference. These are some of the ways that can help become a better communicator where you are:

  • Earning Trust – you earn it with right acting, thinking, and ability to make decisions.
  • Become personal – I was taught early on that most of the time people really don’t care about how much you know until they discover how much you truly care.
  • Be Specific – one of the lessons learned over time is the need to be specific when communicating with a team, business unit, and executives.
  • Keep an Open Mind – want to limit a group trying to become innovative? if so then keep a closed mind. Use this as a utility to learn and grow; it’s okay if someone’s opinion is different than yours.
  • Shut-up and listen – sounds harsh I know but not really sure how else to get that point across. Becoming a great communicator you have to know when to dial it up, dial it down, and yes even dial it off. Knowledge is not always obtained by flapping your gums but rather listening and understanding situations.
  • Check Ego at the Door – over the years I’ve seen it time and time again. When you can put arrogance aside and check it at the door some great things begin to happen in shops, teams, corporations.
  • Read Between the Lines – I’m continually amazed at some of the mentors I’ve looked up to in the DBA realm and their conscious ability to read between the lines. Keep your eyes and ears open.

Listening – Just like communicating and talking I think there is as vast difference between listening and hearing. Next time you are in a conversation don’t just hear the other party but listen to them, and by listening don’t just judge but rather show you understand what is being discussed.

Work Ethic – two words have never been so important in my own life and journey. If you know me at all you know that having a strong work ethic is near and dear to me. A strong work ethic will result in respectfulness, dependability, dedication, accountability, determination, and humility. No one can do it for you; it has to be from within.

Character – can be defined as what determines how we respond to the situations and circumstances of life. One of the first jobs I had after my ball playing days was a position at a local sports store. A regional manager had made his way in and as he walked back into the back room (which I admit was not always the cleanest place due to inventory etc.) there were several pieces of paper laying in various places on the floor. Now, he didn’t know anyone was behind him but he stopped at each piece, picked it up, and threw it away. You may ask what does that have to do with character? It left an impression on me that how you work when someone is not watching you does in fact make a difference.

Do Not Compare Yourself – It is easy to get caught up in trying emulate oneself as others. Just ask Michael Jordan how many people tried to emulate him or some other renowned celebrity. I’m here today to tell you that while you can take traits from some of the best in the business; you will not be them and that’s okay. Your journey is just that; your journey – no one else’s. Own it and make it yours and along the way keep learning.

Conclusion

Focus on your greatest sphere of influence; it’s time to tear down the walls between teams, business units, and organizations. These 10 traits mentioned don’t even come close to representing any complete package of skill sets, but what it is intended for is to provoke some thought around even the basic essentials of what makes up a successful data professional.

Are SQL Saturday’s Worth It?

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VenueThis past weekend I was fortunate enough to be a part of Louisville’s (for those local the ‘ville) SQL Saturday event held at Indiana Wesleyan. Most of you who end up on this site are probably familiar with it, but for those that aren’t familiar with SQL Saturday events you can check out their site here.

Now to put on an event like this is nothing short of an incredible effort from volunteers, sponsors, speakers, and attendees. Being able to help co-organize the one here in Louisville has been a humbling yet gratifying experience. Let me see if I can break it down a different way for you, the reader, who may not have had the opportunity yet to volunteer or attend such an event.

Volunteers

You can see these people usually with matching shirts on and a lanyard with their name and a ribbon that only says “volunteer.” In the past when I’ve attended such events I knew people helped out to put something like this on, but never in my wildest dreams did I envision all that it took until I volunteered.

Volunteering is not for glitz, glamor, or glory. Instead volunteering is what helps the cogs in the wheel move to get the steam engine running down the track. It is the staple of helping afford the opportunity for free learning to attendees and colleagues in our field.

Many, many, and many hours go into planning and organizing an event; if you attend one of these events make sure you seek a volunteer or organizer out and say thank you for their time; they are doing this for free and on their own time away from their families.

Mala Mahadevan (B|T) as a founding organizer of our event I thank you for allowing me to be a part of it these past few years.

Sponsors

Over the years, SQL Saturday Louisville has been blessed with some great sponsors. For the previous two years, John Morehouse (B|T) and I have taken great pride in working with some stellar companies. Without them, we would not be able to do what we do which is concentrate on the attendees and helping people learn.

Our Gold sponsors this year were:

Gold

  1. EMC
  2. Farm Credit Mid-America
  3. Imperva
  4. Microsoft
  5. Republic Bank
  6. Pyramid Analytics

 

Our Silver and Bronze sponsors this year were:

SilverBronze

  1. Idera
  2. PASS
  3. PureStorage
  4. Tek Systems
  5. Click-IT Staffing
  6. Homecare Homebase
  7. Datavail
  8. SQLSentry

A major thank you for all of their contributions and it is always a pleasure to work with all of you.

Speakers

It always amazes me at the number of speakers we have who send in sessions to our event. These speakers are people from all over the U.S. who are willing to travel and give their time so attendees can learn. Getting to spend time with each of them is not always an easy task, but always thankful to catch up with many friends at the speaker dinner.

It was awesome to see the attendees interacting with the speakers asking their questions and getting insight into the variously presented topics. And, because of so many good sessions to choose from, there was a buzz in the air.

As is the case with the volunteers mentioned above, speakers also travel on their own dime, away from their families – a simple thank you goes a long way. Also, for these sessions, I do want to point out that feedback cards are provided; please please please take a moment and make sure you provide good insightful feedback to the speakers. Each speaker uses this feedback to improve their sessions or have take-a-ways on what may or may not have worked. Yes, folks, these are important!

I won’t list every speaker we had; that is not the intent of this topic. But I will take a moment and say to each and every speaker who attended SQL Saturday Louisville 531 we thank you.

Attendees

Two words – – THE PEOPLE. As I have stated, these last two years has been nothing short of amazing. Seeing light bulbs go off with attendees who are learning from some of the best, and having discussions with attendees is why we do what we do.

When individuals come to us stating it was their first time at the event, and they had no idea that there is a local Louisville SQL User Group opens the doors to help reach people in our tech community.

Steve Jones (B|T), who is part of my Fab Five, talks about Dreaming of SQL Saturday. If you have not had a chance to read his post, check it out. Attendees travel from quite a distance. Which tells me the people are eager to learn.

Conclusion

So, the question I opened with “Is SQL Saturday Worth It?” Considering what I know now versus what I knew then the answer is yes. Personally, being a product of these types of events, I am living proof of what can grow from the SQL Community.

Whether you volunteer, speak, sponsor, or attend, all of these make the wheel turn. It’s a team effort with a lot of hard work. So, next time you attend one of these events, please don’t take them for granted.

Here is to continued learning, as we move forward to grow this community!

T-SQL Tuesday #080–Round Up

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TSQL2SDAY-150x150The roundup is finally here, and cheers to all of you who participated. We had a great turnout this month with many returning participants along with some newcomers.

We had a wide range of topics with many great insights from everyone, but don’t take my word for it. Check out the links below and see what your colleagues from around the SQL Community had to say:

 

Jason Brimhall – SQL Server Desired Enhancements

Riley Major – The Gift that Keeps on Giving

Jon Morsi – SQL Server 2014 Service Pack 2

Melissa Connors – DBCC CloneDatabase

Aaron Bertrand – Create Or Replace

Lori Edwards – SQL Server R Services

Robert Davis – SQL Birthday Present

Allen Kinsel – SQL Server’s Birthdays

Matt Gordon – Change Always On Endpoint Ports

Bjorn Peters – My Open Points for SQL Knowledge

Chris Bell – The Gift of the Basics

Andy Yun – Give Yourself a SQL Gift

Kenneth Fisher – Default Database File Sizes

Dave Mason – SQL Server Shutdown Event

Shane Eillis – Can Powershell Get What T-SQL Cannot

Raul Gonzalez – Using the Query Store For Read Only Database

Rob Farley – Finally SSMS Will Talk To Azure SQL DW

Kennie Nybo Pontoppidan – I want DBCC ConeDatabase Available on all (supported) Versions of SQL Server

Ginger Grant – SSIS Projects, Packages, and Deployments

Mike Walsh – Happy Birthday Chris, Have Some Changes

Wayne Sheffield – SQL Gifts

As you can see we had a great turnout and everyone continues to share their knowledge daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Thank you again for all who participated, and a big thank you to Adam Machanic (B|T) for allowing me to host another block party. Hope you all have a good one and look forward to next month.

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T-SQL Tuesday #080

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TSQL2SDAY-150x150T-SQL Tuesday time is here again! And I’m honored to be hosting this months block party. Why you ask? T-SQL Tuesday #80 happens to fall on my birthday believe it or not!

With that said let’s get this party started and have some fun with it this month shall we. Treat yourself to a birthday gift and come up with a present for yourself SQL related – no limitations:

  • Is there something you’ve been wanting to do for a long time in SQL, but haven’t done it yet?
  • Perhaps there is a feature you would like to see added into SQL that just isn’t there yet – what is it?
  • Maybe you are a consultant and know something many of us don’t as you parachute in and out of shops that a reader can benefit from?
  • Is there a co-worker struggling with something SQL related; here is your chance to share the present (knowledge).

Gift wrap your post for yourself and be innovative with what you write about.

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Some Ground Rules Apply

The post must go live on your blog between 00:00 GMT Tuesday, July  12, 2016 and 00:00 GMT Wednesday, July 13, 2016.

Link your post back to this post and make sure you include the T-SQL Tuesday logo in your post.

Leave a comment here in case that ping back doesn’t quite work out I’ll still be able to find you. Once all the posts are submitted I’ll circle back around and publish a roundup. Enjoy this one and have some fun with it. Be creative; after all….it’s your gift.

Get after it; Let’s Roll

Yates

Is Today Your Last Day Working With SQL?

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Please entertain this thought for a moment – If today was your last day working with SQL how would you spend it?

Now, this post is assuming you, as the reader, are working with SQL in some form or fashion; however take the question and apply it to some other form of technology if that fancies you.

I started thinking about this question not long ago. It got me to ponder (as my friend Tom Roush (B|T) would say ) a bit . If I woke up one morning knowing it was my last day as a data professional to work with the SQL platform how would I spend it?

Would those arguments with developers that have been encountered through the years be at the forefront, or maybe it is the conversation with my storage administrator on how much is being consumed.

Perhaps it is taking that extra moment to answer someone’s question instead of ignoring them due to “priorities” that need to have some form of completion.

As I type this I have my PASS Summit 2015 credentials in front of me and I am reading words such as “community zone” and “community appreciation party”. Have I done enough to help better this SQL community?

Answer to all those questions is – I don’t know.

I tackle each day as a new opportunity to impact something or someone. Whether it is in the shop, with some form of technology, a family member, or a friend – I think what has put some things in perspective for me here lately are life events.

My dedication to SQL and the community that I so richly am blessed to be a part of has not and will not waver – I’m just a data professional looking at a question that I really am not sure I can answer at this point in time.

Have you ever poured your heart and soul into something – yes many of you have and will continue to do so as will I.

I see posts on topics such as “What will I tell my future self” and “Someday”; those types of posts are starting to hit home to me. For me, everyone is different, but I do feel it is important to tackle each day as a new beginning.

Things can change in a heart beat; we work with some pretty awesome technology but even more so some pretty talented data professionals – don’t take that for granted. There will be a day and a time to hang it up and when that time comes, I hope I can look back and say with 100% certainty that I gave all I had, left it all out on the field, and that I have nothing left in me.

  • Continue to learn
  • Continue to make an impact
  • Continue to fight when you feel like fighting no more
  • Continue to be the best you can be; that means be the best you that you can be.

So, I ask you – If today was your last day working with SQL how would you spend it?

Interview with Warwick Rudd

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Leadership-2

Part of traveling to various events and being a part of the SQL Community means one can meet some pretty awesome professionals. I was fortunate enough to run into Warwick Rudd (B|T) at one of the PASS Summit events held in Seattle, and he definitely lives up to all the hype.

Warwick is a SQL Server MVP, Microsoft Certified Master – SQL 2008, MCT, Founder and Principal Consultant at SQL Masters Consulting. He’s definitely an avid blogger, talented speaker, and a leader in our SQL Community.

After PASS Summit 2015 we kicked an idea around about getting something like this going where we could share a few questions and answers; the timing finally aligned right and well, without further ado:

  • How did  you get your start in working with SQL Server?

I was working as a UNIX scripting developer on an in house created scripting language. The company had a couple of web developers who had installed SQL Server 6.5 and the company needed someone to look after the SQL server environment. I moved in with the oracle DBA’s as there were no SQL server DBA’s and my first training course was delivered by Greg Low. Look where things have led me to now?

  • If there was another occupation you could see yourself doing what would it be and why?

Physiotherapy – I have played  a lot of sports and some to a very high level. Sports and sports remediation I find interesting and just naturally enjoy learning about it.

  • Being in technology we do play some pranks on our fellow colleagues. What is one that you are willing to share, that you have done in your past?

I was working in a bank and at the time we actually did not have pc’s but dumb terminals. We disconnected the keyboard and put sticky tape over the connection before seating the connection back just enough to make it look as though it was plugged in to pass initial inspection of why the keyboard was not working.

  • Where is one place that you would love to speak at someday (conference, SQL Saturday, event, etc.)?

Ha-ha this is a tough one as there are so many different things to take into consideration. But I guess I would love to speak at SQL Saturday in Colorado if it was ever available in winter as I love being in the snow and snowboarding – I would then get to do 2 things I enjoy. There are some bigger events, if I ever got the opportunity to speak at, that would be so humbling to be selected for, but I will keep those close to my chest so as to not jinx myself 🙂

  • For those out there that have not heard of SQL Community, what would you say in 3 words describes SQL Community?

Friendly, Supportive, Intelligent

Big thanks to Warwick for allowing us to take a glimpse into some of his thoughts. If you are ever at an event make sure you stop by and say hi to him; just a stellar individual.

The Next Chapter ~ A SQL Journey

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Journey

The past five years have been nothing short of an amazing ride on this thing we call “The SQL Journey”. I never cease to be amazed by the many outstanding data professionals we have in the PASS community.

For me, this ride has been a great learning experience. In addition, I am very thankful for the sacrifice of time that Chris Shaw (B|T) made in my behalf so many years ago. He was kind enough to take a willingly motivated individual under his wing and show him the ropes. He could have very easily said that he didn’t have the time. But the willingness that he expressed epitomizes what I have come to appreciate and expect from the SQL Family.

Along this journey I’ve witnessed a “closeness” rarely experienced in other communities.

A group rallies around someone in need, searching for an answer to their problems.

Fund raisers are organized for causes that benefit the individuals.

Intimate conversations are encouraged between peers – especially at large events and major conferences.

Words of experience and wisdom are freely exchanged when real-world battles make the road difficult.

These continual acts of kindness and sacrifice often leave me in awe.

It is not a perfect journey. It is not always an easy journey. And I have yet to see a bed of roses along the way. But my, oh my, it can be a rewarding journey.  The fruits of knowledge, friendship, bridging of gaps, experience, and opportunities are priceless.

Given my current position at “the shop”, leadership has been on my mind a lot lately.  Along with having aspirations in the SQL community, these are some important traits that I hold close to the heart:

  • Authenticity
  • Integrity
  • Concern
  • Restraint
  • Humility

At the same time, I strive to gain and exhibit:

  • Confidence
  • Vision
  • Composure
  • Resonance
  • Practical Wisdom

With these things in mind, I am today pleased to announce that I, along with my good friend John Morehouse (B|T), will be serving as Co-Chapter Leads for the Louisville SQL User Group. John and I were introduced to each other by Chris Shaw, and his influence has been tightly intertwined with our respective journeys since their beginnings. Little did I know, after a simple handshake at a PASS Summit, John would someday move to Louisville and a new friendship be forged. I will go to battle with John on any day, at any time, and anywhere, and I look forward to what the future will hold.

I do appreciate all of the hard work that Dave Fackler (B|T) has put into this community. While he is a stellar data professional in his own right, he has also helped to provide us locally with an avenue of opportunity and growth. Ideals to which he has been dedicated. It is my primary desire to help cultivate our local user base. To bringing forth new leaders, new innovators, and new SQL family members.

For those that know me, I have a reputation for using this saying … “Let’s roll.”

So, without further ado…Let’s roll.

Time Management–Leadership

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TimeLeadershipTo many times data professionals flounder in what some call a pool of uncertainty. The countless tasks, tickets, projects, and emails that may flow in without prioritizing will leave individuals searching for what is needed to be worked on now.

Organize or Agonize

Face it, we all influence someone. Whether you are a sole DBA out in the field or a leader of many there will be times when one will have some form of influence. There will be times when a data professional needs to juggle a multitude of tasks; being a leader in this area is key – either you organize or you will agonize over what all has to be done.

Here are some tips in how to organize and become better at time management:

  • High Importance / High Urgency – tackle these projects first
  • High Importance / Low Urgency – set deadlines around completion dates and work these into your daily routine
  • Low Importance / High Urgency – find quick and efficient ways to get this work completed without much personal involvement
  • Low Importance / Low Urgency – this is busy or repetitive work (think about automation if possible)

Too Many Priorities Can Paralyze You

The papers on the task keep growing, emails keep coming in, automated jobs are failing, on call is ringing off the hook, and you suddenly get that “frozen feeling” of what in the world am I going to do? If you’ve been in this business long enough than you know what I am talking about. If you are feeling this way go ahead and get the tasks organized then approach your boss about how best to approach them and what their advice may be. True leaders want to help their employees as much as they can and this is one of the areas that all of us can work on. All good leaders have learned to say no to the good and yes to the best, and one of the keys to success is keeping that line of communication open with your boss.

Monica Rathbun (B|T) has a great post on The Shield. I suggest after you finish reading this post you go check hers out; a superb written post that provides insight into a lone DBA’s world.

Leader or Follower

A person is either an initiator or a reactor when it comes to planning. In my past dealings I’ve found that these hold true; note the difference:

Reactors

  • React
  • Listen and wait for the phone to ring
  • Spend time living day-to-day reacting to issues
  • Fill the calendar by requests
  • Spend time with people

Leaders

  • Initiate
  • Lead; pick up the phone and make contact with people
  • Spend time planning and anticipate problems
  • Invest time with people
  • Fill their calendar by priorities

Often times we see that when people lack ownership of an idea, they usually are hesitant to change. It affects routine, causes a disruption, and at times creates fear of the unknown. Uncharted territories cause insecurities to rise; four important cycles that will stand out around effective change are create, conserve, criticize, and change.

As a data professional there will be times when you are faced with bringing about change; here is a checklist that you may be able to garner some ideas from and assist you in helping you to bring forth implementing or requesting changes.

  • Will this change benefit others?
  • Is this change compatible with the purpose of the organization?
  • Is this change specific and clear?
  • Is it possible to test this change before making a total commitment to it?
  • Are physical, financial, and human resources available to make this change (what else is on the plate?)
  • Is this change reversible?
  • Is this change the next obvious step?
  • Does this change have both short and long-term benefits?
  • Is the leadership capable of bringing about this change?
  • Is the timing right?

The wrong decision at the wrong time = disaster

The wrong decision as the right time = mistake

The right decision at the wrong time = unacceptable

The right decision at the right time = success

Closing Thoughts

The above are methods that I’ve picked up over the years that have helped me not only become a better data professional, but a leader. I’ll leave you with a few insights into what a solid foundation could be built on; it will be up to you to become the leader that you want to be; along with honing in your time management skills.

The definition of leadership is influence.

The key to leadership is priorities.

The most important part of leadership is integrity.

The most ultimate test of leadership is creating positive change.

An extra plus in leadership is attitude.

What is your most appreciable asset – people.

The indispensable quality of leadership is vision.

The price tag of leadership is self-discipline.

May we never lose sight or focus of our dreams and goals. Obstacles will occur, but they are just that obstacles with solutions waiting to be had. Take the hard knocks as lessons that can be learned. There will be many, life’s journey is full of them – what kind of impact will you have?

T-SQL Tuesday #75 Invitation: Jump into Power BI!

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SqlTuesday_thumb.pngThis month the talented Jorge Segarra (B|T) hosts the T-SQL Tuesday block party, and he has chosen the topic of Power BI.

So, what exactly is this thing called Power BI? I admit, I have several friends and colleagues who have dove into this type of technology, but I have not done so in great depth yet.

I think Jorge pretty much summed me up in his first paragraph when he says, “If you’re reading this and thinking ‘crap, I’m not a BI person!’, don’t you fret. My intention is to make folks who normally don’t use BI on a day to day basis try their hand at creating cool new visualizations and reports with Power BI and seeing how the other side lives.”

So what did I do? I think the below tweet sums it all up:

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I downloaded the Power BI Desktop from Jorge’s link and was immediately amazed by the simplicity of ease in working with the utility. I had some dummy data laying around for drive space so decided to hook up to the data source and start messing around with it.

The data set populated through some clicks and a query provided by me led to the data set being available. Great; next what caught my eye was the visualization section; which it would, right? Everyone likes a good picture with analytical data attached.

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Now, in my data set I am capturing dummy data, because we would never use prod data for a post, right? I have 5 drive letters (C,E,F,G, and H); I immediately went for the filters for the visual effects:

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Once my filters were in place for the given time period I could quickly tell what I was dealing with from a visualization form of view:

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In my short amount of time using this product I can definitely see a lot of usefulness that I could get from it. I am beginning to look at ways to incorporate this into some current presentations both in the shop and out of the shop that will better define my data sets to different groups (know your audience).

So Jorge, thank you for motivating me to dive into this a little bit. While I have only just scratched the surface with it, I see glimmers of how powerful this could be in my data professional journey.

What is T-SQL Tuesday?

T-SQL Tuesday is a monthly blog party hosted by a different blogger each month. This blog party was founded by Adam Machanic (B|T). You can take part by posting your own participating post that fits the topic of the month and follows the requirements below. Additionally, if you are interested in hosting a future T-SQL Tuesday, contact Adam Machanic.

Leadership and the Data Professional

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Leadership

Many traits make up data professionals and the many who find themselves in leadership roles. The traits being shared in this blog post are ones that have helped me on my journey not just in a leadership role, but from a data professional perspective as well.

I debated often on sharing these; maybe even turning them into a session somewhere down the road. Also knowing that these are not set in stone traits for others; each data professional has their own thoughts and the way they conduct themselves on a day to day basis, but if someone can glean any insight or help by this post then it would be worth the share.

Jumping right into it then shall we? Many of you know my sports background; it is something I am not ashamed of nor try to hide. A lot of traits have carried over from my sports background into my career and as I go through these traits you will see some similarities shine through.

The Base – Industriousness, Friendship, Loyalty, Cooperation, Enthusiasm

Building a house means you start with building a solid foundation. These traits are ones that stick out to me as building part of that solid foundation:

  • Industriousness – “Success travels in the company of very hard work. There is no trick no easy way.” – put forth that effort
  • Friendship – “Strive to build a team or be part of a team that is filled with camaraderie and respect: comrades-in-arms.”
  • Loyalty – “Be true to yourself. Be true to those you lead.”
  • Cooperation – “Have utmost concern for what’s right rather than who’s right.”
  • Enthusiasm – “Your energy, enjoyment, drive, and dedication will stimulate and greatly inspire others.”

The Second Layer – Self-Control, Alertness, Initiative, Intentness

  • Self-Control – “Be disciplined” – enough said.
  • Alertness – “Constantly be aware and observing. Always seek to improve yourself and the team.”
  • Initiative – “Make a decision! Failure to act is often the biggest failure of all.”
  • Intentness – “Stay the course. When thwarted try again; harder, smarter. Persevere relentlessly.”

The Third Layer – Condition, Skill, Team Spirit

  • Condition – “Ability may get you to the top, but character will keep you there – mental, moral, and physical.”
  • Skill – “What a leader learns after you’ve learned it counts most of all.”
  • Team Spirit – “The star of the team is the team. ‘We’ supersedes ‘me’.”

The Fourth Layer – Poise, Confidence

  • Poise – “Be yourself. Don’t be thrown off by events whether they are good or bad.”
  • Confidence – “The strongest steel is well founded self-belief. It’s is earned; not given.”

The Final Layer – Competitive Greatness

  • “Perform at your best when your best is required. Your best is required each day.”

Do I follow these principles every day? I wish I could say yes, but nevertheless I do not. I strive for these as in my heart I believe them to be solid foundations for me as a data professional, but I am human.

With success does come failure, but what defines you as an individual is not how many times you get knocked down. Instead it is how many times you get back up from the knockdowns that you will receive on your journey.

I’ll leave you with these lessons I’ve learned both in sports and being a data professional:

  • Good values attract good people
  • Love is the most powerful four letter word
  • Call yourself a teacher
  • Emotion can be your enemy at times
  • It takes all team members hands to make a team; not just one set
  • Little things make big things happen
  • Make each day your masterpiece
  • The carrot is mightier than the stick
  • Make greatness attainable by all
  • Seek significant change
  • Don’t keep a scoreboard of who is right and who is wrong
  • Adversity is your asset

Whatever you build your foundation on as a data professional make it yours and own it. You are the playmaker of your career, and orchestrator if you will.

Coach John Wooden is behind a lot of these thoughts in which I have built these foundations on. A statement he made resonated with me when I heard it, “Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable.”

I ask you, are you becoming the best of which you are capable of?