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I've just spent an hour of my spare time watching an exceptional UC Berkeley Lecture by Arun Sarin, former Vodafone's CEO. He shared his thoughts on leadership, focusing on four major topics that a leader should always keep in mind. I'll try to summarize some points that I intend to keep in mind.

Strategy
Always look at the big picture, keep an eye on what will be your company in 5,10, 15 years. Try to understand the world and anticipate trends. Comunicate clearly through mission and vision and make sure that every step is in the right direction.

Operations
While a good leader should be strategic, never underestimate the daily operations. Make sure that your customers have a good experience with the company. Be sure that they have the needed attention if an issue arises.

People
Be an overall nice person to work with. Choose the right people in the right …

Following up on yesterday's post about Peter Drucker's principles of effective executives, I asked former CEO of MySQL Mårten Mickos to discuss the principles that we has used in building an effective executive team. After all no single executive can be successful on their own; to build a high-performance culture requires a discipline that extends across the entire leadership.

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I have not said much about Drizzle here; that is because there is not much to say. It is premature, really, to say anything about it at this point. Some have said they will support Drizzle; as Pythian supports several database systems, it is very likely that we will support Drizzle as well. Particularly since there is in-house Drizzle expertise already. But I digress; my point is that it is premature to really say much about Drizzle.

My involvement in Drizzle goes back to around the end of April/beginning of May 2008. Given my early involvement, (more…)

Back in 2000 I began writing for swynk.com in hopes of learning more about SQL Server and beginning to make a name for myself in the SQL Server community. That was a little over seven years ago. As SQLServerCentral.com came online, I transitioned to it, writing articles and contributing heavily in the forums. Opportunities abounded from this effort, with the chance to write an eBook, the chance to become a regular columnist for SQL Server Standard Magazine, and later a chance to become a co-author of an in-print book, …

I've spent my spare time the last few weekends helping a non-profit called Fast Forward here in the Columbia, SC area. I don't post this here to blow my own horn but rather to point out the need many non-profit organizations have for quality IT support. Most non-profits operate on a limited budget meaning they take help where they can get it. Often times there just isn't money left in the budget for a services contract, etc., even for an organization like Fast Forward.

This is where knowledgeable folks can really make a difference. I know the usual excuse: after spending all week looking at a computer screen, the last thing anyone wants to do is spend the weekend working on computers. I've been there, so I understand that feeling completely. However, I have to say that the time I've spent working at Fast Forward has been personally rewarding. There's a sense of accomplishment …

The presentation How to Be a Consultant has been posted to the Midlands PASS Chapter website. The presentation was given by Midlands PASS Vice President and Treasurer, Ben DeBow, of CounterLogic.com. There's a lot of great information on succeeding as an independent consultant from one who has been doing just that for a while now. It is not specific to any technology but rather focuses on the business side of being a consultant.


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