The purpose of leading is not to be out front. Being out front is simply where good leaders find themselves. “Front” is merely a location, it conveys no authority. And it is possible to find oneself out front and not be a leader. The goal of a leader should not be to serve oneself, it …
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Getting Started with SSIS: SSDT-BI
SQL Server Data Tools – Business Intelligence (SSDT-BI) is a rich Integrated Development Environment (IDE). It is a version of Microsoft Visual Studio, and you can tell by looking at the title bar when you open SSDT-BI. Click on the image to enlarge and you will see “Microsoft Visual Studio” right there in the title …
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Testing
It’s 2015 and we still have no flying cars. (Dear Doc Brown, we still need roads. Love, Andy) On a similar note, we’ve suffered through another year of software breaches and empty promises to fix the issues behind them. Brian Kelley (Blog | @kbriankelley) was right, We Don’t Care About Data and IT Security. Part …
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Presenting in Richmond and Charlotte this month!
I am honored to present at the Richmond SQL Server User Group 15 Jan 2015! I am honored to be presenting at the Charlotte SQL Server User Group 21 Jan 2015! If you will be in either area on those evenings, please stop by! :{>
Getting Started with SSIS: Get the Software and Tools
People often ask me for tips on getting started with SSIS. My advice is always the same: Get a copy of SQL Server Developer Edition. At the time of this writing, the current version of SQL Server is SQL Server 2014. If you work in an organization that uses SQL Server, you may be able …
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It’s That Time of Year to Think About Your Career
If you work with SQL Server (or want to work with SQL Server), this is a good time of the year to think about your career. Why? It’s the holiday season and you should have some time off… unless you have a Crappy Job. You can use some of this time to advance your knowledge …
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A Biml Case Study
Business Intelligence Markup Language (Biml) is a SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) design patterns engine. A Story of Productivity A while back I was contacted by a client experiencing a familiar issue. The Production SQL Server instance was experiencing performance issues due to conflicts between customers and enterprise reporting needs. They contacted a friend who …
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Some Thoughts on Event Speaker Selection
I write this from the perspective of experience. I’ve helped organize dozens of events over the past ten years. Feel free to take the parts of this advice that help and discard the parts that don’t. Enjoy! Planning an event is hard work. If you’ve never volunteered to help your local User Group or SQL …
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Attending the PASS Summit
The PASS Summit is an annual gathering of SQL Server professionals and others interested in learning more about SQL Server. Folks come from all over. Here’s a few suggestions for getting more out of your PASS Summit experience. “What if I’m Not There?” Not everyone can attend the PASS Summit. You can still enjoy a …
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Repost for 2014: Come to the PASS Summit
I originally posted this five years ago. It’s about my first PASS Summit ten years ago. I’ve made a couple edits and added some links. I hope it will encourage you to attend the PASS Summit 2014. :{> "What’s the big deal about the PASS Summit, Andy?" Allow me tell my story (again): "Hello. My …
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