PASS Musings

So, PASS 2007 is over. It has been done for the past week now, and I have been piecing together my thoughts since then. I started thinking about PASS in general, then I started to focus on specific items such as “what do I get for my membership fee”?

In the past week I have noticed a change in the way I approach my job. Looking back over the years, I have noticed that I have come a long way in how I approach my job. I think the real turning point for me was my first PASS conference. Being able to sit and share similar stories with my peers was a tremendous help. All too often I would feel alone here, thinking that my problems were somewhat unique. Over time I have come to see that they are not unique. Indeed, many people face the same or similar problems. And as I increase my network I have the ability to discuss these problems and work through them. And that is better than sitting here, alone, and becoming increasingly frustrated.

Every time I come back from PASS, I come back as a better DBA but more importantly I come back as a better person. It is hard to explain, but that is how I feel. Some of the smaller stuff that would annoy me now simply amuses me. I feel as if I am able to more effectively manage the projects I have under my care right now. And people, too. I feel my interactions with others also improve.

Now the question to ask is simply: Why? Why does this happen? Why do I feel this way? What is it about the conference that allows for me to mature at an accelerated rate? Certainly it is not because I am getting any rest. This past week I logged 96 total hours, including travel time to and from Denver. What is it, then?

My network.

My network of colleagues that I have slowly built over time, since my first conference when I met Pat Wright, then Allen Kinsel. That first year was good, and through that small network we all decided to volunteer for PASS. From there we met others, including Lynda Rab. The next year, I rubbed elbows with even more people (and won an iPod, thank you Tim Ford), and took on a bigger volunteer role. I also met Kathi Kellenberger, a person that has helped with my writing skills as well as my professional development since then. After that conference I created a folder in Outlook that simply said ‘Networking’, and sent a note to Kathi. She was nice enough to respond, so I saved her note and promised to follow up a few months later.

A few months later I needed help with a potential article and Kathi came to my rescue. During the year we stayed in touch and when we met up in Seattle last year my network grew to include people like Bill Graziano and Denise McInerney. Then, before I knew it, my network was over thirty people. This past year my network just about doubled. And that is where I get my energy, as well as my experience. I feed off the energy of the network. That is how I can put in 96 hours in a week and still not want the week to end. The energy of the people around me keeps me going, and makes me want to become better at what I do each and every day.

I am able to gain wisdom from about sixty people over the course of the week. It is like having one big, constant mentoring session. There are technical discussions, sure, but there are also a lot of discussions regarding soft skills, or lack thereof. Whether we know it or not, we are all improving our soft skills when we get together. So, what do I get for my $150 and the hours I volunteer throughout the year?

I get better as a person, as a DBA, my network grows, and possibly so does my career. That’s what I get from PASS, and that is what I hope to be able to give to others that join.