The Value of Your Network

For whatever reason, the older I get the more I understand the power of networks. I seriously wish I had understood this dynamic a lot sooner. Although, to some degree I did understand it as it related to coaching basketball. See, I was well aware that your next job was out there, waiting for you, as long as you met the right people along the way. Still, it never dawned on me to make the connection between that and life in the corporate world, at least not until the last seven years or so.

So, why do people network? For some it is about career opportunities. They network in order to find a job. That was definitely true for me when coaching, because you are practically homeless when you start out. You have no money, you work eighty hours a week and twice a week you get a few hundred people together to tell you all the things you are doing wrong for roughly ninety minutes. Believe me, you are really hoping that someone will help you along and networking is a great way to get it done.

Some people network because they enjoy meeting others. This is true for me as well, although I am a shy person by nature. And if I walk into a room where I know one person I am going to cling to that one person all night long because I am uncomfortable talking with strangers. And to be successful at networking you need to be able to spend more time with the people you don’t know. Not an easy thing for someone like me, but for others this is why they enjoy networking.

Others enjoy networking because they like helping others. One of the nice things about networking comes when you meet someone new and you can introduce them to someone else that they would be interested in meeting. It is a lot like matchmaking except you don’t have to feel like a pimp. Unless you take money, of course.

So, why do I network? I am a shy person. I swear it is true, although many people are surprised when I tell them that I am shy. I find networking to be very difficult. So why do I do it? Well, somewhere along my professional career I started to understand just how powerful it was to have a reliable network of colleagues that you can talk with on a regular basis. And if you are like me, and work in a shop with very few DBA’s, you really start to understand just how powerful it can be when you have the ability to ask questions to a much larger collective.

Also, I do it because I hope to get better at networking. I would very much like to be able to not only meet other people much more easily, but to be able to connect other as well. I enjoy being able to put people in touch with each other, but in order to do that I need to continue to meet new people, which is something that is outside my comfort zone. Since I know I am not always going to be able to provide answers for people I try to be someone that can still provide help by getting the right people together when possible.

One of the hardest things for me is to enter a room full of people I do not know. This is something I really struggle with, and something I hope to change over time. Of course in order to change I need practice, and quite honestly there is no better place for me to practice than at the upcoming PASS Summit.

Sure, you think I am talking about the Summit because I am on the PASS Board. I can live with that perception. But the truth is I speak so well about PASS because it is the Professional Association for SQL Server. Let me type that in another way. It is the association of SQL Server professionals. Does that make it more clear? I joined PASS for one purpose, and one purpose only: professional development. That could mean more technical knowledge, but it also meant work on other things, such as soft skills, networking, and bacon consumption.

Why is PASS so valuable? Quite simply the PASS Summit is where you will find the greatest congregation of SQL Server influencers. It truly is the premier gathering of the best of the best…of the best…of the best. Will you be able to see some of the speakers elsewhere? Sure. But I challenge you to find a deeper list of influencers than what PASS has each and every year. Last year I was able to see Donald Farmer, Buck Woody, Paul Randal, Kimberly Tripp, Kevin Kline, Louis Davidson, Greg Low, Steve Jones, Brad McGahee, Andy Warren, Gail Shaw, Tony Davis, Dan Jones, Allen White, … do I need to go on?

And on top of that I dare you to find a conference that has more dedicated database professionals (developers, administrators, etc.) that are interested in technology as well as each other. That’s why PASS is the top event, and that is why I will continue to attend even after I become CEO of SQLBacon an stop doing the daily database work and concentrate more on pork bellies and futures.

Who are some of the people I look forward to meeting this year? All of them. In fact, I am going to start keeping a running list of all the people I have not met in person yet, but will have the opportunity to do so at PASS this year. So, if you are attending PASS and want to meet me just drop me an email or leave a comment and I will add your name to a list on this blog post. As we get closer to the actual conference I will figure out a good time and place for me to meet each and every one of you, even if that means I have to sit at the conference entrance and wait for you to appear.

People that have indicated they are attending that I want to meet:

• Aaron Alton
• Jason Massie
• Jorge Segarra (tentative, he may need to bum a ride, and a place to crash)
• Nic Smith
• Colin Stasiuk
• Michelle Ufford
• Kendal Van Dyke