Introduction
If you have been reading this blog, you probably have noticed that very few of them have discussed complex technical topics in-depth.  Trust me when I say we’ll be getting very technical very shortly but I think it is important to cover topics that others don’t spend a lot of time focusing on.
Being a DBA [...]

The purpose of this post is to recommend the adoption of the 80/20 Rule mindset to improve your ability to accomplish the results you seek.
According to the Investment Dictionary, the “80/20 rule”, also referred to as the “Pareto rule”, is a principle named after economist Vilfredo Pareto that specifies an unequal relationship between inputs and [...]

The purpose of this post is to suggest a benchmarking approach for performance management.
A benchmark is a “standard” or “level of performance” to which someone or something is compared.  Performance management is a management approach that focuses on the achievement of results. Benchmarking is the process of identifying the benchmarks.  Almost anything can be benchmarked.  [...]

I thought I would spend a little time discussing the importance of soft skills.  If you want to remain competitive in this profession, you must be able to communicate effectively.  I’ll provide you with a few helpful hints and tips to improve your verbal and written communication skills. The importance of improving your communication skills cannot be [...]

The purpose of this post is to share the accomplishment framework Remote DBA Experts has used to build a highly successful remote database services enterprise.
Accomplishment is a process and it necessitates an effective framework.  The framework we’ve adopted at Remote DBA Experts is fairly straight forward.  It consists of several stages:

Aiming
Strategizing
Aligning
Organizing
Actualizing
Tracking
Learning
Adjusting
Achieving
Celebrating

AIMING
The process begins with setting [...]

The purpose of this post is to suggest that ambivalence (”uncertainty or indecisiveness as to which course to follow”) can be a big detriment to progress.
Every time I think about occasions when I felt stuck in some way, I discover that I was unsure of what I wanted or felt uncertain about it.  I felt [...]

I have taught hundreds of people how to administer Oracle during my career as an Oracle instructor. For those of you just entering this profession, here is my most sage piece of advice:
“The hallmark of a good DBA is not knowing everything; it’s knowing where to look when you don’t.”
I thought it might be beneficial [...]

This post is for individuals who are looking for ways to make change happen for themselves or others.
In my experience, nothing fuels action to change more than a good reason.  If you want to energize yourself and/or others for change, especially difficult changes, spend significant effort indentifying the best and most compelling reasons for change.
In [...]

The purpose of this post is to share with you a fairly simple way to become a more efficient and effective person by questioning the purpose of everything you (and others) do.
Imagine how much more you could accomplish if you became more effective and efficient as a person.  If this is of value to you, [...]

Database administrators are ultimately responsible for guaranteeing the quality of their organization’s database environments. From protecting against unauthorized access to providing 24×7 availability – “the buck stops at the DBA Unit.” Although the database infrastructure (DB binaries, O/S, hardware) doesn’t change much, there is one component that usually changes a lot – the application. This [...]