We continue to analyze the effects that initialization parameters, statistics and hints have on SQL statement access paths. In this blog, we’ll take a look at the hints we can use to influence the optimizer to select an access path that is different from the one it would normally choose. We’ll also review a few [...]

The purpose of this post is to make you aware of the significant value of questioning the purpose behind everything.
Few questions are as powerful and effective in today’s business as “what’s the purpose?”  Asking this question can save you lots of time, effort and money.  There must be a valid purpose to everything we do.  [...]

One day I was thinking about the factors that lead to accomplishment.  In doing so, I came up with a few words that started with the letter “A”.  That led me to search for additional words that started with “A” and matched what I believe are the factors for accomplishment.  In this post, I will [...]

If you want to become an access path guru, you’ll need to spend some time learning how optimization parameters, statistics and hints affect SQL access paths and statement performance. This blog will provide you with a few hints and tips to help you begin your scientific analysis of the Oracle optimization process. In upcoming blogs, [...]

In my last post, I wrote about bouncing back from conditions and situations that bring us down.  In this post, I will share some effective ways to help you bounce back.
A few years ago, I learned two simple but powerful “techniques” while getting my Associate Certified Meta-Coach training from Dr. Michael Hall and his team [...]

Those that excel at tuning understand that the tuning process starts with an understanding of the problem and continues with the DBA collecting statistical information. Information collection begins at a global level and then narrows in scope until the problem is pinpointed. Part 1 of this series provides hints and tips that can be used [...]

Resilience is the ability to bounce back from failure, disappointment, illness, etc.  It is a characteristic commonly found in individuals who live longer than average lives.  It is also very common in highly successful individuals.
IT people are flooded with issues, challenges, disappointments and even some “viruses”.  There are many benefits to being highly resilient in [...]

Introduction
In today’s business environment, being a successful DBA is more than just being technical. If you want to excel in this profession, you must be seen as someone who understands both the business and technical aspects of the applications you support.
In last week’s post, I started providing a general set of recommendations on keeping your [...]

Success requires a lot of different factors depending on situations and circumstances.  In this post, I share four factors I see as essential to the process:

Attitude
Aptitude
Approach
Action

Attitudes
Attitude is the key factor for success.  It is the foundation.  It is the way we think about ourselves, others, and about the “world”.  It is the way we see [...]