I am pleased to announce the latest (free!) Linchpin People microtraining event will be held Tuesday 22 May 2012 at 10:00 AM EDT. The topic will be Executing SSIS 2012 Packages. In this presentation, I will be demonstrating several ways to execute SSIS 2012 packages.

Register here!

Interested in learning about more microtraining from Linchpin People – before anyone else? Sign up for our newsletter!

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Linchpin People is considering public training delivery for From Zero To SSIS! We would love to hear from you about your interest in this training. Please take this three-question survey to let us know of your interest and location preference.

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I saw some recent email about SSIS and SQL Server 2012 Business Intelligence Edition. I thought I would share what I have learned.

It is very easy to misinterpret what one sees in SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT – the new BIDS). When you open SSDT all SSIS components are available, whether or not those components are allowed in your edition of SQL Server. In addition, SSDT will allow you to use and execute these components in the SSDT Environment at design time.

SSIS 2012 BI Edition is Not SSIS 2012 Enterprise

You can build and test an SSIS package using Enterprise-Edition-only components, but you cannot execute this package outside the SSDT environment. Here’s a screenshot of a BI Edition toolbox:

Note the Enterprise Edition-only components: Fuzzy Grouping, Fuzzy Lookup, etc.  Take a look at what happens when I execute a Data Flow Task that contains a Fuzzy Lookup Transformation in BI Edition:

Now take a look at what happens when I execute that same package using DtExec on the same virtual machine:

Ugliness. And confusion.

Andy

I have posted the recording of yesterday’s Managing SSIS Connections video!

Enjoy.

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I am pleased to announce another free Linchpin People MicroTraining Event! On Tuesday, 10 Apr 2012 at 10:00 AM EDT, I will present Managing SSIS Connections. In this presentation, I will show you several means for managing SSIS connectivity using built-in functionality and a custom trick or two I picked up over the past few years. Want to learn more? It’s free (and no phone number required)!

Register today.

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cross-posted from AndyLeonard.me…

Each April 1st for the past five years, I have been honored to receive an email from Microsoft informing me I have been recognized as a SQL Server MVP. Tomorrow will be different. Back in January – when I wrote this – I requested Microsoft not consider me for renewal.

I have enjoyed serving as a Microsoft MVP. I only got to see what it is like to be a SQL Server MVP, and I think we are part of a special community that makes being an MVP even more special. I have read the thoughts of others departing the MVP program. Many are not happy. I believe the MVP program could be better but I know the SQL Server MVP program is pretty cool.

“If it’s so cool, Andy, why are you leaving?” That is an excellent question.

The simple answer is: priorities.

Warning

The less simple answer may bore or offend you – especially if you prefer to not read about matters of faith. So I am warning you now: a lot of what follows is about faith. If this offends you and yet you find yourself wanting to learn more, skip this section and read Community and Technology below.

Having made that last statement, I feel compelled to state that being an MVP is not an impediment to faith. It is not a sin or diversion any more than anything else can be a sin or diversion, and I know plenty of MVPs who are people of faith; Christian and other faiths.

God spoke to my heart from Luke 9:23: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” This is me wanting to be Christ’s disciple; denying myself, taking up His cross, and following Him. I am not “blaming God” for this decision. To the contrary: My experience as an MVP has reinforced my belief that a small number of individuals, working together, can make a measurable impact on a community.

If you have read this far you are either curious or bored, or perhaps compelled. So be it. Years ago, I participated in a Bible study entitled Experiencing God based on the book by Henry Blackaby of the same title. In it, Mr. Blackaby asserts “God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.” I believe God has been speaking to me through these means, to these ends.

For a while now, some friends and I have been meeting semi-regularly to pray and study the Bible. We are geographically distant so we meet online. We don’t broadcast this fact but many folks know about it because we also don’t hide it. Last year we began a study called Masterlife. It is a powerful guide to learning more about the Christ, the Bible, the church, the world, and our role in relating to all of them.

As we continue to study, we are all growing spiritually. As we grow, we are noticing new and different stuff. Although I will not speak for the other guys, I am sure they will agree when I say God is using this study to change stuff in our hearts, minds, and lives. One person recommended a book they had read called Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream. I have to admit the title put me off some, but the recommendation was positive so I purchased the e-book.

I didn’t read it.

It sat on my Kindle for months. I read a bunch of other stuff. Some sci-fi series, a couple business books, some awesome Seth Godin works. Finally, I started reading it. This is a hard book to read. It is not anti-America, it is pro-Christ. I believe the book did a good job separating stuff that is part of America’s culture from the Christian faith. I found some of the book painful to read. I identified with parts of it in ways I did not expect; positively and negatively. And this shifted my priorities.

Some of the priority shift has already made it into this electronic journal. Some remains to be seen.

Looking back, I see alignment in some stuff that has happened to me over the past few years. I believe God used circumstances to challenge my priorities. Although I do not have it all figured out at the moment, I now know I should be doing other things with some of my time. You may wonder what those things may be. So do I. As I write this, I have very little idea. I simply know I have to re-organize my current priorities to make way for the new set. I am praying, reading the Bible, paying attention at church, and observing the circumstances to learn more. If you are so inclined, I would appreciate your prayers.

Community and Technology

I have no plans to change my community activities. I plan to continue presenting at conferences and SQL-Community events (if they will have me). I plan to remain engaged with technology as I have the past 37 years. But you will know (if you did not skip over the preceding section) that “my plans” are less and less my own.

An Interesting Side-Effect

One thing shocked me over the past few months of re-prioritizing: I began enjoying technology more. I did not realize some of my joy had been sapped, but it had. It must have happened slowly over time because I did not notice it until it began to reverse.

Thank You, Microsoft

I would like to sincerely thank Microsoft for recognizing me with the MVP award. It was a career- and life-changing experience. I got to hang out with some of the smartest people in our field. I learned a lot and grew as an individual and a technologist. Although I never felt I deserved the award (and secretly suspected they lowered the standard to allow my participation), I was honored Microsoft did.

I am excited about what is next.

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Introduction

This post is the fifty-third part of a ramble-rant about the software business. The current posts in this series can be found on the series landing page.

This post is about inspiring others.

Hot Chicks - Baby chickens beneath a warming lamp…

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For those who do not know, we raise chickens that laying eggs – referred to as “laying hens”. Natural attrition has taken our flock of laying hens to 11, plus one rooster. We recently received an order of new chicks (pictured above). We keep them inside for the first couple weeks until they grow enough feathers to withstand outside temperatures. The temperatures in our area this winter have been very mild, so we ordered thirty-three birds earlier than usual. For now, they live in our sunroom in a large box beneath a heat lamp. Hence, hot chicks.

As we approach the time they will be transferred outside, the birds begin to fly. Believe it or not, these chicks can fly a couple feet up, even now. It’s funny to watch because they are a little clumsy and their weight isn’t yet distributed well for flight. Mostly they lack confidence that they can fly well. How do I know? Because the instant one bird flies out, they all do.

Why is that? They see that it is possible. With two cats in the house, we take great care to keep the chicks inside the box. The cats will not bother them while the chicks are in the box, but all bets are off if the birds are running around the house on the floor. I fully expect the cats would give chase and catch them.

Right now, if they knew they could, the chicks are capable of escaping the box. So how do we keep the chicks from realizing they can fly out? We manage their confidence. We have a pretty high box, to begin with. They could fly out, we know this. In fact, one flew to the edge of the former box just the other day – prompting a transfer to an even higher box. Once they know they can make the upper edge, we have to change boxes.

Managing Confidence

This happens on the job.

If you manage people, you are managing their confidence – whether you realize this or not. Your team is leaving work each day either more confident or less confident than when they arrived. Stasis is possible, but not likely. Everyone likes to do a good job. And everyone drops the ball at some time or other.

Managing confidence well means you manage each situation individually. “But that’s a lot more work, Andy.” Yes. Yes it is. One of the reasons a manager is paid more is because the job is supposed to be more work. Establishing and enforcing blanket rules is not only lazy, it treats your employees like they’re in kindergarten. Do you find yourself complaining your employees behave like unmotivated children? That’s a clue. Treating your team poorly diminishes confidence. It’s offensive personally and professionally.

But that’s not your only option as a manager. You can inspire confidence in your team members by treating them with trust and respect. Believe it or not, this is easier to manage than demotivating your employees. It’s less work in the long run. How do you inspire confidence in your team? Treat them with trust and respect.

“Broad and vague terms, Andy…” Yes, so here is a specific example. If you are asked to provide an estimate for something that’s impossible to predict – such as “How long will it take your team to figure out the best and fastest way to accomplish this task?” – your first response as a manager should be along the lines of: “It is impossible to know the answer to that question and, as a result, everything else I say should be considered at something less than 50% confidence.” If someone wants a number, explain why that’s a risk-laden question; and explain the risks. Need help explaining the risks? This should help. Also, read Frederick Brooks’ awesome tome The Mythical Man-Month. Estimating software projects is part science and part art. Stand up for your team in these matters.

Sometime, no matter what you do, you are stuck with an impossible deadline. Years of experience developing software and delivering solutions has taught me that everything is mutable except the delivery date. When faced with those scenarios, I tell my team, “I don’t think this is a fair deadline for this project and I have communicated that fact back up the chain of command. I believe if anyone can bring this in, it’s you. And if you cannot bring this in by the deadline, it simply cannot be done.”

Faking this doesn’t work. It’s not an incantation; it’s a reminder of the confidence I have demonstrated time and time again in the team.

Conclusion

Bolstering the confidence of your team is part of the job of every leader. You want your team members to fly. And if you can encourage the confidence for your team members to succeed, those team members will give you the last percent.

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Occasionally someone will email or post a comment about how all MVPs are Microsoft shills. I’m sure I enjoy those comments about as much as the Developer Teams at Microsoft. Let me start by saying that’s simply not true. In fact, it is completely off the mark – at least when it comes to the MVPs I know and with whom I interact. If anything, we are Microsoft’s harshest critics.

Just last week, I sent someone at Microsoft an email with the following complaint (paraphrased):

I do not like chasing down stuff on the SSIS 2012 Control Flow. I click and try to move something, and it ends up in another time zone.

The most helpful tip was to make sure everything is visible on the surface before I attempt to move stuff – especially if resizing or moving items within a container. To assist with this, there’s a helpful “Fit View to Window” button on the surface in the lower right corner:

I have tested the advice and found it sound, so I thought I would share.

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