Just a quick note today on being effective.

For better or for worse, I was raised by parents who had me and my siblings at a later age in life. My parents are from the WWII generation, not the Baby Boomers. I know nothing of “helicopter parents” or “everyone gets a trophy”. I have no problem admitting when I am incorrect and (for better or worse) when others are too.

When someone is incorrect it is no more than informational to apprise them. Telling someone that 2 + 2 does not equal 5 does not mean you are judging them as a person. It does not mean you feel superior. It does not mean you aren’t a team player. It simply means that 2 + 2 does not equal 5 and if you were to assume that 2 + 2 DID equal 5 it would likely not work out for you.

This is not an appeal to be nasty to people nor is it to say that there is absolutely no merit in sometimes singing Kumbaya.  This is strictly an appeal to valuing that which is true. In my experience, databases perform better when you agree with how they are designed to work. Usually, if you stand for what you are certain is correct, even if people resent you at first they will respect you for it later in life.