Reflecting on 2012

Here we go, another self-indulgent post just for me to measure how the year really went versus how I thought the year would go.

Evaluating 2012 Goals

A couple of great opportunities came up during 2012 that shifted my focus tremendously, including organizing a SQL Saturday in Charlotte, and forming a new user group called the Charlotte BI Group.  Along with a big client implementation and moving to a new house mid-year, my time to devote to my personal goals was seriously impacted.  The things that slipped, like certifications and an article, were very “me” focused; since they got swapped for SQL Community focused events, I think the change in course was more than ok!  Recapping my 2012 goals set a year ago:

  • Speak at 4-6 events <— Done!  Did 9 presentations at User Groups, SQL Rally, and the PASS Summit.  Yeah, that Summit!
  • Develop materials for 2 new presentation topics <— Done!  I developed one new presentation related to the Community, as well as materials related to Intellinet sales activity.
  • Post 36 high quality blog posts <— Close; got 33 published.
  • Publish 1 article <— Nope.  Didn’t hit this one.
  • Upgrade MCITP and MCTS certifications for SQL Server 2012 <— Nope.  Passed a couple of the beta exams, but I haven’t taken the upgrade exams yet.
  • Continue meeting people & learning how to be a helpful contributor to the SQL community <— Done!  I love meeting SQL Community people.

  • Keep a better balance between work, fun, and health <— Hmmm, could always do better here.

Goals for 2013

There’s no huge changes for 2013 considering I’m quite happy with the progression of my career at the moment.  Here’s what I’m planning for 2013:

  • Speak at 4-6 events, while improving on making presentations & demos more interactive and engaging for the audience
  • Post 36 high quality blog posts; at this point in time Self-Service BI and Agile BI are of great interest to me
  • Publish 1 article on a timely and relevant BI topic
  • MCSA certification in SQL Server 2012
  • MCSE certification in Business Intelligence
  • Build a virtual machine from the ground up which includes all the entire Microsoft BI toolset as well as SharePoint
  • Grow the Charlotte BI Group into a mature group with regular attendees who provide positive feedback
  • Learn to kayak
  • Learn to use a sewing machine
  • Teach my dog to be off-leash without risk

Don’t forget … Keep Getting Better Every Day! Here’s to a great 2013!