Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Business Logic and Passion

So I wasn't going to post today for a couple of reasons. First, I think that by posting each day some people miss the article because the didn't have time to get to it or had surgery or vacationed on a remote island with no internet or something along those lines. The other is it is just plain hard to come up with a topic every day and I think quality suffers. As I read back through the posts so far, it was easy to tell the days I was truly inspired and the days I just mailed in. Having said that, the fact that I am posting today must mean I was inspired, and indeed I was. As I have mentioned about a hundred times, I am a big fan of the sqlservercentral website. As such I have signed up for their daily email which gives you the article for the day, a secondary article and what the article was a year ago today. Well low and behold the article a year ago today was a Pulitzer prize worthy piece about business logic. The authors insight and passion for the subject is something rarely seen in a piece written on such a specific topic. In fact the author...........

OK, you got me. It was my article in response to another article about business logic and where it should live. You know, after I penned that piece, I got into a back and forth with a couple of guys on the comments board which in the end sort of made me sorry I had even bothered. In fact it was that interaction that made me leery of doing this blog. As I look back though I realize that the topic itself was solid, the writing was ok and most importantly, I was passionate about what I was saying. It was that passion that made the back and forth so irritating. Why couldn't these guys get what I was saying? How could anyone argue the point?

In hindsight, I failed to focus on the positive comments from some and paid to much attention to the nay sayers. The problem with doing that is it zaps your strength. It takes a lot of energy to deal with negativity and for me it had such a profound effect that I was hesitant to put any of my ideas or thoughts out there. That is why the blog was such a big step and why it is important that we are all willing to put ourselves out there for ideas we are passionate about. There will always be people that will tell you that you're wrong and there might even be times they are right. But please don't be like me and let that stop you from putting your ideas and thoughts out there. If you believe in them, then you should be willing to let the critics have at them. The worst thing that happens is that you are wrong and you learn. The best thing is that you are right and you change the world for the better. In actuality you will probably end up somewhere in the middle, most likely learning a little and changing the world, even if it is your small part of it, a little.

In this case for me, I learned a lot and although it has taken a year we are starting to move some business logic out of our database and into the application/server and the results have been great. People are learning new ways of doing things and because of that they are becoming passionate about their ideas and methods that will continue to inspire others and lead to even more innovation. I guess my point in all of this is that change can take time. I was amazed that the world didn't stop and say, wow, this guy is right. We need to stop everything and change right now. As ridiculous as it sounds now, at the time that was truly how I felt. I think that is a part of being passionate. The danger is when it doesn't happen overnight and there are those who would try and convince you and others that you are wrong it can have a negative impact on future ideas. Don't let that happen. Be patient. Be bold. Be fearless when it comes to innovation. You will miss 100% of the shots you don't take.

I would like once again to invite anyone who has interest in being a guest blogger from time to time on this blog to email me. I would love to have this forum grow into a place where inspiration and innovation find the light of day. Also, as always feel free to comment.

-mike

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