Dear Reader,

In today's environment we are witness to phenomenal advancements in technology. Data can be accessed at nearly the speed of thought through the use of artificial intelligence search algorithms, Solid State Drives, or in-memory technology. Databases can store and manage incredible amounts of data. And with advanced social networks we are less than 6 degrees of separation from someone on the other side of the planet.

Yet, with all of these advancements, why do we find our company, staff, or team creatively challenged with making significant advancements. Is it a lack of access to knowledge, training, or technology? Are there organizational barriers or excessive bureaucracy blocking progress? Or is a vision nonexistent or unclear? I challenge that the issue of lack of progress has more to do with our own personal dynamics and less with the technology and tools at hand. The following article on "The Contribution Ethic" gives great insight into how you can immediately deliver results.

Cheers,

Dave Fox, President/Enterprise Information Architect

Reprinted with permission from author Dale Daunten.

1. Just help. Make yourself useful. You aren't just there, waiting. There's no waiting. Just help.
2. A great player is worth less than a great teammate. (aka "The Steve Nash Effect" or "The Yankees' Blunder") A great player might or might not improve the group, but a great teammate always does. (Imagine a sales team of 10, each selling 10 units a month. A star might come in as the 11th employee and sell 50 percent more than everyone else, raising the group to 115. A great teammate, however, might come in and sell 12 units, but also help everyone else sell 12, raising the department's output to 132. Thus, the great teammate seems to produce less but is actually more than twice as valuable.)
3. Your half is 60 percent.
4. Innovation is a subversive activity. You can't expect management and/or co-workers to drool with excitement over your "I have an idea!" After all, most ideas are suggestions and most suggestions are complaints. On the other hand, if an idea is truly original, then expect resistance; indeed, welcome it as a measure of originality. Organizations are built for continuity not creativity. That's why you need to demonstrate how the idea will work, and you might need the guerrilla's wiles. Ideas are nothing next to proposals; proposals are nothing next to experiments.
5. Giving time without attention is a gift-wrapped empty box.
6. Assume the best. If you accept that every 10th person is a jerk and that you're a jerk one-10th of the time, then you can meet the world with the smile of the victor, for the odds are with you.
7. Being right is overrated. If your goal is usefulness, then what matters is progress.
8. Being wrong is underrated. Admitting you were wrong is wisdom gained.
9. Always bring something to read.
10. Think like a hero; work like an artist. If the end is helpfulness, that's the hero mind. If the means is exploration and learning, that's the artist's mind. When kindly attention meets curiosity, you move gracefully through the world.

Dale Dauten is a syndicated columnist. He can be reached at dale@dauten.com. His site can be found here: dauten.com.

Growth through change.

SAP has recently rebranded what SAP Netweaver BI vs. SAP Business Objects product suite is: SAP Netweaver BI is now renamed Netweaver Business Warehouse

• SAP Netweaver BI is now renamed Netweaver Business Warehouse
• All references to Business Intelligence is now associated with SAP BusinessObjects solutions

Furthermore, all future innovation and development in the BI front-end continues to be focused on the SAP BusinessObjects BI solutions while the BI tools within NetWeaver are no longer the strategic direction.

For additional details on the SAP strategy refer to the strategy presentation found on the ASUG website (ASUG login required):