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Changes Aren’t Permanent But Change Is

Tim Ford 3 Comments Apr 25, 2011

Our Worst-Kept Secret is a Secret No More

Change

Work

 [wurk] noun, exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something; labor; toil.[++]

 [wurk] noun, an enjoyable effort that provides financial, social, and education rewards for those taking part when surrounded by the right people.[+++]

Dictionary.com has the definition correct perhaps for most people.  Those who enjoy what they do in order to make a living and who they do it with though can make a good argument for my definition of work. 

Change + Work = Brent Ozar, PLF

 Those of you who are familiar with who I am and are a regular reader of content posted tothesqlagentman.com know that for a year now Brent Ozar and I have been producing unique SQL Server and professional development training events called SQL Cruise.  So much has happened since that day in May 2010 when a simple email entitled Another One of My Bad Ideas led to what has been a great success professionally, personally, and socially.  We’ve learned many things about starting a new company since then.  All the things that can go right;  and all that goes wrong along the way.  SQL Cruise will continue to live on as its own brand, a brand that Brent and I are extremely proud of but it will now be part of a larger organization.  Brent Ozar, PLF. 

“Tim what is a PLF” you may ask?  “I know what a Brent Ozar is.  I’ve never heard of a PLF?” 

A PLF means we’re bringing along others for a ride on this journey PLF stands for Peschka, Little, and Ford.

“Peschka?  As in Jeremiah Peschka?  The big guy with the tattoos that is the SQL Server and No SQL wiz?  Little?  As in Kendra Little?  The DBA extraordinaire with the knack for creativity and the wicked cool Isolation Levels Poster?”

None other than those.  You’re correct and before you ask the Ford is me.  Brent Ozar is that Brent Ozar.

A few months ago Brent decided to set off on his own consulting journey and he invited me to join him as a logical choice since we’re already doing business as SQL Cruise.  Actually, if truth be known he offered to give me SQL Cruise and go off on his merry consulting way.  I’ve had a great time working with Brent.  Work seems like such the wrong word though because it’s never really seemed like work except for when I was dealing with all the personal issues with the health of my youngest son, Trevor, earlier this year.  Even then he offered to shoulder 100% of the burden but I couldn’t muster up the ability to let him do it because it was the one aspect of my life that seemed to be going right.  In the end, we decided to roll SQL Cruise into a new company designed with technical consulting as it’s prime directive.  SQL Cruise would be the educational arm of the new company.  At the same time we started talking to Jeremiah Peschka about joining us in this endeavor.  Then the question arose: who else would we enjoy working with as much as the three of us and who would push us to the next level and provide assets we were lacking.  Kendra Little was an obvious choice.  Then the fun began.

Why Brent Ozar, PLF?

It seems a little vainglorious doesn’t it?  We spent months working with a fantastic crew of marketing gurus.  We covered ourselves in marketing gravy and started rolling around in idea glitter.  Every time we hosed ourselves down at the end of one of these marketing sessions one of us was still covered in that mix of buzz, SEO, and face it – clients contacting him for work: Brent Ozar.  His site was getting the hits that make many of us jealous and stuns us that it started a decade ago with him blogging about his turtles.  It was an obvious choice that BrentOzar.com should live on as the home to our as-yet un-named company.  From there it was the matter of determining the right suffix to throw at it.  Are we Partners?  Sure we are but Brent Ozar and Partners sounds like a law firm.  Similar concerns caused us to toss out “Group”, “Associates”, and many more ideas that pushed us towards a corporate personal that isn’t us.  “PLF” came out of this effort.  Google searches of various combinations of O, P, L, and F led us to the final order and thus Brent Ozar, PLF was born. 

Throughout the past few months of planning I see a single constant.  I end every planning call or email burst telling myself that this is why I want to work with these people.  I enjoy the friendship of Brent, Kendra, and Jeremiah.  Work just doesn’t seem like an effort.  I’m sitting in my office on the first nice day of Spring in almost a month – and Easter to boot – writing a blog post about creating a company…

and I don’t mind.

Changes Aren’t Permanent, But Change Is

Brent and Tim at SQL PASS 2010 researching new ways to draw attention to themselves

What is going to change?  For me, not much right now.  I’m going to continue on with my day job as the SQL Server DBA and SME for Spectrum Health.  Matter of fact if you’re interested in working with me I’m currently still looking for a qualified SQL Server DBA (and Oracle experience is a power-up that moves you to the top of the stack.)  Brent, Kendra, and Jeremiah are going to be the partners that will be performing our Health Checks, Cloud Fit Analysis, and additional consulting line offerings.  I’m going to continue to run SQL Cruise and work with my partners to come up with additional exciting and creative projects and events that may and may not require cruise ships.  Rest assured we will continue to hit the high seas as long as it’s economically feasible to do so, but only 2/3 of this world of ours is covered by water.

We will continue to answer questions on Twitter using the #sqlhelp hashtag and now will also offer the ability to contact us directly through our new website where you can also reach us to schedule consulting engagements. 

Next up, I’m tagging Kendra Little to talk about why she’s taking part.