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If you are anything like me, you leave every conference or seminar with renewed excitement and energy. You can't wait to get back to the office and put your knowledge to work. However, once you return to your desk you are faced with a mountain of paperwork to go through, countless phone calls to return, and an e-mail inbox so full that your I.T. department is calling to say "We only have so much room on our server". The conference materials go in a drawer and you return to your old habits.
Have you ever put on your winter coat for the first time of the season and found some money you stuffed in the pocket months ago? You get kind of giddy. I had a little bit of that same feeling recently when I got a new computer. As I.T. was digging under my desk for my old one, they opened the CD drive and there was a conference disc from the 2005 conference in San Antonio.
I took a few minutes to review some of the presentations. I was reminded of what a powerful user community PDS has with many innovative ideas. I had to take a step back when I realized that I haven't been heeding my own favorite piece of advice "Work smarter, not harder". There are concepts and solutions out there that can be reviewed and modified to fit your own organization. Why recreate the wheel? And besides, management doesn't know any different and they will think you are a genius!
Previous conference materials and old newsletters are also a wonderful resource for new users or associates who were unable to attend a conference. I sat in on the SQL 101 session in Salt Lake City and I encouraged our newest associate to glance at the presentation on the disc. The basic concepts are a common theme for database extraction, whether running statements through Query Analyzer or writing a Crystal Report. The workshop materials from the most recent conference in Salt Lake City were an added bonus. I plan on having that same new user go through the Crystal Basics exercise.
It is a little late for a New Year's Resolution, but I challenge each of you to access your own "PDS Reference Library". I guarantee it will keep you "Expanding Your Horizons".
TeddiAnne Krehbiel
HR Systems Analyst
The IMA Financial Group, Inc.
teddianne.krehbiel@imacorp.com
Editors Note: In case you weren't able to attend this year's conference, CDs can be purchased for a fee of $5 US. E-mail ppalmer@pdssoftware.com to order your UGA conference CD.
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