EPM Conversations

IntroductionWe seem to be in the mood for reflective end-of-career episodes (see Dan Pressman’s episode one & two if you haven’t already as Al’s is very much in that vein).  Al has seen a lot in his career (yes, he’s retired although we recorded this before that was made public), thought a lot, and done a lot from Essbase consultant to Oracle EPM management.  For those of us still in the workforce (Which I am guessing is practically everyone except my mother, who listens religiously to hear her little Cammy.  Thanks, Mater, it is nice to know that you’ll always be a fan.  I hope.), hearing the thoughts of those who have completed the arc of employment might trigger our own thoughts of wither our so-called careers.Does the example of others inspire you or perhaps make you ponder where you’re going and where you might end up?  That’s for you, Gentle Listener, to decide.   Join us, won’t you?

EPM Conversations Episode 34 – A Conversation with Pressman, Dan:  ASO Man, Part 2It couldn’t be more Dan than this (nope, Buzzsprout doesn't allow graphics, so this will have to do)The Official Mnemonic AlphabetTo be used in all Telephonic CommunicationAt theChase Bank on Wentzville ParkwayLetter    Pronunciation          Example-----     -------------          -----------------------------------------------A         R                      How are you?C         Q                      Pool cueD         W                      Double UE         I                      EyeF         Weigh                  There’s no “F” in weighG         N                      GnatH         Ah                     HourI         E                      Iwo JimaJ         H                      JoseK         N                      KnowL         Y                      LlamaM         N                      MnemonicO         W                      OneP         N                      Pneumonia (or Swimming – the silent Pee)Q         Key                    QuayS         C                      SeaT         Z                      TsunamiW         Y                      WhyY         U                      YouIt's a lot better at epmconversations.com, but you get the idea.That, as a joke, encapsulates, personifies, is an exemplar, and simply sums up his unique (and generally quite corny but also quite loveable) sense of humor.  That vein of humor runs through this second episode. Here’s a couple of bon mots:I was fired from projects for making things too fast.“Don’t shut him down, hire him!”I never learned when to keep my mouth shutTake chances on yourselfDon’t be too concerned with dollars instead of long term learning and challenge.  “That’s the fun part”.Teach yourself, it’s always faster than being taught. Oh my, those aren’t jokes:  they’re heartfelt pieces of advice gained from a lifetime of experience and reflection.   Join us, won’t you?

One of FourIn my so-called career, I’ve known four geniuses: one evil, one chaos made flesh, and two nice; Dan is in the last group.There are many theories around what makes someone a genius; I define it as the ability to make connections where others cannot see them. Dan is professionally (at least in EPMland) best known for his deconstruction of ASO Essbase, understanding its architecture and fundamentals, and how to optimise it.If you were in his "Essbase ASO Performance:  When NOT to Depend on MDX" session at Kscope 2010, you know just what I’m talking aboutI was sort of slack jawed by the end of the presentation. How on earth did he figure this out? BSO Essbase’s architecture was (and is) fully documented. Thank Arbor Software. The same was (and still is) not true for ASO Essbase. Thank (or don’t) Hyperion Solutions.Dan took apart ASO Essbase, hypothesising, testing, rejecting, confirming, and simply intellectually beating the product halfway to death to mirror Codd’s 12 rules for OLAP. His work revolutionized (and made my life considerably easier amongst many others) ASO Essbase theory and practice.If you weren’t there and you practice Essbase, you probably have a copy of Developing Essbase Applications:  Advanced Techniques for Finance and IT Professionals.You can still (it came out in 2012!) buy it here on Amazon. One day Oracle will change the architecture behind ASO Essbase (maybe this has already happened – I’m out of that space now), but until then, and maybe even in future if they mimic the way ASO works/worked, Dan’s chapter is the place to be.Listen to the podcast and hear how Dan did it and of course more back story of a fascinating man in an equally fascinating industry across time.Part 1 of 2In editing (and yes, I did it this time round and yes, I’m not very good at it as you’ll hear glitches in the recording – sorry) an episode, there’s always a temptation to cut content to fit an hour long format for brevity. However, EPM Conversations is about, well, conversations and if you were sitting in a coffee shop with Dan, you’d want to know a bit about his personal life – that’s more in the second part although you’ll get a good feel for him in this episode as well.Be seeing you.

 30 Years in the Making and Oh Yes, Can I Borrow Your Belt?I first met Tim when he worked for (I think this is the name – it’s so long ago it is outside of the ken of the World Wobly Web) Lex Software who had built, with Microsoft, an Executive Information System (EPM/CPM in today’s language) toolkit that married Excel to what was then Arbor’s Essbase (at least I think this is what it was). Tim was the teacher and we (my fellow J&J Executive Information Systems colleagues) were learning about the new client/server paradigm. For any J&Jers out there, this was at 410 George Street, right across the street from Corporate; I believe it is still a J&J office.That is exactly everything I remember about that training session, other than this: Tim forgot his belt, felt self-conscious, sized me up as being (probably) nice and generally the same size, and asked if he could borrow a belt. With me as recent(ish) college graduate, I had exactly one black belt to go with my suit (everyone wore suits), that left my one other belt which, alas, you cannot see because of Buzzsprout's limitations.  Think brown braided belt with a brass buckle.  Truly, an artefact of the 1990s.I think Tim felt he was underdressed for J&J – at the time (and maybe still is – it’s been 29 years since I last set foot in a J&J office) a very conservative and buttoned down place.The Past is a Foreign Country, They Do Things Differently ThereWhat was it like, boys and girls, when all and sundry wore a suit to work? Kind of like this:( Wow, again, you can't see it.  Buzzsprout, either you need to add graphics or poor old Cameron needs to get a clue.  Maybe both.  Try this link back to EPM Conversations.)No, that is not me (you are over on the website, right?), but in fact Tony Randall (Who knew I hobnobbed with Hollywood royalty?  I didn't, of course. AI can be a wondrous thing; I have no idea who the woman is.) What is accurate is this is how people dressed. I cannot speak for the woman, but that is a fine example of a charcoal grey sack suit and a repp tie -- my Ivy Style exemplar. Work environments are so different now, it’s almost inconceivable. Such is the passage of time and through time reputations are made – Tim’s is stellar as is this second part of his interview.Join us, won’t you?

It seems as though I’ve known Neviana seemingly forever, but it can hardly be more than 10 years.  Neviana quite simply packs more into a decade-plus of friendship than many pack into a lifetime – she is that kind of dynamic personality.Beyond her charisma, she harbors a fierce vision and ambition and drive:  EPM, analytics, ODTUG board member, and now chatelaine of Aquila’s Nest Vineyards, in Newtown, Connecticut.  Celvin and I are fans – we think you will be as well.Join us, won’t you?