Make sure you and everyone else involved agrees with what you are trying to accomplish. Get it down in writing. I have been to countless companies where the DBAs were trying to solve an undefined or shifting problem. Eventually, they became so frustrated that some of them quit their jobs. Usually, this is a management problem, but you need to take control of the situation and clearly outline what you intend to do, thereby also identifying what success means. Don't settle for a moving target, because you'll never win!

The ancient Spaniards had a saying that goes, "He was a brave man that day."2 In other words, you may be awesome, but you're not awesome every day! So get other people involved, just in case you can't do it all.

I take a pragmatic view regarding people who say they can do it all: either they are lying or they have never been involved in an intense firefighting situation. Either way, you don't want to work with them.