Heh...Again, I thought we were talking about "exceptional" DBA's. You posted...

That certainly makes a "good" DBA. And, I agree with James, above... a "good" DBA should have the ability, knowledge, and tenacity to quickly find out those things (s)he may not know and apply them correctly.

I also agree that the "exceptional" DBA must also know the business climate and how business requirements may or may not affect the server.

...But those things are expected of DBA's (or, at least, they should be).

What separates the "good" DBA from the "exceptional" DBA is simply the word "Why" and that which surrounds the word. Take the problems posed on the previous post about "exceptional" DBA's. Both require explanations as to "Why" something should or should NOT be done. The exceptional DBA must not have only the knowledge to identify a potential problem, the courage to say "No", the ability to quickly Feret out the required additional knowledge to come up with a fix/alternate fix, (s)he must also be able to effectively communicate "why" something must or must not happen.

I've had good teachers and bad. The ones that were really exception were the ones that could explain "why" some caclulation needed to be done or "why" I needed to learn something. People tend to get on board more quickly when you explain "why". Yep, it takes a bit longer... but, like a teacher, the best DBA's in the world are nothing but "the guy who takes care of the server" unless (s)he has the communication skills and the correct attitude to effectively explain the "Why" without loosing the bubble.