One of the things that has astounded me throughout my career is how many accolades you can get for doing simple things to fix pain points at your company… even when the things you do weren’t even remotely clever, or even when it wasn’t your idea, and even when your “big idea” may have been thought of by virtually every other person that has ever held your position or a similar position in your company (or any company). The difference between you and all those other people that had the same idea is that you decided to actually do something to improve your company, even if it may not have been in your job description and even if it wasn’t really your place to do anything about it.

Not Just Important in Software Engineering

I feel that being a problem solver has done more for my career, and can do more for anyone’s career, than almost anything else. It’s easy to find problems in basically any company, and it’s easy and very natural to complain about problems, but it’s relatively infrequent to find people, especially among the “rank-and-file” workers, trying to proactively fix problems.

If you want to find distinction and higher wages in whatever company and whatever position you’re in, start solving your boss’s and your company’s problems. If your boss views you as someone who solves their problems, as someone who makes their job easier, your job security goes way up. You start becoming more important and being chosen more often for new, more interesting responsibilities. Your salary starts increasing at a higher rate (and check out this article for how much even a percent or two difference in your salary raise rate can greatly impact your career earnings.)

How to Start?

Starting is really pretty easy. Think back about the last thing you heard people complain about (maybe you yourself complained about it) and then set about trying to fix it. Even better, think about the last thing you heard your boss complain about, and see if you can think of a way to solve the problem that he or she was talking about. It’s okay to start with something small, something simple. Maybe your company uses a bunch of paper and you found a coupon for the type of paper your company uses most, and you bring that coupon to your paper purchaser, and your company saves $50 on their next purchase. Maybe some aspect of your software is slow, or always slows down right when people need it most, and you can look into it and find the issue. Maybe your company is shelling out lots of money to take care of something that you can write a custom application for, or even better, use a free and/or open-source application that does the same thing or even does it better.

Really, unless your company is run far better than the companies I’ve worked for, it shouldn’t be hugely difficult to find some sort of problem. Look for bugs in your software, then file a useful and detailed bug report. Listen to your boss’s said and unsaid needs, then try to go above-and-beyond to meet them. Notice things your organization isn’t doing well or could be doing better, then make some concrete suggestions on how to do better. Almost everyone does the first part, the noticing problems (though some are sadly oblivious ;-). It’s the second part, the doing-something-about-it part, that will set you apart from the rest of your peers and gain you recognition for your efforts.

A Few Cautions

It’s sad that this section might be necessary, but there are a lot of people at various companies that either are the problem, or that directly or indirectly benefit from the problems that you might be trying to solve, so sometimes you need to tread lightly.

• If the problem that you want to fix has someone that should be fixing the problem already, approach that person with your ideas first. If you don’t get anywhere with them, assuming that they’re not your boss, talk to your boss about the problem and potential solution you’ve come up with. Don’t expect this to make you better friends with the slothful fellow whose job you’re threatening, though.

• Don’t feel bad if your solutions are rejected. Sometimes, you won’t have all the information, and your boss or whomever you’re pitching your idea to will gently (or maybe not-so-gently) let you in on the fact that the problem hasn’t been solved yet because it’s really not as simple as you think it is. Sometimes politics will be at play and your idea just won’t gain traction. Just keep trying. Even if few of your ideas get picked up or implemented, you’ll probably start to gain some positive recognition as being someone who’s trying to improve things.

• Going along with the previous point, try to be sure that you understand the problem well enough to make a reasonable solution. You can easily make yourself into a nuisance by continually offering bad solutions to problems that you don’t really understand and don’t really know the answers to.

• Don’t neglect your core work responsibilities while trying to fix the company and/or the world. You got hired to do a specific job, and you need to make sure that you’re still doing that job well… especially if the problems you’re trying to fix are politically sticky and could potentially have negative ramifications for you.

Just Do It!

The next time you’re sitting around complaining or listening to your co-workers complain, try to change your attitude from a complainer into a problem-solver. Ask the complainer what they think could make the problem better, give your suggestions, and maybe even organize some problem-solving sessions and assign tasks to yourself and others. It feels great to elevate your standing within your company, but it feels even better when you can simultaneously help someone else out, too (not to mention that other people often have useful contributions and unique viewpoints that can help you solve many types of problems).

If you get results like I have, you’ll eventually find you have more money, better job titles, and more job satisfaction. Good luck!