We are all Problem Solvers !
When meeting new people the conversation frequently turns to what our respective jobs are. There many ways to describe what I do, the industry I'm in and where I sit in my organization.
What I recently realized is that while those words may superficially describe my role and responsibilities, what I actually am and continually strive to be, is a Problem Solver. And you should be too.
Let me explain by way of examples.
The Salesperson as a Problem Solver
This slide from Duke University explains the various activities that a Salesperson performs. It is from their Economics department and appears to be specific to a salesperson in the Financial Services industry. While this might be somewhat of an accurate description, to me, it misses the whole point.
As a consumer you can find as much product information as you would like on any product you want to buy. I recently walked into a cellphone store to renew my wife's plan and to add a phone for my 11 year old son, his first! Having done the research beforehand, I knew exactly which plan and phones I wanted. I ended up walking out with two of these in addition, because the salesperson helped me to understand the problem (that my son will very likely drop his phone which will result in a shattered screen) and provided a solution. Salespeople solve their customers problems.
The Entrepreneur as a Problem Solver
This article does a good job of highlighting the point that the most successful entrepreneurs are the people that are passionate about solving a specific problem. As the last sentence in the article states : "Don't just start another business, solve a real problem people actually have to increase your chances of success"
I am in the middle of reading a book that gives a great example of this. Nick Woodman was a surfer with a problem! Surfers were usually photographed from a distance using expensive equipment. He and his friends always used to talk about how it would be so much better to film the perspective of the surfer in the wave. And so GoPro was born...to solve a problem!
In Summary
The above definitions are high level job descriptions. The reality is that our actual jobs are made up of many small activities that build together to make up these definitions. Each of these activities have problems associated with them, and sometimes those problems can seem overwhelming, even to a point where maybe they are preventing you from doing your "real job".
The next time you start to feel that way, take a step back, because maybe addressing those problems head-on and executing on the solutions is your "real job".
We are all problem solvers!
