The phrase Problem Solver, with its different variations, has become a cliche in the tech industry, especially among job seekers. I myself am not left out, in fact, I have used it more than I'd like to admit. But what does it really mean? In this article, I try to question the use of the phrase with the aim of helping you gain new insights on how to actually solve problems with optimum impact. As a result of reading this article, my hope is that you'll become a better problem solver - a Superman, with evidence to show for it, and even gain a lot of value in return. Bold claims, I know, but I beg your indulgence, maybe, just maybe, we both might earn the title: Problem Solver due to this article.
A Breakdown
I bet you already know (or infer) the meaning of this phrase. But for a moment let's pretend neither of us do, so we can agree on an actual meaning. Usually, the best way to better understand a word/phrase is to break it down to its simplest form. So let's try to do that here. Let's start by understanding the literal (dictionary) meaning of the two words.
A Problem
"A situation, person, or thing that needs attention and needs to be dealt with or solved" ~ Cambridge Dictionary
A Solver
"A thinker who focuses on the problem as stated and tries to synthesize information and knowledge to achieve a solution." ~ WordWeb Dictionary
Of course, a Problem Solver is someone who solves problems, we all know that, right? sure we do, let's continue:
So we've established the fact that a Problem Solver is someone who solves problems (like Superman), but here's the part most people forget: There can't be a Problem Solver without a problem to be solved. Huh?
Let's use Superman as an example - full disclosure: I'm no movie buff, so I know very little about Superman, but I'll try not to bash him for you movie lovers :). In each episode of the movie, you'll discover that he's either pursuing the bad guys or trying to undo what the bad guys did; in other words, he's always solving problems - specific problems. So we can say he's earned the title: Problem Solver, Defender of the Universe. But imagine this, what would the movie have been like if there were no bad guys? My guess is that there wouldn't be anything to watch. Put bluntly:
If there were no bad guys there wouldn't be a need for Superman.
Let's bring it back to our main focus:
What problems have you solved with your code? or your designs? or even your writing? (I promise you, I'm also asking myself the same questions as I write this)
"I write clean, efficient, and performant code" (we sure do use a lot of jargon)
"I design beautiful, interactive, and user-friendly interfaces"
"I share insightful and informative content on social media - so follow me" Uhmm okay.
"I have worked on 60 landing pages and cloned Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, etc." (OK that's a lot).
But in all these, what specific problem(s) did you solve? In order words what is the impact of whatever you've done? What difference did your code, your design, or your writing make, despite the jargon and effort? It's a hard metric I know, but let's get tough a bit.
Hard != Value
For those who don't understand this weird equation, in simple terms: that something is hard to do doesn't mean it's valuable. We can call it The First Law of Problem Solving.
That a specific task requires a lot of effort does not mean it provides a lot of value.
It doesn't matter how long it took you to come up with the 'solution', if there's no need for it, then it's not valuable. What's the point of solving a problem that doesn't exist? I'm aware of people who believe you can create solutions for problems that exist in the future - weird, but we're not gonna talk about that today.
Focus On The Right Thing
We just talked about the first law above which means there's a second one, right? Here's it:
The value attached to a solution is determined by the weight of the problem being solved.
Basically, how much a solution is valued is determined by its pertinence. Based on this, one shouldn't focus on just hard alone, because there's no guarantee that it would be valued. So why do most people focus on this?
In the absence of clear metrics, people tend to go for the easy stuff.
Sounds contradictory? Let me explain: When there's no way to determine how valuable a solution is, people tend to evaluate it based on how difficult it was to solve the problem. While this is a logical approach - if it's difficult to do, chances are that many people will avoid it which makes it valuable, right? Sure. But consider this, if my problem at the moment is that I need to build a dashboard, then I don't care how beautiful, performant, blah blah blah your landing pages are. I don't even care if you spent three months cloning Twitter. In this instance, though your landing pages or Twitter clone might be useful to someone else, they're of no value to me at the moment, even though they might be more difficult to implement.
At this point, I should point out that you can't - and shouldn't - try to solve every problem - but of course you've heard that before. Even our dear Superman doesn't solve every problem. Instead, focus on problems in your immediate environment that you can solve, because that is where the value is.
Earn The Title
So we've talked about who a Problem Solver is, what it means to solve problems, and even introduced some interesting laws of problem-solving, but how do you become like Superman in our earlier example, a Problem Solver, Defender of the Universe: by solving problems, but of course you already know that. What is not very clear is how to identify those problems, after all, if you're gonna solve any problem you need to know what it is.
Don't Save The World
I don't mean you should be a villain, but in your quest to become Superman, focus on starting small. If you're struggling to identify the problems you should be solving, the best place to start is your environment. Start with problems you face regularly. Why?
Solving a problem requires an in-depth understanding of the pain points and scope of the problem.
Who understands a problem better than the person facing it? By starting with yourself, you can extend the solution to help others around you who are encountering the same challenge.
Conclusion
This has been an interesting ride, we started with the problem, pun intended, then went on to explain what it means to be a problem solver, and even introduced two interesting laws of problem-solving. In all, one thing I'd like you to keep in mind is this: above all else, always try to focus on providing value. If you can provide value, you're gonna get value in return.
This article is just a casual rough sketch of my thoughts, as such it's in no way complete, but that's where you come in as a problem solver that you now are, I'd like you to point out some things I should add to this article, by writing them in the comments.
Thanks for reading!