I’ve worked with many brilliant, kind people over the years and had the pleasure of staying in touch with many of them up to the current day. I have also had the opportunity to solve genuinely interesting problems at times that gave me a sense of satisfaction in my work, though relatively few were “real problems”.
“Real Problems” are those that affect individual bottom lines in a real way; if left unaddressed business will struggle to reach the right customers, economic growth will slow in a real way at the Main Street level, and people may even lose their jobs or small businesses. There’s a lot more at stake than department KPIs and artifical deadlines.
Non-negotiables here include candid communication, minimal bureaucracy, and a bias for action. No hiding behind red tape, no by-the-book obedience to cryptic procedures locked away in a Confluence catacomb somewhere – just 1:1 relationships built around the human touch, with laser-focused attention aimed at solving the problem affecting the client as directly and efficiently as possible.
This is often where my team and I can add value almost immediately - by recognizing root causes and systematic issues that need to be addressed in order to resolve the more obvious issue the client is talking about. The stated problem is often just the tip of the iceberg visible above the water - our job is to discover the rest of the iceberg for the client, plan the best route together, and execute accordingly.
When the focus of the work is put on discovering and solving the Real Problems affecting our clients rather than building band-aid solutions, it becomes infinitely more satisfying for all parties involved, and ultimately serves the client far better.
That’s what makes a real impact, at a human level.