Yesterday I commented that I’d rather hire a person who’s a hard
worker over a person who’s very talented and less hard working.  I
still stand by that remark, but it set me thinking about what it is I
really want when I hire a new employee.  Then I came across this post by Seth Godin at Seth’s Blog where he states that what we’re looking for at all levels in our lives is a solution to our problems.

After rolling that around in my mind for awhile, I can say I’m in
complete agreement.  We buy solutions to our problems.  To take that
one step further, the more adept you (as an employee) are at solving my
problems, the more valuable you are to me as the owner.  I have a sign
in my office that says, “You don’t get points for predicting rain.  You
get points for building and ark.”

Predicting rain doesn’t solve my problems.  It identifies my
problem, but it does nothing to solve it.  Building an ark, on the
other hand, solves the problem.  At that point I don’t care how much it
rains.  If all you do is point out problems, you’re actually part of
the problem.  In reality, you’re nothing more than a whiner.

So back to the original point, what do I really want in an
employee?  I want someone who will help solve the myriad problems every
small business faces.  The person who does that has immediate tenure. 
She is immune from layoffs.  She will receive regular raises and
bonuses.  She will have freedom to work in her preferred style of
getting things done.  She will be promoted up the ladder at a dizzying
pace.  She will be the one I turn the business over to when I move on
to something else.

If that sounds pretty good, it is!!  And it’s yours for the taking. 
Just shift your paradigm to be, “How can I solve this problem?  What
can I do to improve this situation?  What can I contribute?”  When you
do that, you are immediately worth more to the company.  All the things
you want from your career will naturally flow to you without having to
fight for them.

I used to tell my managers, “Don’t bring me a problem unless you
bring at least three solutions with it.”  That solved a lot of
whining.  It also got managers thinking about being part of the
solution and not part of the problem.    If you take a problem to your
boss, and say, “I’ve noticed this problem and I’ve been concerned.  I
can see three possible solutions,”  then list the solutions, your boss
will be speechless.  You will quickly become the “go-to” person in your
organization.  Why?  Because you bring solutions, and after all, that’s
what I hired you for in the first place — to be the problem solver.