Do you think the best engineers are the ones who spot problems early or the ones who solve them quickly? I’m starting to think spotting them early creates far more value.

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Both have their place. I used to work with a Sales Manager who talked about a submarine. He said if you were designing a submarine, you wanted an engineer who was going to pour through the specs and really get deep into the details and find all of the issues. But if you were on a submarine that is sinking, you need an engineer who will step in and figure out a way to stop the leak while the first guy is still figuring out how quickly water is coming in. You need both of those engineers.

Yes both serve their role, the quick to solve engineers are usually more appreciated I find

Avoiding problems is better than fixing them quickly. Ideally you can avoid most problems by proper planning and form understanding of scope, but can also adapt quickly when things go south.

Agree

Spotting a problem early and having the time or avoiding entirely is always more valuable. But the quick to solve engineers are always needed.

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