If all you do in your tech career is:

1. When something is slow, you look carefully at the output of a profiler or a query plan & make measured suggestions about what to improve;

2. When something breaks badly, you gently but insistently ask what & why until you truly know, then the next time similar work is needed you bring up how to avoid doing what broke last time; and

3. When someone lacks info, you make them feel good for learning instead of bad for not knowing;

You will do good work.

@gnomon #3 is something that I have been praised for in multiple annual reviews by many levels at the company
@hoagie that is a damn fine accomplishment.