from a career standpoint one of the most beneficial ways in which i "grew up" was thinking about how departments interoperate as a fundamental concept. when small businesses start out this is not a problem because some departments or functions are entirely contained inside of a single person or unit, but when you hit a certain mass you start to see friction as you try to learn to fly the plane that's just left the ground.
accounts payable fucks up requisitions. HR fucks up notifying IT of people they fire. sales fucks up overpromising what engineering is delivering. shipping fucks up inventory. and in all of these issues lie opportunity. when i was a weenie sysadmin my goal was making the blinkenlights blink. when i was a senior my attitude was "whomst do the blinkenlights blink for" and i started to go and fix those problems where it made sense to incorporate technology.
accounts payable fucks up requisitions. HR fucks up notifying IT of people they fire. sales fucks up overpromising what engineering is delivering. shipping fucks up inventory. and in all of these issues lie opportunity. when i was a weenie sysadmin my goal was making the blinkenlights blink. when i was a senior my attitude was "whomst do the blinkenlights blink for" and i started to go and fix those problems where it made sense to incorporate technology.