I came to this post thinking I was going to find a bad question, but it's actually the opposite. Very good question as our other friend pointed out in the comments. I think you are already on the right track just by asking it.<p>I don't know about any books on this subject, and it was something I could have benefited from before for sure, instead of having to learn myself how to "succeed" in an environment like the one OP described.<p>There's a lot to be written about the subject, in multiple levels, but at the highest level, and in the most summarized way, what you have to do to succeed is simply to bring solutions to people and not problems.<p>The catch, in my experience and opinion, is that the large majority of people, by far, confuse the two things.<p>Coming up with an idea for a project that will solve a problem is not a solution. It is actually a problem from your supervisor/company perspective.<p>"Why is it a problem?", you ask.<p>The reason is simple, now this project is another item for your supervisor to add to their backlog because they will have to do all the work: write about it, explain and sell it to stakeholders and supporters, assemble a team, plan the project, manage execution, and all the other stuff.<p>"How do you transform this into a solution?"<p>You take on all those things. You should do all the work required to put a real plan together. Once that's done, then you bring it to your supervisor and you'll find that it is much easier to get support like that. The challenge is coming up with a plan that includes everything your supervisor/company cares about.<p>I can assure you that if you get this right, you'll find yourself contributing to the bigger picture much more often. Everyone says they want to contribute, but when it comes time to do the actual work, very little people want to do it, because it's really hard.