10 Lessons from The Power List (Part 2)

Jonathan V. Sweedler: While I am not sure it is the most memorable, a very useful bit of advance involved collaborative projects. One of my professors in graduate school made the following comment about collaborations. If you are ever unsure if a collaborator has done enough to be a coauthor on your manuscript, rest assured they are not in doubt that they belong. The professor went on to encourage us to have the difficult conversations that many avoid about co-authorship as the questions arise.

Emma Schymanski: Actually for me it’s two pieces of advice that combine to be both memorable and recurrent; I use them repeatedly either in combination or separately – “gather the data” and “pick your battles”. Certainly picking the wrong battle at the wrong time can be extremely energy-draining, as is even the right battle at the wrong time, but I work in an extremely challenging (and as many say at times overwhelmingly depressing) field, and picking the right battle at the right time can be extremely rewarding, leading to great science and novel insights that have unforeseen (at the time) rewards and consequences. “Gather the data” is so true for both research and life: if things don’t seem quite right, or if what’s happening doesn’t match up, gather the data until there’s enough evidence or clarity to make sense of all the inputs in front of you. If you gather enough of the right data, it’s easier to find the right timing for the right breakthrough or action.

Wim De Malsche: While I was a PhD student, I was once explaining to a professor how much work I did and how busy I was – half expecting an impressed reaction. His rather dry reaction was that the ability to get things done in regular working hours is a measure of quality. He was right about that!

Erin Baker: Some of the best advice I have received is, “You can never make everyone happy, but you can always make everyone angry.” This has helped me worry less about people who criticize my efforts even when I am trying my hardest, for example, when I am teaching or organizing meetings.

Koen Sandra: Follow your dreams, aim high, never settle… and always keep your feet on the ground (#stayhumble)

Lingjun Li: Find your passion, enjoy what you do, and follow your dreams.  Keep your self-belief and never give up.  Hard work and perseverance will pay off.

Gary Siuzdak: It may seem counterintuitive but "Don’t take advice" was the best advice I received.

Gunda Köllensperger: A former mentor told me once: “Always consider, when you are in a dialogue and you do not understand your discussion partner, it is for sure a mutual feeling”. This is a very simple thought, but it often helped me, both in complex situations as a team leader, but also as an analytical scientist involved in interdisciplinary projects.

Jeanne E. Pemberton: Many years ago, my undergraduate research adviser once told me when lauding the breadth of areas that Al Bard’s research had impacted in electroanalytical chemistry (even by that time): “It’s relatively easy to be a specialist; it’s far more difficult to be a generalist.” My take-away from that was: learn as much as you can about as many things as you can and seek to become a generalist. In retrospect, I can clearly see the impact that this advice had in guiding many of my choices throughout my career!

Alexander Makarov: Actually, there were several: “It is the quality of people that defines success, not the quality of machines they run” (Lidia Gall, Institute for Analytical Instrumentation of Russian Academy of Sciences); “Never copy!” (Reinhold Pesch, R&D Director in Finnigan MAT); “Only the paranoid survive” (Andy Grove, CEO Intel).