After taking yet another chapter quiz on Wednesday night, I sat down to write a post about how I was fed up with my MBA program. I had just lost points on a multiple choice question when I couldn't see how my response was wrong. I was thinking about how much time I've been spending on these MBA classes, and I started considering all the other things that I could have been doing with that time. Maybe I could have read some different books or had more energy to play with my kids. I've been yearning for something related to my research to gain enough critical mass for me to prepare a publication. I finally have that, but I'm spending all my time preparing for multiple choice quizzes so I can keep getting A's. It just didn't seem worth the effort.
Rather than writing the post, I wrote an email to my econ instructor asking about the question. She replied to my message the next morning and agreed that the question was poorly worded. She ended up giving me credit for my response. I suddenly didn't feel so bad about all the time I've been spending on my classes. This change in my mood opened my eyes to how much my class performance colors my perception of the class experience. That made me a little sad. I went into the MBA program looking to earn a credential and signal to my superiors that I was serious about broadening my skill base. I didn't have any particular interest in the topics of the classes. I wanted a project and an online MBA program offered enough of a potential return on my time, money, and energy to justify the required resources. I told myself that I wasn't going to worry about the grades. I'd focus on what I found interesting and do what was needed to keep going through the program. Now my primary focusing is maintaining my A average.
Part of my frustration with the program was rooted in the fact that I didn't think the material that I have been studying for the last year and a month or so was going to be more than an intellectual exercise. That changed today. I have been giving an opportunity to give my boss's boss's boss (who used to be my direct boss, if that clears anything up) input on ways to improve the operation of the analytical labs. I didn't realize how much all of this business stuff had changed the way I think about the value that my daily activities add to the company. I was able to directly apply insights that I've had from my classes (and a few random blog posts) to justify my proposal for managing and organizing the labs. Maybe I haven't been wasting my time after all.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Creative juices
Chemistry, science in general really, is a creative endeavor, but most scientists don't think of themselves and their work as creative. As such, science training does not explicitly develop creative faculties and other soft skills needed to succeed in research. I've noticed a schism between researchers who know how to perform experiments and researchers who know how to ask questions. Those that know how to ask questions were lucky enough to fall into work in a creative lab at some point in their training.
A recent article provides a succinct list of skills that separate the creative researcher from the mere experimenter. More importantly, the perception of the creative process as a mysterious force only accessible to the elect is refuted with a clear statement that creativity is an acquired skill:
"Creativity is not a mysterious quality, nor can one simply try on one of Edward de Bono's six thinking hats to start the creative juices flowing. Rather, creativity is cultivated through rigorous training and by deliberately practicing certain core abilities and skills over an extended period of time. These include:
1. the ability to approach problems in nonroutine ways using analogy and metaphor;
2. conditional or abductive reasoning (posing "what if" propositions and reframing problems);
3. keen observation and the ability to see new and unexpected patterns;
4. the ability to risk failure by taking initiative in the face of ambiguity and uncertainty;
5. the ability to heed critical feedback to revise and improve an idea;
6. a capacity to bring people, power, and resources together to implement novel ideas; and
7. the expressive agility required to draw on multiple means (visual, oral, written, media-related) to communicate novel ideas to others."
I particularly like item 4. The root of every discovery is something that looked like a failure the first time it was seen. Embracing unexpected results as the first glimpse of discovery rather than signs of imminent failure should be the foundation of every academic laboratory.
A recent article provides a succinct list of skills that separate the creative researcher from the mere experimenter. More importantly, the perception of the creative process as a mysterious force only accessible to the elect is refuted with a clear statement that creativity is an acquired skill:
"Creativity is not a mysterious quality, nor can one simply try on one of Edward de Bono's six thinking hats to start the creative juices flowing. Rather, creativity is cultivated through rigorous training and by deliberately practicing certain core abilities and skills over an extended period of time. These include:
1. the ability to approach problems in nonroutine ways using analogy and metaphor;
2. conditional or abductive reasoning (posing "what if" propositions and reframing problems);
3. keen observation and the ability to see new and unexpected patterns;
4. the ability to risk failure by taking initiative in the face of ambiguity and uncertainty;
5. the ability to heed critical feedback to revise and improve an idea;
6. a capacity to bring people, power, and resources together to implement novel ideas; and
7. the expressive agility required to draw on multiple means (visual, oral, written, media-related) to communicate novel ideas to others."
I particularly like item 4. The root of every discovery is something that looked like a failure the first time it was seen. Embracing unexpected results as the first glimpse of discovery rather than signs of imminent failure should be the foundation of every academic laboratory.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Deadlines
They're really just an excuse to do something else. Whey bother pushing a project ahead when the deadline is still a good ways down the road? It's more fun to watch the football game and do this or that online. There is nobody waiting for my product. It can sit idle for a little while longer.
Would I have made the same decision without the deadline? If I just want to get my manuscript finished so I can move on to the next project, it would make sense for me to work hard to get the project finished no matter what external time frame has been imposed. Get the project moving. Get it finished. Build on that experience and make the next project that much better. Produce, produce, produce.
It's about taking charge of the process and imposing my will rather than ceding control to an authority that will dictate my pace and control my output.
Would I have made the same decision without the deadline? If I just want to get my manuscript finished so I can move on to the next project, it would make sense for me to work hard to get the project finished no matter what external time frame has been imposed. Get the project moving. Get it finished. Build on that experience and make the next project that much better. Produce, produce, produce.
It's about taking charge of the process and imposing my will rather than ceding control to an authority that will dictate my pace and control my output.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Effort for A
Marist changed the format of online MBA foundations classes. Forums, group projects, problem sets, all of that is gone. Now it's you and the book with a chapter quiz to gauge your learning. When the semester started, you passed if you got 80% of the quiz questions correct. Less than that was a fail. Well, a grade of pass is not allowed under their accreditation. Two and a half weeks into the class we find out we're getting letter grades.In the new scale, you need a 95 to get an A. You get an F if you have a 79 or below. I started the second week right at the 80% passing line. I just wanted to pass. Why put in the extra effort to get all the answers right when I really only need 4 out of every 5? I have other things going on in my life. I'm busy with work, my son starting kindergarten has taken away the time that I was using to study, and I'm trying to get a paper published so I can start an academic career. I was being economical with my time.
Now that I'll need a 95 to get an A in the class, I've been trying to decide how hard I want to work to get that grade. I'm not planning on finishing the MBA (and even if I do, it's not going to be through Marist, not after how they've handled the introduction of the new class format). I have to pass to get my money back through the reimbursement program so I need a B at the minimum. I really want that A. If anybody ever looks at my transcripts, which could happen given my potential career change, I would rather they see the A and draw some positive conclusions rather than seeing a B and start wondering why I slipped in Econ after getting A's in the other classes. When the broad strokes between candidates for a position are similar, the little details become that much more important. This feels like a detail that will matter. Getting an A despite everything that I have going on creates a much better impression than accepting a B because I was busy with other things. I'm going to put in the effort for the potential buzz that a solid performance in business school might create for me in a committee meeting.
Now that I'll need a 95 to get an A in the class, I've been trying to decide how hard I want to work to get that grade. I'm not planning on finishing the MBA (and even if I do, it's not going to be through Marist, not after how they've handled the introduction of the new class format). I have to pass to get my money back through the reimbursement program so I need a B at the minimum. I really want that A. If anybody ever looks at my transcripts, which could happen given my potential career change, I would rather they see the A and draw some positive conclusions rather than seeing a B and start wondering why I slipped in Econ after getting A's in the other classes. When the broad strokes between candidates for a position are similar, the little details become that much more important. This feels like a detail that will matter. Getting an A despite everything that I have going on creates a much better impression than accepting a B because I was busy with other things. I'm going to put in the effort for the potential buzz that a solid performance in business school might create for me in a committee meeting.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
How to become a research scientist
The origin of the list is not quite clear to me at this point, but these 10 qualities are an excellent description of a research scientist
1) The ability to define problems without a guide.
2) The ability to ask hard questions which challenge prevailing assumptions.
3) The ability to work in teams without guidance.
4) The ability to work absolutely alone.
5) The ability to persuade others that your course is the right one.
6) The ability to discuss issues and techniques in public with an eye to reaching decisions about policy.
7) The ability to conceptualize and reorganize information into new patterns.
8) The ability to pull what you need quickly from masses of irrelevant data.
9) The ability to think inductively, deductively, and dialectically.
10) The ability to attack problems heuristically.
1) The ability to define problems without a guide.
2) The ability to ask hard questions which challenge prevailing assumptions.
3) The ability to work in teams without guidance.
4) The ability to work absolutely alone.
5) The ability to persuade others that your course is the right one.
6) The ability to discuss issues and techniques in public with an eye to reaching decisions about policy.
7) The ability to conceptualize and reorganize information into new patterns.
8) The ability to pull what you need quickly from masses of irrelevant data.
9) The ability to think inductively, deductively, and dialectically.
10) The ability to attack problems heuristically.
These skills will lead to a productive research career. No doubt about it.
Friday, September 2, 2011
What Do You Want
How can you get what you want if you never think to yourself, I want that? How do you ever get the hot guy/girl into bed if you never tell them that you want them? When do you start doing the work that you love if you're too busy doing the work that others want you to pursue? How do you get fit without getting tired of being fat? Making a decision to pursue only comes after feeling desire. You can only answer the challenge of how to get it after making the choice to want it in the first place.
This isn't just setting a goal. A goal is external. Pursuing what you want is an expression of intent. It's not a wish that something externally will come along to make your dream a reality. Pursuit is active, direct, and selfish. It's knowing that you want something with no regard to others' opinion on the matter. No approval is sought, no permission is asked.
There is no sheepish stammering request. I want you. I want this job. There are no doubts, fears, or hesitations. This is me as I am. I have chosen. Will you?
This isn't just setting a goal. A goal is external. Pursuing what you want is an expression of intent. It's not a wish that something externally will come along to make your dream a reality. Pursuit is active, direct, and selfish. It's knowing that you want something with no regard to others' opinion on the matter. No approval is sought, no permission is asked.
There is no sheepish stammering request. I want you. I want this job. There are no doubts, fears, or hesitations. This is me as I am. I have chosen. Will you?
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