(1/7) We finally broke through on a project that our team was working on since the summer. And guess what? The winning idea came not from the ones with the PhDs. It came from one of our technicians that has no college degree.

#chemtwitter #realtimechem @RealTimeChem #phdchat

(2/7) Truth be told, this technician loves the lab, takes meticulous notes, remembers and learns from unsuccessful experiments, and is every bit of a part of our team as our PhDs. I think it’s unfortunate that some folks think “I know more because I have a degree.”

(3/7) In research, that’s not always the case. I always tell my team members regardless of educational background, “You are the war horses. You have room to run.” In other words, I don’t micromanage them. They are free to try stuff, even whacky things that books say won’t work.

(4/7) So when my technician pitched his idea, and I said, “The books say it won’t work, but you should try it anyway because books are meant to be revised,” he knew that I had his back. When we got the result that we wanted, the mutual excitement amongst the team was awesome.

(5/7) As I agreed, the slow cooked BBQ ribs are now on me, as we celebrate his achievement. May this be a stark reminder to those in leadership positions that hold the highest of degree levels in a research setting:

1. Lab smarts are usually better than book smarts

(6/7) 2. Value your folks that are down in the technical weeds, and reward them in kind. A job title, or a piece of paper in the form of a degree doesn’t mean that you know everything. Sometimes, the technician, the intern, or the student has the winning play call.

(7/7) 3. Know how to prepare good BBQ in the form of ribs, pulled pork, or smoked beef brisket. This skill comes in handy to a hungry research group of carnivores.