“The key to innovation is connecting a curiosity
about basic science to the practical work of
devising tools that can be applied to our lives.” (p. xix)

Perhaps unintentionally, Walter Isaacson‘s amazing story of Professor Jennifer Doudna and the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (P. 73), or CRISPR history, a landmark book on many fronts, also reveals, in the reviewer’s opinion, Doudna’s leadership philosophy. Some of the assembled quotes are not directly attributable to Doudna, yet altogether constitute her leadership approach.

A Code Breaker Leadership Philosophy

How did life begin? (p. xvii).

Curiosity is the key trait of the people who have fascinated me, from Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein to Steve Jobs and Leonardo da Vinci (pp. 478-9). Push humanity forward? Yes, sometimes it’s the rebels who do so (p. 326). Women in science tend to by shy about promoting themselves, and that has serious costs (p. 110). The men who had sequenced DNA taught us how to read the code of life, but the more important step would be learning how to write that code (p. 41). Many creative people grew up feeling alienated from their surroundings (p. 4). Science can be very exciting, like being on the trail of a cool mystery and you’re getting a clue here and a clue there (p. 29). We do it to go after big questions and take on risks (p. 108), [especially when] we don’t know the answer we’re supposed to get (p. 33).

Never do something that a thousand other people are doing (p. 46). Ask big questions (p. 46) and lead by listening (p. xiv.). All medical advances attempt to correct something that happened “naturally.” (p. 368) Master the art of being tightly scheduled by while still finding time to connect with people emotionally (p. xiv). [Invention] is not a simple one-way linear progression. Instead it’s an interactive dance among basic scientists, practical inventors and business leaders (p. 90). Creating great products is important, but what’s even more important is creating a team that can continually make such products (p. 103).

[Let’s be] part of a scientific team where so many people with different talents have coalesced around a common goal (p. 415). I like to hire people who have their own creative ideas and want to work under my guidance and as part of my team, but not with daily direction (p. 85). [Leadership is] about teams, innovation, and how to create a work environment that stimulates creativity (p. 402). Sometimes an intellectual bond is the strongest (p. 59). Make sure other team members believe they can fit in (p. 105). Place as much emphasis on making sure someone is a good fit as assessing their research accomplishments (p. 109). Push [each other] to make things, even on a computer, rather than play with things that other people have made (p. 163).

I’m not going to work with people I can’t trust, people who stab you in the back. (p. 211). The public-private partnership that led to the availability of the polio vaccine became an inspiration (p. 248). As long as we are correcting genetic mutations by restoring the ’normal’ version of the gene – not inventing some wholly new enhancement not seen in the average human genome – we’re likely to be on the safe side (p. 370).

Summary

People who study digital coding will be joined by those who study genetic code (p. xvii).

“Great inventions come from understanding basic science.
Nature is beautiful that way.” (p. 447)

JE | June 2021