Every Company Needs a Good Map

While I was a graduate student at Caltech, a friend asked if his very intelligent high school junior age daughter could work with me as a lab assistant for the summer. Teaching a new person how you do things can take more time than doing them yourself. If this person was going to be around, on campus during the regular school year then the investment is usually more worthwhile. Still, I do enjoy helping others get a good taste of lab life before it is too late and they jump in and hate it or go in a different direction and never learn the fun it can be.
I agreed to teach her how to do some of the simple things that are a big part of every day in the lab. Not every task is a discovery. Most daily rituals consist of making solutions, buffers, and sterilizing equipment. There are plenty of dangerous tasks and she was not permitted to do those.

One of the interesting things that happens, when you teach a person who knows very little about what you are doing, is that they ask questions. They make you think about how things are done. You have to write out your routine and you often have to explain each step. In many ways, you learn as you teach. Really, both people benefit. I know when I was first learning I would drive my lab partner mad with all of my questions.

The young lady worked for two summers with me, and during the Christmas break in between. As she prepared to college, she had many choices. She had the grades, SAT scores, and background to get into any school she wanted. She had narrowed her choices to Caltech and UC San Diego. Since I had done my undergraduate work at UCSD I had a first-hand knowledge of both schools. I think Caltech is a fantastic place and the students there are second to none. I told her that she should go to UCSD because I knew she also liked athletics and there are more opportunities in that area at UCSD. UCSD also has a more complete range of undergraduate courses - things like music theory - than what you can get at Caltech.

I believe places like Caltech, MIT, or the like are fine for those who never venture outside their chosen field of learning. I think they present a challenge to their students that is hard to match. Still, I really appreciated that I had to work harder to find challenges at UCSD but they were there. Physics is physics no matter where you go. The chance to learn from a Nobel Laureate is easier to find at Caltech, but harder to do just the same. I think it ultimately comes down to the person. Do you want to learn, to explore, or do you want ot be handed the list of things to know for the test and just get by.

In many displays of Maslow's Hierarchy, the top 4 needs are lumped together as one - the need for personal growth...

I can see where lumping the Growth needs works but I also can see where it is useful to break them up and discuss them individually. In some ways, these growth needs are not as clearly defined nor are they necessarily as easy to order linearly as the deficiency needs.

The need to know, to understand, is a powerful driver for many. It is clear that it is not as important as survival, safety, and love (belonging & adoration). In fact, I would say that most people who cannot fulfill their deficiency needs rarely strive to increase their understanding or knowledge. This then should be an indicator to society that those who do not seek greater understanding are lacking one of the other needs.

As a manager, staff members that demonstrate a sincere desire to learn and grow as an individual always impress me. This is not to say that I need to see them reading books on physics or reciting last nights Discovery channel programs. I think a good balance is important.  We are after all, human beings. We need to be complete as much as possible. That includes interacting with others. Being a part of society means contributing as well as receiving.

The need to know should be something that never leaves us. The desire to understand should prompt us to ask why things are as they are. To accept the status quo, simply because it is how things are, is a clear indicator that you are not an entrepreneur, inventor, or explorer. To ask what is over the horizon, simply to know, is a good indicator that you are still open to the possibility of becoming a Modern Magellan.

What drives you to know more? Curiosity? Advancement? The Challenge?