Johanna

Invention is easily overrated, and implementation is often underrated.

Whenever possible (and it’s almost always possible), have someone do a day or two of work with you before you hire her; you can do this at night or on the weekends.

Speaking of spending time, you should spend the time to learn a role before you hire for it. If you don’t understand it, it’s very hard to get the right person.

Hybrid setups are hard too (...) Establish processes for communication needs for these kinds of setups are hard. Because they are against human nature… I will just discuss things with you while getting water in the kitchen… I won’t repeat what we discussed in slack because i am… well… as all humans… damn lazy!.

If you do not work on an important problem, it's unlikely you'll do important work. It's perfectly obvious. Great scientists have thought through, in a careful way, a number of important problems in their field, and they keep an eye on wondering how to attack them. (...) By important I mean guaranteed a Nobel Prize and any sum of money you want to... See more

The question is no longer if you work remote but how much. Remote work is the logical evolution of digital work. And the best-practices of remote teams are often learnings for all digital knowledge work teams.

Most scientists strongly favor more research funding. They like to portray science in a positive light, emphasizing benefits and minimizing negatives. While understandable, the evidence is that science has slowed enormously per dollar or hour spent. That evidence demands a large-scale institutional response. It should be a major subject in public... See more

The very worst kind of manager is the one who feels threatened by his team. Consciously or not, he is afraid of those who are "the very best", so he consistently staffs his team with people who will not challenge him.