How to Talk to People Who Don't Want to Talk to You

The Edge for Scholars

“You’re more interested in what you have to say than anyone else is,” said 60 Minutes’ Andy Rooney. Do any of these sound familiar? “I’m busy. Can you come back later?” “Thanks. We’ve got it covered.” “We don’t have the budget for that.” You’ve probably heard all the above: par for the course when trying […]

Yes, You Can Brainstorm Without Groupthink

Rebecca Helton, MA

We are strong advocates of collaboration in innovation, and believe that the proper use of brainstorming techniques is a powerful tool in the collaborative approach. Over our many years of experience, we have seen managers effectively use three simple techniques for avoiding “Groupthink” during brainstorming. From the Harvard Business Review blog network: Yes, You Can […]

How to Be Polite

The Edge for Scholars

Most of us know what it takes to be polite in the moment.  Paul Ford argues that politeness over time–consistently, deeply–is far more important.  It benefits us, it benefits our institutions, and ultimately it benefits the world. “Politeness buys you time. It leaves doors open. I’ve met so many people whom, if I had trusted […]

It's All About Teamwork: William Wester

Rebecca Helton, MA

If you talk to Bill Wester about his work, the first thing you hear will be how much he values the teams on his two major grants.  Due to the hard work and dedication of the faculty, program managers, Bioinformatics team members, web developers, and work/study students he collaborates with, “the sky’s the limit in […]

Note to Self

Katherine Hartmann, MD, PhD

Grants are awarded to institutions. My research is oddly enough not attached to me. Case in point:  The Superior Court of San Diego has issued an injunction to block transition of the Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study (ADCS) from UC San Diego to the University of Southern California.  ADCS is an NIH-funded, nationwide study aimed at […]