WHICH CHEMISTS SUCCEED in INDUSTRY* N. A. SHEPARD American Cyanamid Company, Stamford, Connecticut
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HE failure of chemists and chemical engineers to make good and the characteristics to which the failure is attributable have been the subject of many speeches and publications by prominent educators and industrial chemists. "Why Chemists Get Fired" is the theme of a symposium recently published in Chemical Industries. Your speaker might contribute some additional points in this same vein, but he prefers to adopt the more positive, more cheerful point of view of "Why Chemists Succeed." Good chemists are in great demand. What qualifications account for theii success? In selecting such a subject I realize that it is likely that some of the points emphasized will seem trite, completely obvious, platitudinous, and pedagogical, but it is strange how many obvious things, which should go without saying, pass over our heads. It seems ta me that we chemists are particularly prone to overlook the obvious, simple explanations, always looking for complex, far-fetched reasons for things that occur. And this holds true not only with respect to the things that happen to us personally, but also with respect to physical phenomena. If I become "preachy," overlook it as a failing of a one-time professor; if I become paternal, discount it as an inevitable result of some twenty years of trying to assist chemists t o get on the rails and keep on the tracks in industrial laboratories. It is not my purpose to dwell upon the scientific training of the successful chemist. I shall assume an adequate groundwork in the fuhdamental facts and theories of our science, and that the successful chemist has applied himself assiduously to the task of acquiring this knowledge during his undergraduate days and has the tools to practice his profession. It has been said that the scholar who makes his chief aim in college the acquiring of knowledge and understanding to the virtual exclusion of extra-curricular and social activities is often a failure in industry. Perhaps that is true in some isolated cases, for a successful chemist must be a social being. However, I well recall the statement of a non-technical production executive of a very large company, who after several years of active participation in the personnel work of the organization said, "Give me a man who has made a high scholastic record in school. His chances of success in a profession are inevitably greater. Our experience has demonstrated this beyond question of a doubt."
It has been emphasized that the successful chemist must be mechanically apt. Mechanical skill is undoubtedly a great asset, yet many very successful chemists have been "all thumbs" when it came to manipulation and laboratory technic. Unfortunately one has manipulative ability or one hasn't it, and there is not much that can be done about it. A chemist who can't "drive a nail straight" has a real handicap, but fortunately skilled hands are quite available and a skilled assistant can almost completely offset this deficiency. Are an excellent preparation and mechanical skill enough assurance of success? My answer is "No!" What then must he have in addition in order to climb to the position of a useful citizen in the profession of chemistry? First, in my opinion he must be truly educated. You have all heard the slurring comment, "He is nothing but a chemist." What is inferred by that? Merely that he is a chemist, to the exclusion of everything else. Broadly, he is uneducated, as far as other fields of endeavor are concerned. For a successful chemist is articulate. He must be able to meet people easily, express himself clearly and persuasively. He must watch that his personality expand and not shrink. Contacts, both social and scientific, are welcomed and made part of his daily exercise. The successful chemist is not only able to express himself verbally, but alsoon paper. In other words, he can handle the English language. He thinks clearly and is able to express himself in simple concise English. It is pitiful how many men, even those who have had the benefit of graduate training, are unable to write a clear straight-to-the-point report of their investigations, let alone write a good business letter. Some men who really are capable of thinking clearly write in such a muddled, complicated, verbose style, that it seems incredible that they ever think straight. It is difficult to find where the fault lies. I have a pretty good idea that it is traceable to poor training even as far back as the primary schools, with many of our colleges ignoring the situation and our graduates assuming that a college degree really means that they are educated. Realization of a situation is the first requirement for rectification of it. Many of our so-called "high powered" chemists refuse to believe they suffer from this weakness and are insulted when their reports are criticized as ungrammatical, long-winded, full of irrelevant material, * Read before the Student Group at the Chemical Industries and totally lacking in sales appeal. It is a good thing for us technical men to make it a point to do some readExposition. New York City. December 8, 1937. 16
ing of the non-technical classics and of the best of the crhtemporary writing. regularly. Even newspapers arc helpful; I have sometimes doubted that somt of our chemists read even these! The successful chemist is cooperative. He realizes that group activity is productive of greater results than he can hope to obtain by individual effort. True, certain geniuses may be able to accomplish great things though almost hermetically sealed from fellow workers, but unfortunately most of us are not geniuses, and we need the constant encouragement,help, and stimulation of sympathetic fellow workers. I attribute the success of many contemporary chemist friends of mine to their ability to get on smoothly with those with whom they come in contact, both technical and non-technical men. Many a successful industrial chemist owes his rapid advance to the help given him by his fellow chemists, by the foremen, and practical men in the plant. And how is such cooperation obtained from one's fellow workers? I believe unselfishness a prerequisite to complete cooperation. It breeds an attitude of helpfulness that is contagious. Wben self is put in the background, and attaining success in a project regardless of who gets the credit, is the objective,things begin to move, and the way is paved for success. It is amazing how many chemists keep self so much in the foreground that they stumble over it, and trip. I have known chemists who ponder their every word to be sure they will not emit an idea which might be picked up by another chemist and "stolen." We are inclined to be suspicious animals, jealous of our thoughts and ideas, and fearful that someone else may get credit that is ours. Why, I once had in my employ a chemist, who was so afraid that someone would steal one of his ideas that he committed every idea to paper (an excellent idea in itself and desirable from a patent standpoint) and then had a fellow chemist who was a notary public sign and seal the document. Was that 'man a successful chemist? Far from it; he lasted less than two years. I am not advocating blind trustfulness in others, but straightforward dealing with those with whom we work. It is my experience that that attitude brings rewards, both technical and financial. The successful chemist is honestabsolutely honest, both intellectually and personally. The world has no place for a dishonest man in any field, but least of all in scientific work, and such a one soon drops out of the picture as a useless appendage on the profession. The schemer, the conniver, the "slippery" person soon finds his level in insignificance or oblivion. The successful chemist is loyal-loyal to his profession, loyal to his employer, loyal to his superiors, loyal to his co-workers, and loyal to those beneath him in rank. Lack of loyalty is a common fault in chemists, and especially despicable in an industrial organization, where groups of men must work together in harmony. The chemist who dwarfs his own productiveness by crabbing about his boss, his corporation's policies, his co-workers, his salary, and so forth, is a pest, and as such is soon exterminated. Loyalty builds up morale,
does not stoop to malicious, unfounded gossip, and smooths the none-too-easy path of the industrial chemist. Unfortunately the Bolshevists are not all in Russia! Again, reverting to my experience, I once had a chemist in my employ whose greatest delight was to get the ear of the young student chemists who entered our employ, and tell them all the bad things he could about the director, the division group leaders, the company, and so forth, in other words "spill all the dirt." While the young man soon learned what was fact and what was fiction, his morale suffered a t least temporarily, and progress was slowed up. And strangely enough the perpetrator of this idle gossip failed to see any disloyalty in his deportment. The successful chemist is a hard worker. There is no surer truism than that "there is no substitute for hard work." He does not skin in in the morning, splitting the last minute before the official starting time, nor is he all washed up ready to leave the instant the clock indicates the closing hour. Successful men in all fields pay the minimum of attention to the clock as a dictator of the start and finish of the working day. And especially is this true of the chemist. It is amazing how many mediocre chemists will not start an experiment a t four o'clock in the afternoon lest i t might run over until five-thirty before it could be left. No eight-hour day is long enough for the chemist to complete the work for his employer and to keep abreast of the literature of and advances in his profession. I do not mean to infer that the successful chemist must be a drudge. Far from it! One seldom finds a really successful chemist who is a hermit, who never plays, who frowns on activities having no immediate bearing on his work, and who has no hobby. Recreation is especially necessary for the scientific man, and non-technical contacts are essential to his progress. The very nature of investigational work is such as to foster individualism, and the successful chemist constantly fights to keep his interests broad and his viewpoint fresh and clear. A successful chemist is sales-minded. This applies alike to the research chemist, the sales service man, and the technical service chemist or engineer. He has to sell himself as a satisfactory, trustworthy representative of his organization. He has to sell his ideas and his discoveries. And, emphatically, immaculateness in dress and cleanliness of person are not incompatible with sound chemical judgment. Baggy breeches, unshined shoes, and an unshaven face are not indicative that a man is a good chemist, or good at anything else. The successful chemist is reasonably careful of his personal appearance. The successful chemist is open-minded. Until experiment has shown to the contrary his attitude toward a problem is that it can be solved. A pessimistic "can't-be-done" attitude is not that of a successful chemist. Obviously, the successful chemist has imagination and initiative, is an alert, clear thinker, is inquisitive,
and has common sense. These attributes are of prime it be otherwise? Is there any greater fun than being in importance. That they have not been discussed earlier creative work, in a field of endeavor that has brought in this paper is not because they are not considered boon after boon to mankind? In a profession that, in most important, but because one has them, or one cooperation with the other natural sciences, is solving hasn't them, and if the latter is the case, there is not a nature's mysteries, discovering cures for the ills of humanity, and making the world a better place to live whole lot that can be done about it. In closing, I want to emphasize that the successful in? It is a great thing to be a chemist-a successful chemist is usually an extremely happy person, i. e., chemist! Examine your inner self, look over your exbamng causes for unhappiness outside of his profes- terior self, determine where your weaknesses lie, and sional activities. He is happy because of his love for then do something about the situation. Your potentithe science, and this happiness has a marked effectupon alities for good are too great to just drift. You have his success. Most of our really successful chemists and been educated, a t least partially, a t public expense. chemical engineers radiate happiness. And why should Find out how to increase your ability to pay that debt.
