John B. Goodenough Quotes

My own thinking is often clarified and extended by talking with students.

I don't like to boss people around. I don't get motivated by telling people what to do, I don't take any pleasure in it. So I manage with curiosity, by asking questions.

I hope many of you will be people that question why things are and why we have to do them the way we have always done them. I hope you will take some risks, exert some real leadership on issues, and if you will, dance along the edge of the roof as you continue for life.

Both of my sisters have been teachers and they used to say you get asked between 300 and 600 questions every day which you have to answer. That's exactly what directing is. And the vast majority of those questions are not very interesting really, but they need somebody to make a decision - a good one or a bad one - and they follow it.

I go around the room and ask people, 'What do you think?'

The scientific and scholarly community is marked by the belief that the truth is to be found in all; none can claim it as their monopoly.

I'm very grateful to have had many brilliant students and post-docs who have worked with me. Potential is often hard to spot, but a key factor is whether they express a genuine interest in the problem and how they have thought about it.

And I've always said, 'If two people think the same thing about everything, one of them isn't necessary.' We need to be able to understand that if we're going to make real progress.

I love argument, I love debate. I don't expect anyone just to sit there and agree with me, that's not their job.

I was frustrated for a long time with my colleagues in the business school world and with so many management authors who didn't really see themselves as innovators. They were glorified journalists.

The key to wisdom is this - constant and frequent questioning, for by doubting we are led to question and by questioning we arrive at the truth.

If you're in such a position of power and your ego is such that this is not possible, then its essential to have a small cadre of very bright, committed people who are questioning, exploring and understanding these emerging concepts.

It's wonderful to work with someone with mentor status.

Education must begin with the solution of the student-teacher contradiction, by reconciling the poles of the contradiction so that both are simultaneously teachers and students.

The wise man doesn't give the right answers, he poses the right questions.

Without constantly pushing my senior colleagues to formulate decisions, I would never be able to learn and know what they are made of.

It is almost instinctive in science to accept contrary views, because disagreeing gives you guidance to experimental tests of ideas -- your own and those offered by others…

Age is rarely a limitation to being a mentor.

You look at another team's style and how they do it, and you just want to understand how they're doing it and see if you can learn something and maybe implement it into what your team does.

Research the leaders in fields related to yours, synthesize their findings, and see how you can apply their hard-won wisdom to your work. Stand on their shoulders, and then make a leap into new territory that is distinctly yours.

People should debate. They shouldn't be afraid to talk. You should listen to what other people think and how they make decisions. There should be an exchange of ideas and opinions because that's how we learn.

One great pleasure of being an academic is the ability to trade in ideas with your colleagues and students; it is not much fun being the only connoisseur of some fine point.

You see guys that have been in the league for a long time and have taken that opportunity to not only make their game better but to make the people around them better. And to help them know things that maybe you wish you had known.

I had a lot of veteran guys who taught me things.

It's helpful to get feedback on your work, and I think you learn a lot from reading other people's work and giving them feedback.