One of the key elements of inventorship is friendship.

When we think about inventors, we tend to focus on behaviors of a handful of legends like Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos. Does it ever seem to you that they and their ilk are the kind of people who are laughing at you, not with you. The reality is that far more creativity and productivity comes from working in an atmosphere of friendship rather than intimidation.

The role of friendship in the workplace is a critical piece of creating a milieu that enables us to be creative and push the envelope. I’m very fortunate to have had great colleagues to work with in my subspecialty at the University of Michigan, Hopkins and at Toronto Western. In Ann Arbor it was a joy to work with Jim Brumberg, Rich Cohen,  Ron Bude, and Jim Meaney. Gemini develops gadolinium enhanced MRA of the carotid’s together with Martin Prince. We experimented on each other injecting bonuses of gadolinium in the MRI machine to enhance our carotid’s. 

In Baltimore I worked with Phillippe Gailloud for 10 years. Initially he was my fellow and then I got him kept on a staff. We worked side by side and took on the most difficult cases in the world. His knowledge of human vascular anatomy in the CNS is unparalleled. In Toronto I work with Roger Smith who is a fabulous human being. Together we have pioneered many new approaches to spine intervention. Between us we have 12 coronary stents and an aortic valve replacement. Clearly this could all go pear-shaped if either or both of us have more chest pain. Having great colleagues like this creates a supportive environment to tolerate local politics local heroes and to take on tough cases where two brains are better than one. We stay in our jobs because of our friendships not because of our administrators and leaders.

Trust and Reliability

The people I work with trust me, and I trust them because of reliability. We have reliability as a constant. We don’t sign agreements; we don’t sign NDAs. We don’t do “sharp practices,” we don’t pull “fast ones.” We’re aware of each other’s foibles and weaknesses, but we’re also aware that each of us can be trusted and are better than anyone else around to work with. The group I work with tends to have years of knowledge and scars in medical device development from years of work. Most of them are not doctors, they’re engineers with track records at companies like Bard or Becton Dickinson or Medtronic. Developing these friendships in and out of your field is critical. It opens doors, saves so much time and makes the world nicer to be in. You can share ideas without looking over your shoulder.

They’re mainly three white men. I know that doesn’t represent the world or diversity or inclusivity but that’s not deliberate. It’s really just that at this stage in my life as a 60-year-old person, the majority of people in this MedTech world that I know are white men. There have been brilliant white women, but there have been very few people of other sexualities, or races – and that has to change. I hope it changes soon.

Hand in hand with friendship, trust and reliability comes the topic of mentorship. Having a dedicated and experienced mentor can make all the difference in a career by providing the confidence and support necessary for bold and inventive career paths. Do our peers that are non-male and non-white find it more difficult to connect with a mentor or friend groups within their professional realm? What has your experience been? Do you mentor others in a professional role?

If you want to send a shout out to a mentor or friend that has impacted your professional life, feel free to COMMENT.