How business leader can successfully embed the scientific mindset in their business mind

With Mathematics background and work as Statistic Engineer and now studying Neuro Science, I really feel that there are few things we Can collaborate between the engineers and scientists.

I believe scientists have skills and ways of working that are relevant and transferable to problems outside of science. Sir John Beddington, then the UK government’s chief scientific adviser, argued in 2013 that we should “put scientists and engineers at the heart of government” because of their range of skills and evidence-based culture. Read here http://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2013/feb/14/scientists-engineers-heart-civil-

To me, Here are three attributes contributing to the thinking of a scientist, and ways they might be applied to wider contexts.

1. Sceptical curiosity
Scientists need to be sceptical. Like their colleagues in business and industry, they also must innovate. As they innovate, scientists strike a careful balance between curiosity, intuition and scepticism. Their work is driven forwards by curiosity, and it is guided by intuition and prior knowledge, but techniques such as external and internal peer reviews and randomized control trials are also embedded in their way of thinking to avoid blind optimism and bias.

How to apply it: In your organization, invite sceptics and non-experts in. Ensure that initiatives are checked by someone outside your team, even outside your organization or industry.

2. Collaborative competitiveness
The best scientists readily compete and collaborate with one another. Someone in a different field or organization could have the key to unlocking the problem they are working on. When the problems get tough, scientists want to build the best team, even if the partner is a fierce competitor. At one time, collaboration and data sharing were the purview of “big science”, such as the scientists at CERN. Now we see new collaborations all the time when it is opportune to bring together diverse teams such as at the Crick Institute or in complex areas such as climate change or public health for an ageing population.

How to apply it: Look at those problems and opportunities in your business or organization that cannot be solved in isolation. Areas such as cybersecurity, global political and economic forces, or significant technological requirements, all benefit from collaboration across the industry and across sectors. When corporations come together, as they do at Davos, they can make important things happen. Bringing together industry, government and higher education can be even more powerful. Collaborate like a scientist.

3. Confidence in the face of uncertainty and the unknown
The scientist’s business is the unknown. Where something is unknown, it is an opportunity to be pursued rather than avoided. This requires the ability to deal with ambiguity and uncertainty, which most people find difficult. In experiments, a lack of correlation moves science forward as much as a positive correlation. No information is ever complete. Scientists are comfortable with moving forward purposefully when faced with incomplete or problematic data sets. For example, Michael Stumpf, a professor of theoretical systems biology at Imperial and Kia Nobre at Oxford University , have created a methodology to utilize multiple mathematical models to reduce the chances of drawing a wrong conclusion as a result of simplifications and assumptions.

How to apply it: Break down problems into smaller hypotheses to be tested. Evaluate probabilities and the interrelation between factors affecting probability and move forward armed with that imperfect knowledge. Build a team that can deal with uncertainty and ambiguity by pooling their understanding and gaining confidence.

At Oxford University I have learned much from the research relationships with business leaders especially at WEF Davos. Sound business practices are necessary to keeping a university strong. At the same time, incorporating sound scientific thinking into business decisions can help keep businesses strong by thinking more boldly and creatively.