Alumni Views

. . . ACES is an acronym for the qualities I try to live by, and the qualities I look for in people I hire.

The "A" stands for "accountability," meaning responsibility for what we do and how we do it.

Right: Deborah Neff graduated from UC Davis in 1976 with a B.S. in physiology.

On the one hand, this is just good, old-fashioned hard work. For instance, do you know who Marsha Evans is? She's Rear-Admiral Marsha Evans, the highest-ranking woman in the U.S. Navy, and she made a statement I just love: "You can have intelligence, you can have connections, you can have opportunities fall out of the sky. But the true, enduring characteristic of successful people is hard work."

On the other hand, scientists' accountability means a lot more than hard work on scientific projects. Because today, no one is just a scientist or just a rear admiral or just anything.

For example, scientists in my organization are wonderful people, in fact, brilliant people. Yet virtually every one of them is responsible for developing budgets as well as hypotheses, for seeking funds as well as cures, and for cutting a product's time-to-market as well as a patient's time-to-recovery.

They're also responsible for knowing FDA rules, what our competitors are doing, and the way in which Wall Street affects our ability to develop new products. You get the picture, I'm sure.

While it may sound like a lot of accountability--because it is--it makes my employees, it makes me, and it will make you far more valuable to an organization.

Now the "C" in ACES is "commitment," and I use this term in several ways. For instance, commitment to lifelong learning. Because whether we're in quantum mechanics or auto mechanics, the rule is "keep up or fall behind."

That's probably no great surprise to you. What may be more of a surprise is this: the new model of work demands commitment to organizational outcomes rather than organizational structure. In other words, years ago we were rewarded for longevity, but today we're rewarded for flexibility and adaptability--meaning our skill at working on multiple projects, being part of cross-functional teams, and interacting with people from all over the world. In this vein, I hope you'll commit yourself to the art of "getting along" because it's a precious quality employers look for.

Ten years ago, technical competence was the number-one hiring qualification. But when information doubles in the short time between when you entered Davis and today, when you're leaving, how you are as a person is at least as important as what you know.

There's no better example of this than David Packard, the cofounder of Hewlett-Packard, who died a few months ago. He was a skilled scientist and a terrific businessman, but mostly he's remembered as a wonderful gentleman who was a role model to me and to many, many others. Why? Because he built an organization that demanded the very best of himself and the very best of others, which happens to be one definition of excellence, the "E" in ACES.

But how does excellence happen?

It happens when you and I make a life decision to be the best we can be, and to persevere in the face of doubt and the fear of failure.

For instance, take Mary-Claire King. In graduate school, she had a wild idea that maybe, just maybe, early-onset breast cancer might be linked to a gene. Well, for 20 years people dismissed her idea, yet she stuck it out. In 1990 she found a mutated gene that strikes 600,000 women in the U.S. alone. That's excellence.

So is adding value for our customers, to our funding sources, and to our communities. Which leads me to the "S" in ACES, which stands for "service."

Now, service to me is an approach to life. It means we have a responsibility to serve not only our organizations and colleagues, but also our communities and world as well. As you know, science has been used to inflict suffering as well as to relieve it. Therefore, it's critical that we ask hard questions and take strong, and sometimes public, stands.

On a personal level, service means balancing work, family, recreation and community. Because ultimately, that balance will determine the quality of our careers and lives.

Talking with you this morning has helped bring more balance to my life; it's been a real privilege to share in this important day with you. I hope my comments on seeing the big picture, taking charge of your career, and following the four ACES will be of service to you. I wish you the very best as you commence your career in a wonderful, wonderful profession: one that allows you to explore the beauty of nature, and the miracle of life . . .