Communications of the ACM
Scientists and Engineers on Boards Will Keep Focus on the Long Term
David A. Patterson is the Pardee Professor of Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley.
Credit: Peg Skorpinski / UC Berkeley
Companies would likely have a longer-term perspective if more scientists and engineers were included on their boards of directors or other leadership roles writes David A. Patterson, the Pardee Professor of Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley. In a brief posting last month to the ongoing Harvard Business Review debate "Is the U.S. Killing Its Innovation Machine?" Patterson succinctly frames an argument for the inherent long-term perspective of scientists and engineers and makes a distinction between the motivations of creating innovations versus creating wealth.
Just putting scientists and engineers on boards isn't enough, according to Patterson—management and the rest of the board would actually have to listen to them.
From Harvard Business Publishing
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