Thoughts from the President

November 1, 2024 - Passion for the Problem

Dear Danforth Center Community,

At the Danforth Center’s Seeds of Change event this week, Penny Pennington presented us with an idea: Innovation and positive change starts with falling in love with a problem. Along with a terrific panel of Allison Miller (Danforth Center), Meredith Malone (Curator, Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum), and Christine Corday (multidisciplinary artist), Penny explained how passion for a problem leads to better teams, more breakthroughs, and more impact. Like many others who attended, I’ve continued thinking about this idea since the event.

First of all, I very much agree with Penny’s thesis. Can anyone think of an individual who made a groundbreaking discovery or developed a great product who did not love the problem they were seeking to solve? I cannot. The late Steve Jobs built one innovative, transformative product after another when he led Apple, and he described on many occasions how this was only possible because he and his team truly loved the problems they were solving and the vision of what they could achieve. In one interview, Jobs described how difficult it is to build something new, and that success involves perseverance, setbacks and worrying over long periods of time. He explained that if you don’t love what you’re doing, you’ll probably give up and go do something else.

We’ve all heard the overused clichés, often from commencement speakers: “Do what you love,” or “Find your passion and go for it!” I think the sentiment often being conveyed by these statements is, do what you love because that will make you happy. I’m not convinced that’s the true value of loving the problem you’ve taken on. Your passion is what gets you through the dead-ends, the misery, the failures and the criticism that will undoubtedly come your way. Love for the problem will keep you in the game, despite the intensity of the challenges. Rather than happiness, I suspect that passion for the problem ultimately results in more fulfillment of purpose and satisfaction that you’ve made a positive impact.

Scientific research and all the work to make the Danforth Center run well are difficult endeavors. But every day, I see so many purpose-driven Danforth Center community members who love the hard problems they’re addressing and the prospect of positive impact when they achieve success.

Jim Carrington,
President and Chief Executive Officer

Previous Weekly Messages from Jim Carrington

Danforth Center Response Plan

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Danforth Center Updates

During this unique moment in history, the first priority of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is the health and safety of our Center community, our families, and those who work with us.