It is important to always start with the problem, not the solution; with what we need, not the instrument one might have invested in.
Share and care, invest in training and trust.
Being flexible and following data is important to our way of working. This is greatly facilitated by having the possibility to use not only the instrument we first planned to work with.
At CR we do not own many instruments. Instead, we use the ones at the academic institutions, primarily at Lund and Malmö University. It is a win-win where the need of capital investments for CR is reduced at the same time as it provides the academic groups with better usage of their investments as well as exposure to other types of needs. But more importantly, it gives us freedom to always look for the smartest solution for the client in every situation.
Our colleagues are experts in methods and instrument set-ups but they never fight for ”their” system over another or argue for a specific technique when we could ”just be thinking and looking”. If the value lies in how we interpret someone else’s data rather than the production of new, that is what we will do because we can.
The foundation lays in the sharing of assets, which in turn is possible only because of good relations. Today, we are happy to reciprocate by inviting academics and students to our labs when needed and by spending time to find better routines together.
The mutual respect for, and trust in each other also need to be nurtured. We can be better at this. As always, there should be more cake.
