As CEO and Scientific Director of the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience, I am responsible for working with 2 other Scientific Directors (Lin Tian and Ryohei Yasuda) and a strong administrative team to guide the institute’s scientific research and training programs, providing oversight and guidance of the institute’s budgetary decisions, reporting to the institute’s Board of Trustees, to our MPG Scientific Advisory Board and contributing to organizing the institute’s programs for public engagement. This position has added significantly to the experience that I had acquired from other leadership roles I’ve had (Director, Duke Institute for Brain Sciences; co-Director, Cold Spring Harbor Course on vision; numerous Scientific Advisory Committees and editorial boards including JNS). My philosophy is to always be prepared, keep an open mind, listen to and learn from the experiences of your colleagues, and try hard to reach a consensus that recognizes the critical importance of the decision for the fu...