Who Has the Most Interesting Desk in Medtech?

A person's desk can say a lot about what's important to them and how they get things done. What can each other's desks and workspaces teach us about the medical device industry? Let's find out.

Chris Newmarker

They're the places where many of us get things done. They're the places where the magic happens.

Desks and workspaces also can say a lot about their owners and the industries they work in. (Email me at [email protected] with a picture of your desk or workspace, your name and title, and a description of what's there and what it indicates about working in medtech.)

Take my home office desk, for example. I'm a writer and editor, and I like some open space to take notes, in the same way that each day can arguably be a blank slate when it comes to what I am going to write and create.

Note the bobble heads that were actually awards (called "Sammies") that I won when I was at Minneapolis business newspaper Finance & Commerce, and the poster for the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists, where I have been an officer in recent years. Or how about that cat scratching post? Better the Maine Coone scratch the post than the rug.

Frankly, my desk is a bit boring. Or maybe I just like to preserve some form of harmony?

Journalists' desks aren't always so organized--far from it. In fact, some of the best journalists' I've known had messy desks. When I was at the Associated Press' New Jersey bureau, there was a veteran reporter who had so many journals and notes piled up around her desk that they created a fort around her. Her library of clutter was a testament to the breadth of knowledge and insights she had gained on her beat over the years.

Perhaps it is time I stopped cleaning my office.

"If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?" Albert Einstein reportedly said. The late, great Steve Jobs also reportedly was a messy desk person.

On the flip side, the majority of American workers say they judge coworkers over how messy their desks are, according to a survey by staffing firm Adecco that was recounted by Forbes. There is also the argument that removing clutter is a kind of reset that clears the way for new endeavors.

Desks can take all kinds of forms. There are standing desks and even treadmill desks to promote health. Maybe two workspaces might help.

And then check out this gem from Medtronic founder Earl Bakken's website: He's at work at Medtronic in 1950 in the flannel shirt and jeans "uniform" of those early years. By 1957, he had developed the first battery-operated external pacemaker. The rest, as they say, is history.

Does your desk show that you're an Einstein or a Bakken, or just your own cool, unique medtech designer or engineer? I want to collect some pictures and show off some of the most interesting-looking desks in the medtech industry. Email me at [email protected] with a picture of your desk or workspace, your name and title, and a description of what's there and what it indicates about working in medtech.

Chris Newmarker is senior editor of Qmed and MPMN. Follow him on Twitter at @newmarker.

Like what you're reading? Subscribe to our daily e-newsletter.