Since I have a reputation of being extremely well networked, I often receive requests from friends, and friends of friends, to make introductions to my contacts in the pharma and biotech industries. Experience has taught me to be more selective in whom I choose to connect than I was at first - if you want my recommendation, please don't commit any of the following faux-pas.
1. The profligate. Please don't give out my contact information willy-nilly to just anyone without doing your own quality checks beforehand.
2. The undecided. If you want me to provide a reference or letter of recommendation, I expect you to be serious about the position for which you are applying. If you change your mind or are lukewarm in putting yourself forward, don't expect me to put time or effort into helping you.
3. The stalker. Please do not embarrass me by harrassing either me or my personal contacts with whom I have entrusted you, by refusing to take a polite no for an answer or bombarding us with phone calls and emails
4. The superbitch. If I recommend you for a job, please don't establish yourself as a "difficult" or high maintenance person on day 1. Rest assured it will be the last job I'll recommend you for
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Friday, April 30, 2010
Endings
I've been waxing philosophical recently, since I'm about to leave my current employer to take up my new, dream job.
Philosophical thought 1: The most beautiful sunsets are those with clouds
Philosophical thought 2: Goodbyes get harder as we get older - as we slide along the continuum from birth to death our acquaintances lengthen, and we draw closer to our final goodbyes
Philosophical thought 1: The most beautiful sunsets are those with clouds
Philosophical thought 2: Goodbyes get harder as we get older - as we slide along the continuum from birth to death our acquaintances lengthen, and we draw closer to our final goodbyes
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Women in Science - Ada Lovelace Day and National Women's History Month
To mark National Women's History month and Ada Lovelace Day, I was interviewed about the status of women in science on Dr KiKi's Science Hour, Show Number 39. The audio can be downloaded at http://twit.tv/kiki
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Black Swans and Sea Turtles
Conferences and networking are a rich source of new ideas for me. On a recent trip to San Francisco, I obtained the following food for thought:
In The Black Swan The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the author describes how naturalists believed all swans were white, until black swans were discovered in Australia. Such discontinuities can cause revolutionary changes, for better or for worse. In order to find exceptional returns, we need to seek out and put up to 20% of our resources (money, time, talent) into long bets - black swans - while keeping the other 80% in safer, more predictable areas.
While in San Francisco, I attended the PharmAsia Summit, to learn about the new trends in pharmaceutical R&D innovation in China. Current drivers are the annual 40,000 Sea Turtles - educated scientist / entrepreneur returnees to China, and a flood of patent filings by domestic Chinese scientists, encouraged by a new 3rd amendment to Chinese patent law that has changed the system from first to file to first to invent and increased penalties for infringement. Other factors include up to 50% tax credits for R&D investment, reforms and capacity building in the Chinese S-FDA, and the new Chinese healthcare system reforms aimed at making healthcare accessible and affordable to all. Continuing challenges include the high cost and 30-40% import duties on foreign reagents and scientific equipment, and supply chain and quality issues ranging from counterfeiting and adulteration to weak clinical data integrity and alteration of records.
In The Black Swan The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the author describes how naturalists believed all swans were white, until black swans were discovered in Australia. Such discontinuities can cause revolutionary changes, for better or for worse. In order to find exceptional returns, we need to seek out and put up to 20% of our resources (money, time, talent) into long bets - black swans - while keeping the other 80% in safer, more predictable areas.
While in San Francisco, I attended the PharmAsia Summit, to learn about the new trends in pharmaceutical R&D innovation in China. Current drivers are the annual 40,000 Sea Turtles - educated scientist / entrepreneur returnees to China, and a flood of patent filings by domestic Chinese scientists, encouraged by a new 3rd amendment to Chinese patent law that has changed the system from first to file to first to invent and increased penalties for infringement. Other factors include up to 50% tax credits for R&D investment, reforms and capacity building in the Chinese S-FDA, and the new Chinese healthcare system reforms aimed at making healthcare accessible and affordable to all. Continuing challenges include the high cost and 30-40% import duties on foreign reagents and scientific equipment, and supply chain and quality issues ranging from counterfeiting and adulteration to weak clinical data integrity and alteration of records.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
All the World's a Stage
Yesterday I attended a class on Acting for Executives led by Rebecca Johanssen, founder of Stone Soup Theatre Company. The purpose of the class - to show how techniques used by actors can elevate speechmaking and other verbal and non-verbal communication in the workplace from good to great.
Johanssen compared YouTube clips of speeches by Bill Clinton and George W Bush to show the impact that a confident attitude and body language, and strong awareness of audience reaction, and great timing can have. A comparison of clips of speeches by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, founders of Apple revealed the importance of narrative and storytelling to compelling communication.
To develop our skill in reading and reacting to our audiences, Rebecca led the class through several improvisation exercises - throwing and catching an imaginary ball of variable size and speed around the circle of participants, playing an imaginary game of tug-o'-war, and having a volunteer mime a sporting activity and inviting others to join in the game as soon as we guessed the sport.
Vocal inflection is an important factor in verbal communication. In pairs we held conversations using only two simple phrases (e.g. "I have a secret" "I don't want to know"), varying only the vocal inflection. In general mirroring your partner's inflection can work. If you are saying "no" it can also be effective to keep your voice firm and low, likewise to persuade someone, also try leaning in, smiling and lowering your voice.
Often speakers must respond to questions off the cuff and provide convincing arguments. To practise this skill, small groups were given an unusual object and challenged to come up with an application for the object and then devise and act a commercial to sell the object to the rest of the group.
Lastly everyone was asked to tell a personal story to the group, with a beginning, middle and end. Our own self is a subject we are each an expert in, so this exercise builds confidence in storytelling, that can be applied to presenting business information. Practice makes perfect.
In addition, Rebecca shared some physical exercises that actors use to prepare voice, body and mind for performing. To warm up, inhale and exhale deeply, say "Brrrrrrrrr" to loosen lips and repeat "Red leather, Yellow leather" with maximum enunciation to loosen tongues. Swing your arms and shoulders and hang loosely down from the waist to the floor to stretch muscles.
It is helpful to be relaxed when performing on stage. Rebecca led us through a visualization exercise involving deep breathing, muscle tightening and relaxing and imagining our bodies bathed in white light starting from a small ball of light on our heads. To focus, we visualized the ball of light in the middle of our foreheads and then in our minds eye, took it forward and back in front of us.
All these tools and exercises provide substantial food for thought. I look forward to applying them to my next business presentation.
Johanssen compared YouTube clips of speeches by Bill Clinton and George W Bush to show the impact that a confident attitude and body language, and strong awareness of audience reaction, and great timing can have. A comparison of clips of speeches by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, founders of Apple revealed the importance of narrative and storytelling to compelling communication.
To develop our skill in reading and reacting to our audiences, Rebecca led the class through several improvisation exercises - throwing and catching an imaginary ball of variable size and speed around the circle of participants, playing an imaginary game of tug-o'-war, and having a volunteer mime a sporting activity and inviting others to join in the game as soon as we guessed the sport.
Vocal inflection is an important factor in verbal communication. In pairs we held conversations using only two simple phrases (e.g. "I have a secret" "I don't want to know"), varying only the vocal inflection. In general mirroring your partner's inflection can work. If you are saying "no" it can also be effective to keep your voice firm and low, likewise to persuade someone, also try leaning in, smiling and lowering your voice.
Often speakers must respond to questions off the cuff and provide convincing arguments. To practise this skill, small groups were given an unusual object and challenged to come up with an application for the object and then devise and act a commercial to sell the object to the rest of the group.
Lastly everyone was asked to tell a personal story to the group, with a beginning, middle and end. Our own self is a subject we are each an expert in, so this exercise builds confidence in storytelling, that can be applied to presenting business information. Practice makes perfect.
In addition, Rebecca shared some physical exercises that actors use to prepare voice, body and mind for performing. To warm up, inhale and exhale deeply, say "Brrrrrrrrr" to loosen lips and repeat "Red leather, Yellow leather" with maximum enunciation to loosen tongues. Swing your arms and shoulders and hang loosely down from the waist to the floor to stretch muscles.
It is helpful to be relaxed when performing on stage. Rebecca led us through a visualization exercise involving deep breathing, muscle tightening and relaxing and imagining our bodies bathed in white light starting from a small ball of light on our heads. To focus, we visualized the ball of light in the middle of our foreheads and then in our minds eye, took it forward and back in front of us.
All these tools and exercises provide substantial food for thought. I look forward to applying them to my next business presentation.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Starting Ingredients
I attended an excellent panel discussion last week organized by the American Chemical Society in which three CEOs of biotech start-ups shared their experiences of establishing new companies.
The three key ingredients to a successful start-up are: great science / intellectual property, experienced people and of course, financial backing. Each company had started out with a different one of these three ingredients, and then sought out the the other two.
Food for thought - in today's world, new companies build a core team as soon as funding is first received, almost always with former coworkers whose experience and capabilities are a known quantity. As product development progresses, these companies plan on using expert consultants and outsourcing to handle specialized, but non-core activities, rather than hiring and building these capabilities in-house.
Main take-away: if you are interested in joining a start-up company the best place to start is re-establishing contact with former coworkers and those who know what you can do. The evening finished on a very upbeat note, encouraging entrepreneurs to take courage and take the plunge now, at a time where start up costs, rents and used equipment are low, and dream teams are ready, willing and available.
The three key ingredients to a successful start-up are: great science / intellectual property, experienced people and of course, financial backing. Each company had started out with a different one of these three ingredients, and then sought out the the other two.
Food for thought - in today's world, new companies build a core team as soon as funding is first received, almost always with former coworkers whose experience and capabilities are a known quantity. As product development progresses, these companies plan on using expert consultants and outsourcing to handle specialized, but non-core activities, rather than hiring and building these capabilities in-house.
Main take-away: if you are interested in joining a start-up company the best place to start is re-establishing contact with former coworkers and those who know what you can do. The evening finished on a very upbeat note, encouraging entrepreneurs to take courage and take the plunge now, at a time where start up costs, rents and used equipment are low, and dream teams are ready, willing and available.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Facebook Faux Pas
Do you use Facebook? If you do, the following article may resonate with you:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/08/20/annoying.facebook.updaters/index.html
Here are some additional categories of annoying facebook updaters:
1. The Spammer
How could you avoid noticing a spammer? These people fill your wall with one post after another, in fact Facebook kindly hides the proliferation of posts with a link inviting you to peruse "4 related posts." I often wonder how spammers hold down a job since they are posting on Facebook all day long.
2. The Soul-Barer
These honest folk's first reaction is to bare their innermost feelings via their Facebook page. Do they realize or care that the whole world could be watching? Typical revelations include "I hate my job / my boss / my neighbors" or "I am going for a job interview / a pregnancy test / I will be out of the country on vacation from Saturday for a month". Hello! Did you stop to think whether your past, current or future employer or the local burglar might be among your readers?
3. The Proud Parent
Cute photos of your offspring are nice to share, but please spare us the details of what Junior just said, or is watching on TV. You don't need to tell us how adorable they are. Why not set up a separate page so that you can share Junior's every waking moment only with his doting Grandma?
4. The Vote Chaser
An extreme example of the Self-Promoter, the Vote Chaser spams Facebook Friends daily, or more than daily to cast votes in an online ballot for their pet cause, often themself. Vote for me!
What responses can we make to these irritating individuals? It's probably a good idea to refrain from public criticism or comment on the offender's Wall - it can be amusing to watch in mild cases and in extreme cases there are always the options of sending a private message to gently explain that you find the posts inappropriate, or if you don't care to preserve the friendship, just quietly unfriend the person - chances are they will never notice...
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/08/20/annoying.facebook.updaters/index.html
Here are some additional categories of annoying facebook updaters:
1. The Spammer
How could you avoid noticing a spammer? These people fill your wall with one post after another, in fact Facebook kindly hides the proliferation of posts with a link inviting you to peruse "4 related posts." I often wonder how spammers hold down a job since they are posting on Facebook all day long.
2. The Soul-Barer
These honest folk's first reaction is to bare their innermost feelings via their Facebook page. Do they realize or care that the whole world could be watching? Typical revelations include "I hate my job / my boss / my neighbors" or "I am going for a job interview / a pregnancy test / I will be out of the country on vacation from Saturday for a month". Hello! Did you stop to think whether your past, current or future employer or the local burglar might be among your readers?
3. The Proud Parent
Cute photos of your offspring are nice to share, but please spare us the details of what Junior just said, or is watching on TV. You don't need to tell us how adorable they are. Why not set up a separate page so that you can share Junior's every waking moment only with his doting Grandma?
4. The Vote Chaser
An extreme example of the Self-Promoter, the Vote Chaser spams Facebook Friends daily, or more than daily to cast votes in an online ballot for their pet cause, often themself. Vote for me!
What responses can we make to these irritating individuals? It's probably a good idea to refrain from public criticism or comment on the offender's Wall - it can be amusing to watch in mild cases and in extreme cases there are always the options of sending a private message to gently explain that you find the posts inappropriate, or if you don't care to preserve the friendship, just quietly unfriend the person - chances are they will never notice...
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