Year: 2022

OVERCOMING FAILURE is both personal and cultural. This is about the cultural aspects. The US social fabric tolerates failure and even applauds Second-Time-Arounders as heroes: rugged individualism and a GoldRush mentality ensures that. In contrast, Japan and Spain have a fear of failure that can stifle those who dare stand out: as intensely gregarious and family-centric societies, the group is valued more than the individual. We are now seeing a generation of young entrepreneurs in both Japan and Spain breaking the cultural inhibition and daring to be different. http://lnkd.in/Q3wGwV View in LinkedIn

A THOUGHTFUL ARTICLE ON THE PERSONAL CHALLENGES OF FAILURE. The ability to bounce back after failure must be highly correlated with attitudes to risk-taking. If you think you will survive a disaster, you are less afraid of the disaster, and more willing to put yourself (and your family) in harm's way. Given the mythical VC odds of 1 success per ten portfolio companies, these are steep risks of an entrepreneur having to face failure. Think realistically about your personal resilience to failure and ability to bounce back, BEFORE crossing that line. " "" " http://lnkd.in/ynjrqX View in LinkedIn

R&D HEADS MUST KILL MOLECULES as soon as they show any negative data. I have seen many examples of bio-entrepreneurs who become R&D heads of the new company and are unable and unwilling to kill molecules early. They find every workaround in the book to keep their invention (ego) alive, and have a fight-to -the-death attitude. Beware such entrepreneurs! http://lnkd.in/nTrKQ9 View in LinkedIn

PERSONALIZED MEDICINE has been slow to be adopted, and this insightful article gives some data-driven insights about why, and the remaining barriers. But it is inevitable that medicine is moving in this direction, because the old model of experimenting on the patient is broken. We have many of the tools today to do those costly and dangerous experiments in a dish. http://lnkd.in/Trwuzq View in LinkedIn

NEW MEGAFUNDS FOR BIOPHARMA are an innovative suggestion, to break the stranglehold that VCs have on investing in new companies. These ideas are critical to continue to support the economic engine that Biopharma represents. http://lnkd.in/6kkUfT View in LinkedIn

REFRESHING INTERVIEW QUESTIONS. Mine used to be: "explain your way out of the worst thing that I will find out about you while digging on the street." People confessed to the most remarkable things, and led to tremendous candor. Most HR Directors would probably ban me from interviews today. http://lnkd.in/iiPvhG View in LinkedIn

IDEAS ARE CHEAP, IMPLEMENTATION IS TOUGH. Most of us have a place where we put the crazy, inspired, or creative ideas. Mine used to be a cardboard box, but today it is in electronic notes. These are those great Aha!! Moments that seem to arrive at 4 am. But the reality is, it takes a great deal of effort to turn that idea from a wish to something real. So remember, when you go to that proverbial cardboard box, pick just one, because it is going to take all your steam to push it uphill. Put another way: you only have 24 hours in a day, and focus is one key to success. View in LinkedIn

WEI-CHI IN CHINESE MEANS DANGER AND OPPORTUNITY. Chaos and ferment open doors that were otherwise closed. There are signs that The Crisis, as awful as it is, does have a flip-slide. Fixed ways of doing things are shifting under the pressure to find new solutions in so many areas. I see new creative solutions finding new receptivity. This is the time for gifted people to apply their ideas. View in LinkedIn

SKUNK WORKS CAN ENHACE CREATIVITY. Famous examples like Edison and others discovered that putting creative people in large groups, with levels of bureaucracy, nearly always kills creativity. When these people are put in small groups unencumbered by baggage, they shine. I have seen this work in some of the companies I have worked with. I am led to the working hypothesis that big organizations are inherently crippled in this sense, and that it may simply be unrealistic to expect bold innovation from them. View in LinkedIn

CAN ENTREPRENEURING BE TAUGHT? The jury is still out on this. My bias after working in and with startups all my working life is that it ultimately comes down to PERSONALITY. I have seen many examples of very smart people who simply were disasters in startups. Smarts is not enough. This sandbox requires people who are smart as well as having the right temperament. This includes being extremely personable, because this is ultimately a game of relating, interacting, convincing, and selling your ideas. It is all about relationships. You cannot teach personality. View in LinkedIn