Big BD and the Universal Fire Code

It’s been a long week of Business Development meetings, four or five companies a day, five to ten people per company, for the past week. Stacks of business cards, handshakes and smiles. A great chance to see old acquaintances; meet smart and dynamic people championing new ideas, and a fascinating snapshot of the state of pharma. My role in the meetings is minimal, lots of time to observe and ponder. I keep thinking of the Universal Fire Code.

Back in the day, the weekend began after Saturday morning lab time with a Whole Foods sandwich in front of the Discovery Channel. One program that affected me deeply surprised me. It was about fire, a history of fire disasters…infamous, tragic, titillating, perfect to begin the weekend. A man appeared talking about the Universal Fire Code. A huge tome of building regulations, very boring and dry, facts and no heart, but something in his speech grabbed my attention. He talked with conviction and passion. I stopped eating. This book is holy, he explained, perhaps more holy than anything ever written in human history. Every line in this compendium has come at the cost of human suffering and death. Pages and pages of knowledge learned dearly.

This holy book is what I’m thinking of as we meet leaders of our industry. I see the people we are meeting with as authors of a new holy knowledge. Maybe the universal pharma code. They work hard, with dedication, on an important endeavor. To understand the rules and solutions of suffering caused by disease, and write the code for all of us.

Our industry suffers greatly now, it’s visible tangibly in the fading lobbies of big pharma, and in the faces of those facing layoffs. Fewer people will be working on our universal pharma code in the coming years. I worry. But I’m hopeful. I’ve just met over 50 talented people who are convinced they can add something to the code. After this week, I believe them. I'm happy to be associated with them, I hope I can help.

It's Business Time

I am one of them now. One of those rep-like people who, knock on your office door and interrupt your work day. Vendors?! Most of the time, if I needed it, I’d already had it. Just Google it. Now I’m standing on the outside of the door. I knock.

The ‘big meetings’ scheduled by higher-ups come later this month, so no sense going back and forth around the globe, but what to do here and now? I’m in the US, when I want to be in China doing medchem. Here is my past, there is my future…and very anxious to continue there. But not yet. It’s business time. ‘BD’…business development, mysterious and new for scientists, but integral for a small company. Talk to current clients, make sure they are happy. Talk with new contacts, turn them into current clients. “What’s a client?!” asks the scientist. I’m not slick. I’m not persuasive. I’m probably borderline asocial. But having big pharma experience and native English ability, I can talk client language on two levels…eventually. Find out what they are doing and how to help them do it. That’s admirable, something to hang on to in this strange territory that feels as different as China.

I try to set things up online as much as possible. Linkedin is excellent. It’s fascinating to reconnect with past co-workers, and this part rocks. I remember faces, stories as I invite more and more former co-workers/friends. So strangely satisfying to see the connections count rise. Why didn’t I do this before? Soon, though, it’s time to venture into the brick and mortar world.

I’m at a new site. Everything is new and high end, furniture, décor, plasma monitors, new people. An old friend. He introduces me to a major mind there. The kind initiating multiple start-ups. He stands tall, with a pleasant demeanor and warm handshake, sharp quick eyes. We chat a bit, but I’m nervous. I’m not in the conversation. I’m too busy thinking. I should say something BD-like. I forget the names of people we probably both know. Awkward silence and it’s done. Business hours are over. I forget to give him a card. The next meetings are more fruitful. Since I’m not salesman, better to be myself, just a chemist. Meet intelligent interesting people working on cool projects and see what I can do back in China to help them make those projects successful. BD the science way.