The Essential Six Pack for Conference Attendance

The Essential Six Pack for Conference Attendance

Each year brings with it a new slate of annual life science business and training conferences.  With air travel, hotel and conference registration the investment in you can easily reach into the thousands of dollars.  It is essential that the company receive the best outcomes from their investment of sending the employee to the conference.  Newer or junior employees as well as seasoned staff should be reminded of these general expectations for them:

1 It's a meeting, not a vacation.

Everyone represents the organization, especially during social times. These post-session social times are perfect for making business connections. Just because a vendor has provided an open bar and DJ does not mean that you should take a memorable trip from one end of the bar to the other. Q: “Who’s that guy doing the air guitar solo?” A: “Some guy from So and So Bio”. Impression?: negative for the company.

2 Session attendance is required. No matter how late the evening, your sober presence at the session the next morning is required.  Helping this is the free breakfast which is usually provided.

        

3 Move outside of your comfort zone.  Do not just pal around with your co-workers and old friends.  Introduce yourself to those sitting around you, exchange contact info and learn something about them. When you return back to the office connect with them on LinkedIn.  Hint: Use something other than the standard “I'd like to add you to my professional network”.  Remind them of where you met at the conference.  This will pay off nice dividends in the future.

4 Be prepared with your elevator speech.  Simply introducing yourself as “Department Manager at So and So Bio” tells the other person little of your company, your specialty and most importantly- where your business interests intersect. 

5 Participate.  Ask questions, offer up your approach to the topic, meet the vendors, go up and thank the speaker and moderator following the session, and provide survey feedback.  Each of these actions will generate a positive re-action and help promote your company.

6 Debrief. Provide your supervisor with a report and give a presentation to the other staff of what you learned, who you met, and where opportunities exist for your organization.  A report of useful information trumps a big bag full of tchotchkes.  Plan to go again next year.  By achieving the organization’s goals as demonstrated by your attendance, chances are good that you will get to return.

If the big news from your conference was how you could not navigate the escalator at the end of the night (or worse), then you probably owe the company their money back.

For 2013: 13 Essential Web Apps for Life Sciences

Connect with clients, brainstorm with colleagues, and manage your online work presence with the aid of these proven tools.  Start 2013 off right.

1. IFTTT.com [If THIS then THAT]

For the Life Science professional you can utilize IFTTT to scan all of your on-line news sources for any keywords or phrases and then it will move that information to the destination of your choice whether it be to an email address, blog, Evernote, Dropbox, etc. Further, This is the ONE Tool that will make your entire social network existence easier.  Example:  You write a great article for a LinkedIn Update.  IFTTT can get it automatically posted to your Twitter, Facebook, Evernote, and Blog (and nearly all of your other social media apps).  So no longer are you logging in and out and re-posting.    Invaluable.  And it’s FREE and it’s EASY to use. www.ifttt.com

 

2. FiercePharma/Biotech/MedicalDevice/CRO

The “Fierce” family is a valuable news aggregator in the form a newsletter.  Fierce is also available as a newsfeed.  Reading the headlines is a daily must for the Life Science professional.  Pipeline information, mergers, acqusitions, warning letters: all of the big industry news is contained within Fierce.  This is free and you can get a daily subscription straight to your in-box.  www.fiercepharma.com

3. Dropbox/ 4. Google Drive/ 5. SkyDrive 

If you have not used Dropbox then you are probably still using USB jump drives.  Move your files to Dropbox and have access to them on any mobile or desktop platform.  The famous Adam McFarlin says” Since Dropbox I have stopped using a jump drive altogether.”  He was right.  I now only use a jump drive when I am using a computer that doesn’t have an internet connection.  2 GB FREE.  www.dropbox.com

Similar story with Google Drive [5 GB Free] and SkyDrive [7 GB Free] .  All of these cloud plans provide expanded space for additional monies.  Life Science Warning: Your regulatory affairs department (or individual) or IT Departments may have restricted policies to use off-site e-data [cloud] storage as data security risks.  I am not aware of security validation studies for any cloud storage services.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the business traveler, and while these apps are not particular pointed to a particular industry, I have found them most useful for business travel.

6. FlightBoard. Select any airport and Flightboard will show you all flights departing/arriving with gate information and flight status.  While I have tried the airline-specific apps, this one is clear and to the point.  Free [for now]. Itunes App Store.

 

 

7. Expensify.  One big waste of a day is after a trip you sit at your desk and wade through a crinkled pile of receiptes.  With Expensify you scan them into your phone.  It takes care of a lot of categorizing and data entry.  Back on Monday when you are entering the info into your company’s inflexible excel-format expense report, at least you can cut the time down and with the organized info inside Expensify.  I suggest that you talk to the head of accounting and convince them to adopt Expensify as the corporate standard.  Got a small company?  Your odds are even better. Free. www.expensify.com

Onward

8. NIH RePORTer. The NIH Reporter is a portfolio of all federally funded NIH projects.  The data goes back for at least a couple of decades and shows which projects were run, who ran them, where they were conducted, what the results were and how much money was spent on them.  There is also section which shows projected dollars budgeted to be spent based on disease/affliction. You will become hooked on this well organized database. Free, thanks to your tax dollars.  Report.nih.gov

9. Basecamp.  An excellent project management tool, very useful for on-line collaboration of projects. This software is very flexible.  It is not as robust as Microsoft Project but the on-line collaboration aspect is a huge plus.  A 60 day free trial and then pricing starts at $20/month. www.basecamp.com

10. Constant Contact.  Among some other aspects this application is most commonly used for on-line surveys.  I recently organized a Life Science Information Exchange event and used Constant Contact to electronically survey the attendees about their experience and recommendations.  Rather than use a paper-based survey where the responses are hurriedly scrawled as the attendees rush out the door, this survey was emailed and then they could take their time with thoughtful replies.  One of the best parts is the myriad ways to report the results.  This is an excellent tool.  Use it for brainstorming ideas too! Free (I have only used the free version). www.constantcontact.com

11. About.Me The fact is, it isn’t about me OR you, but it is, sort of.  What I mean to say is that About.Me is a personal webpage where an individual can put a brief (preferred) resume that talks about them.  What it really does is provide a company the opportunity to boast about their people and this gives potential customers a personal connection with the staff.  While LinkedIn will give a lengthy resume, About.Me helps make the individuals (and thus the organization) approachable.  Free.  www.about.me

12.  Mind Jet  MindManager.  Brainstorming software.  Throw every thought and idea onto the page.  Use MindManager to organize them into related (or not) connections.  Much like a brown paper process map exercise, this is a digital approach, (and your post-it notes won’t fall off).  $15/Month/user Alternative: FreeMind (free).  My friend Gary Dean prefers to use Visio over MindJet.

13. GoToMeeting.  Tried and true. GoToMeeting is the adjustable wrench of your on-line toolbox.  It is indispensable and the best of the on-line meeting applications. 30 day free trial or $49/month.  www.gotomeeting.com

Drug Development Technology

Useful Link: News, views and contacts from the global Drug Development Industry Drug Development Technology

Recap: Life Science Information Exchange Event in SW Michigan

Recap: Southwest Michigan Life Science Information Exchange 10-18-12

The first southwest Michigan Life Science Information Exchange event held in Kalamazoo at the SW Mich Innovation Center (SMIC) last week was very much like a TEDx event, or rather it was more like at TED_℞ event (wonder if I can trademark that?).  The audience ranged from life science manufacturing, to biotech, to pre-clinical, and on to life science business support arenas. 

Ben Culp

Everyone in attendance, including late arrivals, were provided with the opportunity to give their personal “elevator speech” so that they had a head start during the many opportunities at the event for expanding their network. 

               Yours truly started off the event describing the many opportunities for life science companies who want to expand their client portfolio to include the government sector.  The National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, the Office for Biological Defense, the VA, EPA, and the Navy’s Bureau of Medicine and Surgery are among just a few of the branches of government which award many millions of dollars in R&D, life science equipment, and safety evaluation studies (as well as many, many, more services).  The government sector is not necessarily an easy customer when compared to a commercial client as there are many qualifications and hoops to jump through.  Fortunately, the local Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) provides free training, guidance and follow-up to support the life science client.  Because there are many hurdles, those life science companies who are not fully on board (lack commitment) are predictably less successful in this arena.  Conversely, those companies who have developed a systematic approach to the proposal/bid process achieve more successful shots on goal.  Also described was the NIH RePORTer online research tool.  This government-transparency tool provides a great deal of information for researching topics, forecasting, and competitive surveillance.

Brian Knapp of MPI Research



               MPI Research Study Director Brian Knapp showcased the Quantitative Whole Body Autoradiography (QWBA) capabilities that he developed.  Mr. Knapp explained that his methods resulted in the reduction in the number of animals used on study vs. n=3 for traditional tissue excision, allows for multiple data points within the same tissue or organ, and that QWBA can be run in conjunction with other ADME portions or as a standalone tissue distribution study.  Brian also displayed the robust tumor mapping capabilities in their molecular imaging department.



Dr. Andrea Johanson



               Dr. Andrea Johanson from BBCetc based out of Ann Arbor, MI enlightened the entire group with the requirements and intricacies involved in securing SBIR/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR)   grants. While her presentation was an overview of the program, it was ripe with enough detail to provide a life science entity as to whether to pursue such a grant.  I am certain that Dr. Johanson will be receiving several follow up phone calls.



               Rounding out the speaker line up were John Underwood and Kevin Marcial from Performance Validation.  Performance Validation supports companies who need to prove that their facility/equipment compliance standards are met. John explained that Kevin’s extensive experience in life science systems validation has actually expanded their company’s service offerings.  Definitely value-added.  I am certain that Performance Validation will get some calls as a result of their presentation.



Kevin Marcial and John Underwood



             The atmosphere at the event was comfortable for people to ask questions during the presentations and engage in a hearty dialog.  Before the event, during the break, and afterwards, the room was quite animated with these professionals connecting to both new acquaintances and familiar faces.

The feedback that we received has been only positive with every respondent asking for this to be a continuing event.  Once the finally tally has been made we will determine if this will be quarterly or semi-annually. As I stated in my first article regarding Life Sciences in West Michigan:  It’s part of our DNA!

West Michigan Life Science Information Exchange event

Life Science Information Exchange in West Michigan

It’s not San Diego and it’s not Boston, it’s the left half of the mitten and we have one the most broad spectrums of life sciences companies in the region.  Our local skills certainly have a global reach.  The range of life science companies in West Michigan is expansive:

·        Drug development

·        API manufacturers

·        Clinical laboratories

·        Pre-clinical laboratories

·        Chemistry laboratories

·        Biotech research

·        Equipment manufacturers/suppliers

·        Reagent suppliers

·        Medical Device manufacturers

·        Veterinary drug development

·        Animal models

·        Life Science consulting groups

·        Life science project management

·        Life Science business incubators

·        Research Hospitals

·        Research Universities

Until now there has not been a concerted effort to organize an event which connects this broad range of organizations and services. That ends on October 18, when the life science community comes together to participate in a Life Science Information Exchange event providing the opportunity for this entire spectrum to interact and discuss current issues, opportunities and challenges. This fast paced meeting will cover a broad range of topics that each person will find useful on a variety of levels.   There will also be plenty of time for participants to expand their business network. The Southwest Michigan Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) has partnered with the Southwest Michigan Innovation Center (SMIC) to launch this inaugural event.  Everyone working in a life science-related field is welcome. The event is free.  Registration is strongly recommended: www.tinyurl.com/LifeScienceExchange.  You will find this event to be well worth your time. 

Life Sciences in West Michigan?  It’s part of our DNA.

Event flyer: www.benculp.com/lifescience.pdf

The Gamification of Training Records

The Gamification of Training Records

Every day we are being “gamed” without our significant awareness. Whether you have a competitive nature or not, gaming elements are being used to manipulate your behavior to achieve someone else’s goal. Gamification is the application of gaming elements, strategies and mechanics to enhance non-game contexts.  Since you are reading this on-line blog it is likely that you are also clued into some of the most popular social media websites such as Facebook^®, Twitter^® or LinkedIn^®.  It’s pretty clear that there are games on Facebook^®, but by comparison LinkedIn® is rather dry and is “strictly business”.  So the fact that you are being gamed by it with every visit may come as a surprise.  I am certain there are more examples, but here are three very easily identifiable ones:

1)     “Your profile is 85% complete”. Much like your local United Way^® thermometer which indicates how many donations have been contributed, LinkedIn^® wants you to know just how close you are to a goal.  It is our competitive nature to want to meet the goal.  And gee, I only have 15% of the way to go.  LinkedIn^® will profess what the benefits are to being 100% complete, thus drawing us into the quest to achieve their goal.  We are being gamed and for that matter, the United Way is gaming us too.

 

2)     “726 Connections link you to 4,569,663 professionals”.  Nearly all LinkedIn^® users know that the exact number of connections isn’t public once it hits 500.  That in its self may be motivation to gain connections, despite their warning not to connect with people you haven’t actually met, but LinkedIn^® provides you with an automatic list of people that you might want to connect with.  Click on any of them, and you have been gamed.

 

3)     “Your profile has been viewed 8 times in the last 3 days”.  WHO viewed my profile?  Thus clicking the provided link takes you to the screen to show you who viewed your profile.  The point is to draw you to another section of LinkedIn^®. Simultaneously, LinkedIn^® provides the opportunity to not only study/worry/ponder about who has been stalking you, but to encourage you to enroll in a premium account.  They have moved you along the game with your full consent. You have been gamed.

 

 

Applying Gamification Methods to Training Records

In a GLP environment, training records are paramount to compliance and the motivation to have complete records and at the same time promote cross-training is a win-win situation for the organization.  Borrowing a page out of LinkedIn^®’s playbook can assist in achieving these goals.  These methods are certainly easier to administer if the training records are in electronic format, but this is not exclusively required. 

 

Much like the %profile complete described above, there is usually a defined list of procedures that the staff must be trained in (initiated and authorized to perform). If the technician is 47% complete on their training goal, then they will strive to complete that next 3% microgoal. It is human nature, but they have to know where they sit on the continuum in order to make the motivation work.  While there may be a financial reward (at your institution) for completion of all of the goals, microgoals along the way make the journey more pleasing to take. 

 

Exactly like the number of LinkedIn^® connections, the number of activities that the staff is cross-trained in needs to also be tracked. A salesman with a higher number of LinkedIn connections is one indicator of span of reach and similarly the more procedures that the staff is trained in benefits the organization with flexibility, maturity, and succession planning.  Proving the technical staff with their numerical rank on procedures mastered, can motivate them to achieve the next milestone.

 

Additional reinforcement of the microgoals may include such gamified achievements in the bronze, silver, and gold levels.  [This sort of level naming can reach absurdities as indicated by the gamified announcements for boarding an airplane: “Delta^® now welcomes all SkyTeam® Platinum Elite Plus members”.]  Bronze level technicians may work in a single department, silver may work in 3 departments and gold level may work in all areas.  Who wouldn’t want to be a gold level technician?  Eventually, the technician will be financially gratified, but in the meantime, they get a distinction that sets them apart. 

 

Utilizing the ubiquitous Microsoft^® SharePoint^® can ease the tracking of all of the aforementioned elements so that the technician’s progress, achievements, and quests are readily available.

 

The gamification of your training records can self-motivate your staff to achieve the goals of your organization.