Farewell
A bit of context: As Jay announced in late May, I will soon be leaving Novartis. My last day is July 2nd.
When I joined Novartis, I had two high-level goals: to contribute to one of humanity’s most noble pursuits and to learn broadly. I’ve been fortunate. The company repeatedly gave me the opportunity to pursue both of those goals, and much more beyond.
Learning
In looking back over my time here, I am full of gratitude to the many wonderful people in this company who helped me learn so much.
I learned how humans have organized themselves to discover new medicines (which is awesome, when you think about it). I remember that first “ok, you need to learn this stuff” meeting in early 2007… I think I asked a hopeless question about “screening”, after which several of the recently-appointed IS leads looked at each other, rolled their eyes, and dragged me off into a conference room to spend a few hours at a white board to explain what we do here. It took me many more years, but I eventually understood it well enough that I could explain it to my kids.
The job taught me so many things that I had been curious about. A few that come to mind: the rhythm and complexities of large-scale technology adoption; what it’s like to lead a global organization; why enterprise IT is difficult and misunderstood; how today’s huge companies, the most powerful forces on the globe today, make decisions and manage themselves; the upsides and downsides of communicating transparently, and just how important that is.
And then there’s the myriad of unexpected practical things that you seem to learn every day… some of you will remember a few of these, such as how to reply to those who Reply All, that one should avoid staying in hotels in Basel in the week after Ash Wednesday, which fonts not to use if you want to be taken seriously, never to say “yeah, I feel pretty good about this audit”, … that list goes on and on.
One of the many things I love about NIBR is that if you don’t understand something, you just have to ask someone who does, and they will almost always gladly share their knowledge. I think I have taken that for granted, but I suspect it’s one of the many upsides of working in a scientifically-focused organization where people understand that we are all in this together.
I will never know how much I really learned here, but I can say without a doubt: it has been a tremendous and positive learning experience.
Impact on Patients
Likewise, I am full of respect and awe for those of you who, through a combination of science, integrity, wisdom, and sheer will, somehow manage to bend the forces of nature to improve all of our lives. The fact that humans can apply what we discover, through experimentation, to change our very biology is impressive. That we are able to form organizations that are able to repeat this miracle over and over - amazing.
One of my many regrets is that I have never been able to quantify or definitively state how much of an impact informatics has had for our patients or where we have made a difference for NIBR. That’s been on my to-do and/or wish list from year two. We have not found a practical way to draw a line from an action taken in IT to direct impact on a therapeutic sold by Novartis. We roll out and support tools that allow scientists to make better and faster decisions. It’s difficult to measure the impact of tools on decisions. Also, frankly, I think that is simply the nature of being in any enabling or supporting organization: your contributions are important, but indirect. (I would love to be proven wrong.)
But, I also know - from anecdotes told me by many scientists, and from basic observation - that my teams and I have played an important part in the progress and impact of NIBR’s scientific groups. That simple reality has driven years of engagement and enabled those of us fortunate enough to work here to know that we are enabling a bold and noble purpose. I am lucky to have had that opportunity and grateful to the many people who made that possible and have made a difference along the way.
Relationships
Upon reflection, I realize I have received a third major gift, in addition to learning and contributing to an important goal: I have had the chance to build many meaningful relationships with others. It’s happened in ways that go far beyond what I would have imagined.
One of the most important things I learned here is that the individuals who contribute to our collective successes matter. Everyone cares, everyone has goals, everyone has a compelling story, everyone has a reason that they are here, everyone has a rich life beyond what you see in meetings. It’s easy to lose sight of individuals in the corporate world of margins and metrics… but it’s people who make the company work, and at the end of the day, it’s the people who you’ve built friendships with that actually matter to you… not the numbers.
I wish that, throughout my time here, I’d gone out to NIBR’s ice cream socials with the team more times (and skipped more meetings). I wish I’d taken a few more pictures. I wish I’d heard just a few more stories about why people are here, what motivates them, how they’ve overcome challenges. As I look back over my time here, I’m particularly grateful for all those personal moments, and for all those experiences people shared with me. I look forward to remaining in touch with people over time, hearing how your stories play out, and continuing to learn from you.
A Few Questions and Answers
I am blown away by all the people who have reached out to me in the last few weeks to wish me well, to thank me, or to remind me of a memory we share. So many stories! I still haven’t been able to reply to then all. With some, where location and time allow, I’ve been able to get together in person to connect. That’s been great.
With most, though, that hasn’t been practical. In some of these discussions, some of the same questions have come up. In the interest of answering questions that are likely shared by others I haven’t been able to talk to, I’ll provide some of those answers here.
Q: I heard you resigned partly for health reasons. How are you doing?
A: I appreciate the concern I’ve heard from many of you. Yes, I had symptoms of severe burn-out. NIBR leadership was extremely supportive of my need to slow down and take a break. Since the announcement, I’ve been able to breathe deeply and to start catching up on basic things like sleep. I’m doing a lot better now but have a long way to go for full recovery.
Q: What are you going to do next?
A: At this point, I’m just focusing on recovering. I’m looking forward to riding my bike over the Alps again and backpacking this Fall. As for work - I’ll tackle that question when I get to it but have no timeframe in mind right now.
Q: If you could go back in time to when you started at NIBR and give yourself advice, what would that advice be?
A: Several points:
- To repeat my comment above: take more time to enjoy time with people, to take pictures, to build relationships; spend less time worrying about the next major thing to get done.
- Spend more time in the labs, less time in the board rooms.
- Feedback, feedback, feedback. My biggest regret as a manager is that I didn’t provide enough feedback to people. One reason that I didn’t is that I often think, “I might not be right about this; my feedback needs to be 100% correct before I give it, because I have to be able to defend it”. In reality, you don’t have to be certain. You can say, “I may not be right about this, but here’s my perception.” … and then provide that feedback. That alone would get enough of the message through that someone would have a chance to act on it, if they chose. People need that feedback to learn and to grow. I saw many places where early feedback might have prevented a headache later.
- Ask “wait a second, can you explain that one more time?” a LOT. More than you think you need to. Amazing what will come up.
Q: Any general advice for managers?
A: First, if you’re a new manager: buy into it, learn it, take it seriously. Don’t pretend you can continue to be 90% technical and just spend Thursday afternoons doing that manager thing. In big organizations, management is the most important skill in the company, because it’s the primary mechanism that companies use to communicate, to decide, and to execute.
Second, we talked about it in the last NX Managers meeting I was at, in March. There’s a lot to be learned from a few good books and from each other. I think the best practical management book out there is “The Effective Manager” by Mark Horstman. It’s not 100% perfect, but it’s close enough. Start from there, hit his podcast and recommended books, and you’ll be in good shape.
Q: Any general advice, overall?
A: Get enough sleep. I’m not kidding.
Beyond that - these kinds of questions are often about career progression. My advice on that is: do a great job at what you’re doing now, treat others with respect, speak up, and keep learning. If you do, then advancement will come when the opportunities arise. Or you’ll be prepared to make your own opportunities, which happens more inside big companies than you might guess.
Q: Any regrets?
A: Of course. There are dozens of things I’d do differently. But those are eclipsed by all the things we’ve gotten done. In the big picture, I wouldn’t say I’m leaving with regrets, just a lot of things learned.
Q: How can we stay in touch?
A: These days, the best way is probably via LinkedIn as an initial connection point.
… and thanks
It’s been a great ride. Thanks for all your support through the years, and for all the passion and care you bring to work every day. I wish you all the very best in your further adventures, and NX and NIBR all possible future success.
Onwards,
-r’m