Mike Smith’s Post

With all our might, as must as we're empowered to do so, we need to fight to reverse this trend. It's a bad use of resource, it's a waste of people's talent, it's bad for morale. And in the age of cutting costs to the bone in order to maximize shareholder value, if we just go along with this culture we make our roles unbelievably replaceable because on paper we're producing nothing. I do my best never to schedule meetings unless they're absolutely necessary. If I must schedule a meeting, I limit attendance only to those who *need* need to be there. And I proactively decline meetings where I feel I'm not needed. All of this takes a lot of effort in a large organization with this kind of meeting culture, but it is worth it to me. I know my true talent and value as a member of my organization is what I can create. Therefore I vigilantly protect that time to maximize the quality of my output.

One of my least favorite things about LinkedIn are all the posts like "leadership, simplified" and it's like a handful of bullet points to the effect of "care. support others. coach. show up." It is a massive oversimplification, even though great leaders do employ behaviors like those in a way that seems effortless. If being a good leader was that easy, we'd have way more good ones and way fewer bad ones. But the rarity of truly exemplary leaders and the plethora of bad leaders just goes to show that those seemingly simple, effortless-looking behaviors are *really difficult* to develop. People who aspire to leadership should not misunderstand, you can be great but you have to commit to the work, and the work is hard. People who want their leaders to be better need to understand that, while poor behavior should be held accountable, these behaviors that so many leaders struggle with are much harder than "career influencers" lead you to believe.

Exciting news for severe asthma patients. Funny how when we started this project 8 years ago, the finish line seemed so far away. Now looking back, it has passed by so quickly. I don't work directly on depemokimab any more but can't wait to see it change the lives of those who suffer with eosinophilic asthma.

Excited about the future of low carbon ventolin. Excited that industry is realizing that sustainability is good for companies, the planet, and the patient.

Reading through this, none of this surprises me based on my experience in the industry. Companies drink their own Kool Aid and overrate their products and think that patients will think they're as great as we do. But we're not selling cars or other consumer products. And many people don't have a lot of trust in our industry. I didn't think the suggestions in this article really addressed that core truth. And patients and doctors want to really *believe* in a medicine; slick marketing isn't going to accomplish that. I'm a scientist not a business expert, but I truly believe the focus needs to remain on developing the best, safest medicines that really and truly have the ability to change lives. If the medicine is truly that good, patients will know about it and the therapeutic and business impact will be felt.

Please consider this opportunity to flex your large molecule analytical knowledge and people leadership skills. The team you would lead is outstanding.

I am convinced that anyone can learn anything on the job, with the right mentorship, training, accountability, and support structure. And I know this is true because it's my story. When my career started I knew nothing except for a few basic lab techniques. I learned everything I know about my industry on the job from wonderful people who took time to teach me. If you are early in your career, I hope the right kind of mentors find you. If you are in my sphere, reach out to me and I will help you. And if you are established and experienced, take some time to invest in young people.

I’m calling for a return to decency by respecting people’s lunch hour. I know the people who schedule lunchtime meetings usually don’t mean to be rude. But it’s so much more considerate of others to let them have that little midday break. Just because I’m willing to give up that time doesn’t mean I’m entitled to demand others to do the same. Let’s face it, many meetings have little to no value anyway even though they seem so important at the time.  I also find that I am rarely at my best during a lunchtime meeting. So it stands to reason that others probably feel the same way. If I’m holding a meeting I want people to be at their best. Plus, being respectful of others’ time makes for richer and more productive working relationships.  Let people eat in peace. Say no to lunch meetings!

Tired: "this meeting could have been an email." Wired: "this meeting could have been a 25-email thread with a gradually ballooning number of recipients over a 4-day span." I'm all for fewer meetings but more emails isn't the solution people make it out to be.