Our pathways are complicated...

This is not something that is very unique as we all have histories we can look back on with fond memories — although, I will be bold to say mine are somewhat specialized. I suspect there are only a few people who have a Biochemica mug in their kitchen cabinet.

A very long time ago I worked for a company called Boehringer Mannheim and it was with this company that I began my career in earnest — it's now a division of Roche, but at the time it was a privately held company that sold big blood analyzers, small diagnostic units for analyzing blood sugar, and had this small group that sold biochemicals into the fledgling Biotechnology marketplace. 

You needed restriction enzymes to cut deoxyribonuclease (DNA) we had them; needed to put the DNA back together with T4 DNA ligase, we had that too; needed Tris(hydroxymethyl) aminomethane, we had it by the kilogram; and yes, we also had gentle proteases to separate your cells. We had it all, high quality products for those researchers who needed them and who were willing to pay our "high quality, high value" prices. Research Biochemicals were not something that came up in regular conversation and we liked it that way because we were a little unique for it. There were four of us, and with the help of our marketing manager, we ran around Canadian universities and fledgling biotech companies selling what we offered — never discounting because our pricing reflected the quality of our products like I said.

We were a premium player after all!

In hindsight, we really had little real idea what we were doing but did it with great flair, enthusiasm, and delivered profits that engaged the support of leadership — we jumped on any and all ideas to sell and we didn't seem to be afraid of anything (which is a big tool in the tool kit when you are young). No one really knew what to do with the five of us but it did seem they were all right with it.

A component of our value proposition was information, and in one instance this information manifested itself in the form of a 4' x 3' Biochemical Pathway Chart — biology is very complicated after all, and we had to get it all down on paper to prove it. The mug in my kitchen cabinet was just another manifestation of our value proposition... get a mug, then get a super sized chart, and then pay list price for high quality biochemicals to help your research along.

Like all things, when success comes your way things change, more people get involved, and new opportunities present themselves — this golden age of my career gave me some solid foundations to build on over the years:

• High quality does matter and people will pay for it — it's not the easiest sell but value pricing will take you further in the long run.
• You can do amazing things when you don't know any better.
• Sales is a satisfying and challenging profession with transferable skills that can't be learned anywhere else — and if you are in sales, always remember to "ssffs".
• If you are going to get into something, try to get into something that's in the early stages because there is lots of runway for growth.
• Layers get in the way of speedy communication and decision-making.
• Being very profitable gets you a lot of consideration.
• It's only in hindsight that you realize how lucky you were.

I hope whoever recognizes this mug is doing well (and everyone else for that matter).

iamgpe

It's best to assume the rules will change — an excercise in witticism.

You know when you come across something that has you laughing, and laughing, and laughing some more — partly because it is funny but also because there is a deep understanding that sadly it is so very true. For me, there are two witticisms that always come to mind when I find myself involved with a merger, an acquisition, or any transition where the goal is aggressive growth... and I can't help but laugh every time.

The first witticism was presented to me some time ago after we had burned through a number of days on a project and were about to "hit the go button"; a colleague came into my office and told me that leadership decided to change the scope, and we had to start over.

He then looked at me, smiled, and said,

"The ball was in the air and they moved the goal posts" 

The other witticism came to me in the form of a link in an email — there was no subject line and there were no words; just a link. For twenty-three seconds I laughed, and laughed, and laughed because sadly it was so very true. I must have watched it three or four times before I then forwarded the link on to those I thought may find it "apropos". The link in question was Billy Connelly's Business plan, and it was the final line of the presentation that I hold dear —  

"And the demands will all be changed then, so fuckin' stay awake..."

This is not a commentary on business, or leadership, or any of the dozens and dozens of reasons change occurs — this is simply a comment that how those rules you operate by will change. And as I like to say, that change will be either "adaptable evolution" or "bloody revolution" but either way, the rules will change and you will have to deal with it (although you could just quit or role over with your belly exposed to the sky). It really is one of those "full stop" sorta things,

"Those rules you operate by will change. Full stop."

I suppose knowing that is not very helpful when change does come knocking (which, as I've suggested, most certainly will), but I will say after all those years of laughter and tears, I may be able to offer some insights for consideration —

• It is important to understand the rules will change, you can not stop it, and it really has been that way ever since rules were invented — change and adapt, change and adapt; it is in our DNA. It is important to accept and embrace this point.
• When the rules are changing get involved, understand what's behind it, and champion the change.
• When someone moves the goal posts you are allowed to get "fussy" about it and throw a "professional tantrum". Get it out of your system and move on.
• Confront any "anti-change" discussion and positively lead it in a constructive direction.
• Laughter really is the best medicine — so laugh out loud. Way better, and less destructive, than getting angry.
• The more things stay the same, the more dramatic the change will be when it comes — it's best to advocate for continual change.
• With change comes opportunity — search it out, and go for it.
• It's best to be respectful during times of change and do not assume you are untouchable.
• There is no such thing as "the golden age", so stop talking about it.
• Pay attention to what's happening, and be part of it.

Off to listen to the link again... it makes me laugh, and laugh, and laugh.

iamgpe

Blockchain and personal data — my journey continues...

I can't help but smile about the journey that has brought me to Blockchain.

It actually started with social media and a fundamental core concern I had with it — I recall times I would get melodramatic and say, "People went to war and died for our freedoms and privacy, and we are just give it away on social media" (all rather ironic considering I'm in marketing). It's not that I didn't have a LinkedIn and Facebook page, I just never used them (not a single picture) — I was hell bent on holding onto my privacy despite myself.

One day I happened to hear Gary Vaynerchuk say, "Privacy is dead"; he was frank, compelling, and made a good argument. As I reassessed my position, I recognized he was right and that nothing was served by me spouting a conviction that wasn't real, that no one cared about, and had me stumbling backwards into "irrelevance". With the realization that at the very best I could try to control my data and privacy, I set about building a narrative for myself, reviewed which social media channels I would use, and went about developing my skills. Now I sit with a website, a couple of primary social media channels, and a couple of secondary ones for fun and learning. All of them used with the knowledge that my information can go everywhere and anywhere — with some consolation I can always be found in a sharp black suit. 

Though my blogging and social media efforts I was introduced to a new affinity network called beBee which offered an open and inviting community with no networking barriers or algorithms that influenced (or restricted) my reach. It's a great environment to share information, get constructive feedback, and build impactful relationships. Fast forward a little and I was talking to someone trying to raise money who said, "If the investment pitch doesn't include the word marijuana or Blockchain no one is interested"... a week later beBee entered into an agreement with a Blockchain company called Profede. Their pitch was to bring value (and security) to professional data by building beBee off of the blockchain.   

beBee is a smart entrepreneurial company so the question for me was what do they know that I don't? I jumped right in to understand Blockchain, what it can do, and can not do — and although I am only scratching the surface regarding Blockchain, I do see where beBee and Profede want to go with respect to building value for our professional data. I can't help think to myself that maybe this will all make me feel a little bit better about the compromise I made with privacy and social media a while back.

At this point I've focused my energy on social media and Blochchain, and I suppose I will try to make it an area of expertise in the big discussion that is Blockchain. In the mean time, I will keep doing my homework, set up a "myetherwallet", set up an account with the coin exchange QuadrigaCX, and with get involved with the Profede ICO. I see this as a real solution to a real problem, and although beBee and Profede aren't the only companies working on this, I do like what they've done so far.

And if by luck or universal design, as I was writing this I could not help but overhear two people discuss Facebook and their concerns about all of that private data that was released.

It has been an interesting journey so far...

iamgpe

PS — I still don't have a picture on my Facebook page and only one friend... (but it's a really good friend).