The Life Science Effect

Steven A. Vinson, PMP
The Life Science Effect

Have you ever thought about who the people are behind life-saving breakthroughs? How did they get started in their careers? Why did they choose the Life Sciences? What effect do they hope to cause? These are the questions we explore on The Life Science Effect. Gain insights straight from thought leaders, entrepreneurial game-changers, and business executives leading the Life Sciences. Host Steve Vinson explores what it really takes to be effective in this industry as a leader and innovator with a special focus on what’s happening here, in the Heartland. We aim to inspire, equip, and empower the next generation of Life Science experts through purpose-driven conversations. Join us weekly as we talk about what happens behind the science and get to know the people who make it happen

  1. 10/31/2024

    S2E3: What Do We Do?

    In Season 2, Episode 3 of *The Life Science Effect*, Steve Vinson discusses BPM Associates' work. He explains BPM’s core purpose and values—supporting people, fostering teamwork, and reducing turnover in the life sciences industry. Through personal stories, Steve illustrates the challenge of defining “what we do” in simple terms and describes BPM’s approach to managing projects in pharmaceuticals, including combination product scaling, regulatory compliance, and facility expansions. Emphasizing people-centered project management, BPM seeks to avoid burnout while meeting timelines and budgets. Future episodes will feature BPM employees sharing insights on their project experiences. MUSIC: Acid Jazz-Kevin MacLeod used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License   FULL TRANSCRIPT: You are about to experience the life science effect season 2 brought to you by our presenting sponsor, BPM associate. Extraordinary people's relationships that matter, important change for a better world. The joy of belonging. Life, science, leadership. I'm Steve Vincent and this is season 2 episode 3. Finally, after many weeks of waiting, we're going to talk about what we do, so you'll remember Episode 1 was start with. Why? And we talked about our core purpose about extraordinary people working together in a great environment to accomplish important lasting change. And then in episode 2 of season 2, we talked about how we go about doing that, starting with our core values of people first. Relationships matter. Service to a greater cause than DEIB, and we put structures and systems in place so that our folks can be extraordinary. As exemplified by my hospital visit and the demonstration that if you take care of your folks, your folks will take care of your customers. So that's starting with Y and we got the concentric circles start with. Why then how finally we get to the outermost concentric circle? What the heck do we do? So first I'm gonna tell you a little story from a few years back. Went to a networking event and you know when you go to these networking events, somebody's always asking what do you do? And this one was no different. Had gone to this event. It was at the Columbia club in downtown Indianapolis, which is this kind of ritzy, beautiful building. They have nice art hanging on the walls. And so it was a nice place. And I practiced my, what we call the elevator pitch. The whole way there, because I had to drive there from from my house and the elevator pitch for those of you that may not know what I'm talking about there, it's that 10 seconds or so of an answer. When somebody says, what do you do? So you go to a networking event, you get on the elevator to go somewhere. You've got between 3 and 10 floors. To tell this person in that elevator what you do. That's your elevator pitch, so I'm practicing it the whole way over. It doesn't come natural for me, and answering that question, what do you do? It used to be really hard for me. You know what? What do I say? Project management. I'm a project manager. Yeah, well, me too. Everybody's a project manager these days. What does that mean? What do you? What kind of projects do you manage? And then I'm I'm talking about pharmaceutical projects. And medical device projects. Next thing I know, their eyes are glazed over and they're like, why couldn't you just say lawyer or doctor or something? My knows what that is. And I'm like. I just always had trouble with it, so I would practice these elevator pitches and this day was no different the entire way there. I'm practicing behind the wheel and then I get to the parking garage, which, by the way, paying for parking is is not easy like there's usually like an app where you got to text somebody or. And it's really expensive. So anyway, that sort of interrupted my train of thought. Then I couldn't figure out how to get out of the parking garage. I go down like three flights of stairs and then I find myself. Of trapped on the 2nd floor, I had to ask like this this one dude that was like directing people where to go was like how do I get out of here? He's like out that door and turn left. So I did. I find my way out. I finally get to the networking event and take the elevator. Ironically, nobody was in the elevator. Just me. So I'm still giving my elevator pitch to myself. I breeze out of the elevator straight into the networking event, head straight for the coffee bar, because that's what the networking books tell you to do. They say go to the refreshment area. If it's in the evening, it's where they serve the drinks anyway. I go over to the coffee thing and where people are and I'm making my coffee, there's another person making her coffee. She probably read the same books. She looks at me and I look at her. We're like, here we go, right? We're about to network. Networking is about to begin and she's about to ask me what I do. I'm ready for this, she goes. So tell me about yourself. I I I was. What? That's exactly what I said. She's like. Well, well, tell me about yourself, man. I was ready for what do you do? I wasn't ready for. Tell me about yourself in my head. I'm like, let's see. I was born in Northwest Indiana. No, wait. That's too far back. Chemical engineering degree. No, she doesn't want my resume and I was like, OK, I just. I stopped. They said. I practiced this elevator pitch. I was ready. And now I'm just frozen. I'm thrown off. She was apologizing to me, and I'm like, no, I'm the one that should be apologizing to you. And I said, can I just start over? She's like, please do. I said cool. Hi, I'm Steve Vinson. I'm a project manager and pharmaceutical and medical devices. I help clients get their projects done. Faster, better under budget. And she looks at me and she goes. Real estate. What? No. What did I say anything about real estate? She's like, yeah, in the beginning, I said Steve Vinson. No, it was after that, projects. No. Before that, I don't think I. So now we got this awkwardness hanging in the air. Right. And I finally was just like. There's somebody over there I want to talk to you. So this. What do you do? Question. The bottom line is didn't always come naturally to me. Right. And you have to recognize in some ways that the purpose of the question, it's not what she asked. It's just she could have said give me your elevator pitch. Or she could have said the truth. Which is, hey, we're both at this. Event let's tell each other what we got going on so we can figure out if you can help me or if I can help you or if I know somebody that can help you or if you know somebody that you can introduce me to. That's all we're doing here. We're not trying to get each other's life stories. This isn't Life magazine. Just give me the 10 seconds so that I know whether do I need to move on to the next. So now Fast forward to today. And as I've said, I'm the CEO of a company and I represent the company at events. I'm no longer just representing me, so I need to stay on message no matter what the question is, you know, tell me about your company. Tell me about you. Tell me about yourself. What do you do? I need to be ready with those few messages. That I want to communicate. On behalf of the company. So that's what these podcasts have sort of been about. It gives me an opportunity to practice, but it also steps you through the process too, maybe for your company or you know, maybe by getting reintroduced to our company, we can find ways to help each other. So here's some messaging for you. Speaking of what we do, I saw a statistic recently. About a million people in the US work in pharmaceuticals and medical devices. And most of those are working on. Projects. 90%, I would say are more of the people of the professionals working in pharmaceuticals are working on. Projects turnover rate for those folks year over year is about 25 to 30%. That's like one out of every three or four people you're working with on a project is going to leave that job this year. And think about the impact that has on your project team. You got to really go through the storming, norming, performing, norming, storming and performing stuff. You got to reteach people. What the projects about get them back up to speed, hugely disruptive, not to mention the reason they're leaving is they're frustrated there. They don't see the connection of their project to the world or to. Making a difference for patients and so if we can figure out a way to run projects better, then we can reduce that turnover rate first of all. But more importantly, we can have people instead of feeling like they're going to a job and they're stressed out about getting their projects done, they can thrive in their career. Be happier at home and just leads to a better world. And again, not to mention patients get their medicines faster, they get their devices faster. So at BPM that's what we believe we believe in managing projects differently. Yeah, we get projects done on time and under budget by the way, if you meet somebody that works at a company and they claim they. Leverage project management or specialized in project management, but they're not telling you. They'll get their projects done on time and under budget. They probably shouldn't be in the business of project management. It's kind of like table stakes. You getting projects done on time and under budget. But I digress. Yes, BPM gets projects done on time and under budget. That's always our goal. But we also focus on not leaving behind a trail of burnout and frustration. We prioritize people. We want the people working on our projects to feel like they've grown. They've learned something new and they look forward to coming. Work because when people feel valued, they stay and the project thrives. That's all well and good, but you know, that wasn't 10 seconds. That wasn't an elevator ride. That was like, I had to capture you for a good 5 minutes to tell you all that. So how would I answer th

    18 min
  2. 10/11/2024

    S2E2: How Do We Do It?

    Host Steve Vinson continues exploring BPM Associates' core philosophy, following up on Simon Sinek’s idea of starting with "why." In Episode 1, Steve shared why BPM does what it does—now, he turns to "how" they do it. Before diving into the business side, Steve shares a humorous and mostly true story about his recovery from outpatient surgery, which highlights the value of a great work environment and how it can translate into better outcomes for patients, employees, and even clients. Steve emphasizes that BPM’s approach centers on strong leadership, effective project management, and living out their core values. These principles, coupled with rigorous internal processes, help BPM drive successful, lasting change for pharma and medical device companies. Tune in for insights on how BPM nurtures its people, ensures client satisfaction, and continually strives for improvement—ultimately creating a workplace where change is embraced and employees are empowered to excel. MUSIC: Acid Jazz-Kevin MacLeod used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License FULL TRANSCRIPT: I'm Steve Vinson, and this is Season 2, Episode 2. If you watched the Simon Sinek TED Talk, or if you listened to Episode 1 of Season 2, you know that Sinek asks us to begin our communications with why, then how, then what. In Episode 1, I talked about why BPM does what it does. Today, I'll talk about how we actually do it. Then in future episodes, we'll get into what we actually do, but first, a story about that time I was recovering from outpatient surgery. Now it involves anesthesia, and I didn't get permission from the nurse to tell this story, so I'm changing some of the details to protect their privacy and maybe my fragile ego, but the gist of the story aligns with many of the conversations I've had with several folks at that same hospital. I'd say this story is mostly true, true enough, we'll say. You'll get the idea. I was walking down the hall of the hospital in my very fashionable hospital gown, in my grippy socks, and the nurse was there, of course, to make sure I didn't fall over. If I did fall over, it wouldn't hit my head. It was all part of the anesthesia recovery process, of course. I asked them how they liked working there. I have a habit of doing that at this hospital system, and you'll see why later. But they answered me, and they said they love it. They love working there. They said the administration listens to the employees, and they implement things that'll make nurse lives better and also make for better patient outcomes. They said they wish they'd started there sooner. See, they used to work at another hospital that's farther away that I've been to. I don't particularly care for it, the times I've had to use it. They lived near the hospital where I was, and they would drive past this hospital every day on their way to work for many years. They would think, you know, my commute could be a lot shorter if I'd just work at this hospital since I live closer, but we all know how that kind of goes. You get an inertia, and it takes hold, and it's hard to leave a job. As long as you feel like you're making a fair wage and things aren't too bad, folks tend to stay, even if something else might be better. It might be better. It might be worse or even the same, and if it's no better or no worse, then you went to all that trouble and the stress of changing jobs, maybe leaving work friends, not knowing where the coffee pot is. You might be right back to a job that's no better than the job you left, so we tend to stay with the devil we know because changing jobs is hard. A number of years ago, this particular nurse finally reached the tipping point at the other hospital. The specific reason or the reasons they left aren't that important. We've all been there. There's a proverbial straw, a bad day. The dam finally bursts, whatever that metaphor is, and they finally decided to leave the old job and take a job at this hospital, and now their only regret is they should have done it sooner. It's not about whether the pay or the benefits are better. I didn't ask about that. The pay and benefits might be better, but it's really the working environment is better, and the staff gets what they need to do their jobs well, and the administration truly listens at this hospital. If something will make the patient experience better, they listen and they take action. If a procedure can be changed to improve patient outcomes, they listen and they take action. If something can be changed to help the nurses have a better working environment, they listen and they make that change. I told this particular nurse that their story sounded the same as the other stories I've heard when I've talked with folks at this hospital system. I have a habit of asking them how they like working there, even when I'm not under anesthesia wearing a very flattering hospital gown. Now, I happen to love this hospital system. I really don't want to have to use it much, but when I do need it, this is where I try to go. If I need a doctor, if I need a procedure done, if I need anything, this is where I start. Thankfully, they're covered by my insurance. I feel safer there. I feel more comfortable there. Their systems are patient-friendly. It's easy to schedule there. The staff seems to like their job. The billing always seems to work out okay. I've had disputes, but they haven't been contentious. It's just like we've got to figure this out, and we fix it, and we move on. I just feel like I'm going to have better outcomes, like the procedure is going to go better, the treatment is going to go better. If the administration listens and acts on their staff's suggestions and thoughts and feelings, well, their staff is going to listen to me, and the doctors and their nurses are going to listen to me, which confirms my belief that if you focus on people first and work to create a great environment, the customer will notice, and the customer will have a better experience. What does any of that have to do with how BPM does business? That's what you came here for, right? Let's get back to Cynic's advice first and try it out with BPM's why, how, and what. As you know, our why is we believe in the power of extraordinary people working together in a great environment to accomplish important, lasting change. How do we do that? We leverage strong leadership, effective project management, and a commitment to our core values. What we do is we lead teams to deliver complex technical projects at pharma and medical device companies. Typically, we lead teams that have client experts, contract resources, other BPM experts. The projects range from R&D to manufacturing, asset delivery, to quality improvement and business process excellence. Let's try that out in Cynic's style. When he was talking about Apple, if you watch the videos, it's really compelling when he talks about Apple. Everything we do, we believe in the power of extraordinary people working together in a great environment to accomplish important, lasting change. We do this by leveraging strong leadership, effective project management, and a commitment to our core values. We happen to lead complex technical projects at pharma and medical device companies. Want to buy some? Maybe I have a future as a TED talker. We'll see. Important, lasting change. Change, as we know, is essential for business. The right people working together is essential for change to be successful and lasting. If it's important, you want it to be successful and lasting, right? We're talking about a world where change isn't scary. It's a world where change is welcome and we look forward to change, where people cannot wait to wake up and get to work on solving the most important challenges of our time. And people do change the right way, a way that leads to job satisfaction and lasting impact. At BPM, we believe a strong, skilled leader makes all the difference to completing projects on time at the right cost. A strong, skilled project manager leading a good team is going to leverage the principles of project management and organizational change management to ensure the project's done on time and at the right cost. And team members will feel like they gained something in the process. In short, they will accomplish important, lasting change. And even if BPM is not serving as the project manager, maybe our resource is an expert on the team or some other kind of individual contributor, that's all right. We still believe in leveraging project management practices and we'll support whoever the project manager is, whether it's a client or even another contract company. Because to be a great leader, the project manager needs great team members. And we know how to do that. A good leader knows how to be a good follower as well. All of that having been said, how do we do our work? We start with our core values of people first, relationships matter, service to a greater cause, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. We leverage those values and also our core traits of desire and curiosity. We express, model, reinforce all these values and traits in everything we do. We add in a set of key skills that we can round out what it means, what the definition of extraordinary people is, and what the definition of great environment is. And applying all these, whether we're recruiting for the next extraordinary person or developing our systems in the training curriculum or working with our folks to develop and grow, these values, traits, and skills are what guide us as we're doing those activities. So we're always building and strengthening our processes and tools to ensure people have what they need to be in their happy place and to do their best work. We started the journey a few years ago by focusing first on our people, the people of BPM. Because, again, by taking great care of our employees, we believe they will take great care of our customers. So we lis

    17 min

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Have you ever thought about who the people are behind life-saving breakthroughs? How did they get started in their careers? Why did they choose the Life Sciences? What effect do they hope to cause? These are the questions we explore on The Life Science Effect. Gain insights straight from thought leaders, entrepreneurial game-changers, and business executives leading the Life Sciences. Host Steve Vinson explores what it really takes to be effective in this industry as a leader and innovator with a special focus on what’s happening here, in the Heartland. We aim to inspire, equip, and empower the next generation of Life Science experts through purpose-driven conversations. Join us weekly as we talk about what happens behind the science and get to know the people who make it happen

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