A simple thank you
I am wrapping up a significant project at work and I had the support of 3 admins to manage scheduling and logistics as we had a rather grueling pace for a while. I wanted to thank them with a small gift and a note, but not being the best at the soft communications, I did a quick google for thank you note tips - this one hit the spot and sounded like good general advice.
Box drums and babies
After a long day of project budgets and a long week of business travel, there is nothing like sitting on the kitchen floor with the babies and turning a cardboard box into a drum set. We had a good time, with Roo setting the rhythm.
The ELN One Vendor Approach
Having heard the story too many times, I had to write a note about the vendor / application selection process for ELN. There seems to be a prevailing thought that a monolithic, one vendor approach is the way to go, regardless of business application detail. To understand the pros and cons, let’s briefly examine the foundation of this argument.
One vendor is easier to negotiate with, allowing for greater economies of scale and commonalities in infrastructure and support. With one application, support analysts can be deployed to cover an entire business unit and with the greatly increased scope, realize the benefits of scale. In summary, a one vendor approach is an IT persons dream, right?
Oh - wait, it's not all about IT? You mean without the "Business" there would be no need for IT? Ahhhhh! Well then, that changes things a bit.
Now it's time to start thinking about fit to purpose / fit for use. There is currently no singe ELN vendor that covers all the spaces, though many make the claim. How similar is a process chemistry requirements set to a small molecule biologics work flow? How about GLP vs. Non-GLP? Discovery work flow and the wild west process management has a bit of a different set of needs than a Regulated Bioanalytical group.
In general, ELN purchases must be carefully thought out to match the needs of the users and deployed as a targeted asset, not a generalized commodity application. While it is clear you want to avoid the "one of everything" mentality we sometimes get in large pharma, we need to accept that this space is still a multi vendor play for the foreseeable future.
Frustration with vendors making claims about “knowledge management”
We have a system that can uncover all types of hidden relationship and turn your data into knowledge! It is starting to sound like a carnival hucksters line to me. Once the conversation gets underway, I start to ask a few clarifying questions and things begin to become both clearer and muddier at the same time.
It becomes clear that the claims are over hyped, and at the same time, separating the actual out of the box capability from the hype or customization becomes muddier.
Too often, these systems rely on an underlying established dictionary, specific ontology, and / or custom meta data repository. This often has to be uncovered by direct questioning, and it is critical to clarify what comes with the product vs what is custom built for my business area. How does your established dictionary and overlying ontology map to my process? What about linguistics, allowing the tool to anticipate what I need based on my query and to learn from my results? I am ok with a learning curve if I see where we are going.
Over hyping the capabilities with pre-set cases only sets up the pilot / deployment for disappointment. When users see a case that looks like magic, they expect magic for their systems. Bottom line – sell what you really have, wait to market your “vision” until you have something real. It’s ok to say, here is where we really are, out of the gate. Do not waste my, or others time with misleading claims.
Ok, i'm off the soapbox... for now.
Sleep is a fond memory
The kids have been sick the last few days and as a result not sleeping. Night before last had us dividing and conquering splitting time during the night with each baby. The telling moment for the situation came around 2 or 3am when Jess was holding Tommy who had gotten sick again and I was sitting in front with a towel to catch and clean. She looks down, back up at me and says uggghhh - too much I have vomit in my cleavage, or something to that effect. There is not much to say to that one. :)
We got them to the Dr and they have their meds and will hopefully be getting better soon. We had to take Tommy off the tube for now since he is getting sick at night no much so let's pray that does not set us back to far on the weight gain.
Pleased with the results
We had a good meeting with Pfizer today. The team was good and seemed genuinely interested in fully understanding the landscape at Wyeth. The repeatedly stated concern was that they capture sufficient detail to not leave any business users in the lurch when things went down. All in all, despite the building and meeting room shuffle, it was a productive visit. I am sure there will be many more, across many more areas, to get things fully sorted out but the process seems to be on track so far.
The announcements on organization today were also an interesting step – it looks like the executive level will get some Wyeth participation in the new organization. While the roles named were all key business folks, I think they reflect a desire to maintain the talent that lead to the acquisition in the first place. Perhaps that’s my eternal optimism surfacing again, but either way, I am feeling upbeat about the process.
The looming specter of the 20,000 projected layoffs is certainly on most everyone's mind as we go into this process, but the best way through is to focus on the solutions and while planning for the worst, look for the best. The drain of worry can become a self fulfilling prophecy if you allow it. - no extra charge for that bit of advice ;)
Headed to NY
I'm on the Accela Express, headed to NY to meet with Pfizer around our upcoming integration activities. This is a continuing dialog, involving a significant amount of information exchange and effort by a large team of people. My hope is that the effort being put into this integration will be reflected in the results, with a smooth integration of pipelines and people.
The history of these mega mergers tells a different story, with pipelines and productivity taking a hit, accompanied by a serious "Brain Drain". The stated effort is to make this one different. I am hopeful - though I am the eternal optimist while planning for the worst.
My Nephew's play
Guy Talk
I took the older 2 up to my sisters and we had a nice, albeit short, visit with my family. My nephew Jesse was in a high school play - it was a rendition of Grease. He did a great job, as did the rest of the kids. Here are some photos from the night.Heading north and living life
As I wrap up a hectic week at work, I am looking forward to seeing my nephew Jesse in a play at his school. I'm packing the 2 oldest in the truck and we are heading to Wysox with a brief stop to pick up my parents on the way. It will be great to see Amy and Tommy, and the boys and the kids always love getting together.
Jess and the youngest 3 are staying home since Austin has his game Saturday morning early and it is tough to travel right now with Tommy's IV pole, pump, etc.. I am anticipating a great time, even the drive since I will get to spend focused time with the kids which I miss. Things seem so busy lately - the merger activities at work are in full swing and I am processing another acquisition we already had in play in the UK at the same time. It's all about balance in the end. Vacation - sweet vacation, I am looking forward to you!
Hopefully, since the tests are done, we will be able to get to the transplant soon so that force a brief break from work while I recover from the donation process. That's another event I am eagerly anticipating - what is possible with our medical technologies is amazing, but the process is very onerous, especially if you feel the pressure of time at your back. I was hoping to have the surgery in process by now, but it seems to stay just out of reach for one reason or another.
Another adjustment
I'm sitting at the table, having a coffee and playing a game of cards with Jimmy and Jess, when I feel something wet on my leg... I forgot to mention, I'm also holding Tommy who is insistent he is going to help me with either my coffee or my cards. Oh - and I also forget to mention that I had just gone through the prep process for his tube, cleaning it, checking the PH, changing the diaper and so on.
So back to the story, I look down and realize my entire thigh and Tommy's lower half are soaked - arghhh. Further investigation realizes it is not the usual suspect - a faulty or over full diaper. No... it's the tube cap, once again, coming free from the confines of the tape - freeing itself from the confines of the sticky white medical tape and draining the contents of Tommy's tummy on my leg. It's like it has a mind of it's own.
You might question my taping job - no, it was magnificent, the very epitome of taping genious. Ok, that might be a stretch, but I did put a lot of tape on the valve for it to only last 5 minutes. So you can guess that Jess taped the next one once I cleaned him up, un-taped the tube from his onsie, so on and so forth and got him re-dressed.
He is now sleeping happily in his bed, getting pumped back full of very expensive calories which I really hope will make him big and strong and healthy. You just never know what to expect around here!
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