joys of travel and tsa

So this is my first flight in the new year with new security measures in effect, flying out of philly. Seems largely unchanged... Ummm except the "random" pat down after the security scan - so complete I asked if the screener had plans to buy me dinner when they were done. Clearly I thought that more humorous than the tsa drone. This was followed up with another "random" search of my bag along with an explosives scan. Seem I made it back on some list somewhere! I also forgot about my large aluminum water bottle until I was in line, resulting in some fast drinking :). The fun begins anew for another year of travel. Flying, grabbing a car, dropping e rental at the train station to take a train to NYC for another meeting then back home to do it again next week.

Travel plans

So I am sorting out my meeting schedule now, but it is looking like Monday - Friday on the road this week. Not my ideal scenario, but I am spread across 2 IS groups and 3 client groups so until that is sorted out, I am guessing this sort of thing will be happening. Time to call the travel agent and update plans again. I will be spending most of my week in Connecticut, which is not as convenient or entertaining as New York, but it will give me some time to look around possibly. Anyone have suggestions for things not to miss in New London / Groton Connecticut, keeping in mind that I will be in meetings all day and only have part of the evening free (after dark) so no suggestions for the sweeping panoramas or anything ;).

Corporate cost cutting

Today was the big day - sort of. We heard the first of many site announcements though these will be the biggest I am sure. Turns out my client base is all on it's way out, making my role as a Business Partner a little redundant. It will be interesting to see how long things take to complete and what the transition will look like. My integration work will shift to more of a transition role I imagine and my other work will take on new importance as that will be the primary focus once the transition work is complete. Good luck all my friends in preclinical / pre-poc!

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.