Thursday, May 9, 2013

Bringing In The Big Guns

In the biotech world, perception can be (and often is) reality. The perception that you brought in the big guns matters as much as the reality that you brought bullets.

It actually reminds me of that scene from the movie, Men In Black where Tommy Lee Jones' character is arming Will Smith's character with this puny gun:



In the movie, this gun is called the "Noisy Cricket" and turns out to pack an enormous punch. However, the gun's small sizes makes it look like, at best,  a weak weapon.  Look at Will Smith's face.

What does this have to do with bioreactor sterility or cell culture consulting?

Well when you have a rash of contaminations or when your production campaign is on track for failing to meet ATP, you have actually TWO problems:
  1. Solving the actual problem
  2. Looking like you're solving the problem
A customer once told me, "Oliver, I need both action and PERCEIVED action."

He's right, and here's why:

In claiming to have solved a problem, the first thing people will usually ask is how you solved the problem. If you tell them the solution and the solution is credible (perceived to be viable), then great, problem solved and let's move on.

If you tell them the solution and the solution seems dubious even though it worked, you will get lingering questions and second-guesses.

Managing the perception is as important as managing the reality.

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