July 13-17

Jackie Ross
Jul 20, 2020
2 min read

Hi Gang,

Perhaps you’ve heard the quote, “Be patient and tough; someday this pain will be useful to you.” (Or, “Perfer et obdura, dolor hic tibi proderit olim,” for those brushing up on their Latin.) The Roman poet Ovid could not have anticipated a global pandemic, but boy did he nail it. As you likely know by now, patience is not my strong suit, but I was raised in one of those, “rub some dirt on it; it builds character” kind of households, so I’m programmed to buy into this quote. I also thought about Sun-tzu’s The Art of War, in which he writes, “Water shapes its current / From the lie of the land. / The warrior shapes his victory / From the dynamic of the enemy.”

We continue to face an enemy we’ve never seen before. Not just COVID, but everything that surrounds it. The drip-drip-drip of uncertainty. The anguish of sickness and death. The outrage of inequality and discrimination. The constant anxiety about how to manage our personal lives and keep an eye on the professional ball. And the daily reminders that, yep, we’re still in this purgatory. What a surreal test and a complicated antagonist.

I suspect Ovid and Sun-tzu would say we need to think about this differently going forward. Perhaps we don’t need MORE energy and stamina, just different energy and stamina. The goalpost we knew in the past is not today’s goalpost. The sooner we accept that and work with it, the better our odds of shaping victory. What does victory look like? That is the million dollar question. I’ve seen some pretty good examples, though (and am featuring them in the Point of View section!). What does victory look like to you?

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From the Community

ViaCyte Appoints Brittany Bradrick as Chief Financial Officer – congrats Paul and Brittany (and welcome back to the Best Coast)!
Doctor Warns Focus On COVID-19 Causing ‘Disruption’ In Cancer Screenings, Treatments: ‘Resources, Attention Has Been Diverted Away’ – thanks for beating the drum on this, Pat

Food Fight – send me yours!

This week’s winner is Jacopo Andreose, SVP Intercontinental at Gilead Sciences! Jacopo’s skills, while impressive, are a depressing reminder of how much I miss restaurants.

Chef’s comments: “Calamarata with fresh pan-seared tuna, crunchy aubergines and mint.”