March 26, 2020

Hi Gang,

I heard a great quote this morning: “There are decades when nothing happens, and there are weeks when decades happen” (Vladimir Ilyich Lenin). Indeed.

I’m VERY excited to share the results of our Biotech & Digital Health Pulse Check survey with you. We had ~140 participants – a curated audience of biotech and digital health C-level executives. Lots of 50/50 responses, interestingly (i.e. Have you made strategic pivots? Halted hiring?); 25% of you have dealt with exposed employees. Only 6% hired someone they’ve only met virtually, but 36% of you say you would do so in the future. Take a look… does anything here surprise you? Let me know what you think.

Now for some headlines and comedic relief. Btw, I realize there’s a lot of content coming at you, and some of you like to read the lengthier pieces during your downtime. I’ll maintain a library of the articles I’ve aggregated below my signature so they are easy to find.

Resources & News of Interest

• The Hidden Work of Leadership Teams During Crises – column from my former CEO at CEB, a company that unearthed the best practices of C-level executives

• HBR: The Contagion We Can Control

• COVID-19 Tracker (finally, a use for bing…)

• Where to donate masks, gloves and supplies for San Francisco & Oakland hospitals in need

• 7 healthcare-related items you may have missed in the $2T coronavirus stimulus package

A Little Levity

Spouses Share the Hilarious Things They've Learned About Their Partner Working from Home (“I’m married to a ‘let’s circle back’ guy”)

The Hazards of WRFH (remember this funny BBC clip?)

Overheard this week:

• “We will not lay people off due to this coronavirus. We just won’t do it. There’s enough sadness in the world and enough families impacted… I have no interest in contributing to that. We have the ability to keep everybody as an employee of this company, and we’re going to do that for the foreseeable future.” – Al Kelly, CEO of Visa

• “Eighth day of self-isolation and it’s like Vegas in my house. We’re losing money but the minute, cocktails are acceptable at any hour, and nobody knows what time it is.” – someone on the Internet

• “Kenny Rogers dippin’ out of an apocalypse is the most ‘known when to fold em’ shit I’ve ever seen.” – someone on the Internet

Jackie