March 31, 2020

Hi Gang,

I’ve received several very helpful resources and ideas from you and wanted to report back. But first, a quote from someone who had a very strong stance on COVID-19 early on (many of you followed his outspoken tweets):

“I live in an industry that gets a lot of [criticism], but working on this is their sense of purpose like I’ve never seen, ever, with anything else. We have a common purpose, which is a wonderful thing. I mean, it’s a scary thing and it’s a wonderful thing.” -Bob Nelsen, Arch Venture Partners (interview in StatNews).

Now, some great tips from the field, resources for you and your teams, and a few funny things I saw today.

Ideas from the Community

• Smarter Virtual Meetings: Rather than generic ‘virtual happy hours, host targeted VCs around specific topics (home-schooling, living solo, managing workflow, etc). Invite guest speakers for some topics (time management when WFH, dealing with stress/depression, etc).

• Zooming Out: Zoom requires nonstop screen viewing. Several companies have instituted policies to prevent eye-strain and incent other activities (i.e. no meetings between 1130 am-130 pm for lunch breaks; suggested walk breaks; blocks to prevent meetings during family time).

• Oops, I Did It Again: The error rate for common business tasks has increased significantly. Clerical errors. Shipping mistakes. Calendar mishaps. People’s minds are elsewhere, and many are learning how to focus from home. Systems for more careful quality control may be important.

Resources

• How to Keep the Party Crashers from Crashing Your Zoom Event – Prevent outsiders from invading your meetings

• Xfinity Video: How to Maximize Your Home Wifi – Basic tips on how/where to position your router

• California Life Sciences Association (CLSA) – I’m told they are doing a great job of sharing updates and fielding questions

• Strategic Planning In Biotech During A Pandemic Crisis – Bruce Booth in Forbes

• 6 Games You Can Play On Zoom For Long-Distance Fun – Sending again, sorry for the broken link yesterday

• Graph from University of Washington: Projected date of peak hospital resource demand:

A Little Levity

• Overheard: “During this time of forced isolation, we are faced with a choice. We can either binge-watch old game shows and binge-read Pendergast novels while binge-eating donuts and day-drinking, or we can be responsible adults, use our time productively and catch up on all the home projects we've neglected. Choose wisely. On a completely unrelated note, the Classic Concentration Tournament of Champions from 1990 has a particularly lively set of contestants on Day 3. Or, so I've been told...” -someone on the internet

• Overheard: “If there is a baby boom in 9 months, it will be a baby boom only of first-born children. And they will be called the coronials.” -someone on the internet

• WFH Space: My friend Michael posted this shot of his WFH setup. Caption reads: I see your Megadesk and I raise you. #hashtagKegDesk

Be well,

Jackie