Vital Signs - June 2022

Hi Gang,

Greetings and jubilance from London! I’m working from our UK office this week and quite enjoying double-decker busses, minding the gap and Union Jacks everywhere. It’s a festive time across the pond, but I’m also reminded of the quote, “Travel is the great leveler, the great teacher, bitter as medicine, crueler than mirror-glass.” While pedestrians look right rather than left here, the view is quite similar. Gasoline is over $8 per gallon. The Ukraine flag flies prominently. Pub conversations revolve around how isolated people have felt; lack of loyalty to jobs and colleagues; existential questions about purpose and the future. This is not surprising, I suppose, but it has really hit home to be on the other side of the world and experience the same sense of malaise.

That said, there’s also boundless energy. The sound of theater music wafting through the West End. Rowdy revelers spilling onto sidewalks in Soho. The London Eye revolving tourists ‘round, high above the Thames. What a strange sight it must’ve been when the Ferris wheel sat motionless and empty.

We are, thankfully, back in motion. Somewhat awkwardly, it seems… like a foal attempting its first steps (which is exactly how I look trying to walk in heels again). We’re a bit rocky. The economy is a bit rocky. Biotech is really damn rocky. But at least we are moving. We know what goes up most come down… and down we are. But we will cycle through. Just mind the gap. Look right and left. And enjoy the music. We’ve missed it so.

News & Resources

• HBR: How to Get the Most out of Peer Support Groups – Useful idea to help build culture and community in your organization

• HBR: Designing Work That People Love – How to shift performance management to a trust-based culture

• McKinsey: Hybrid work: Making it fit with your diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy

• Advice to Grads – New grads at home? Scott Galloway delivers a swift kick in the pants in this piece

From the Community

• The Cost of Difference – Incredibly moving piece from biotech operating partner/investor/former CEO Rob Perez on the emotional challenges of being different

A Little Levity

• Laid-Back Company Allows Employees To Work From Home After 6pm

Cheerio,

Jackie