The most important statement on managing is also the simplest. As Harold Geneen, the CEO of ITT put it, "Managers must manage." If you realize that the buck stops here and are willing to make the decisions necessary to keep things running, that is half the battle. But the other half is that management decisions need to be made and you cannot abdicate this responsibility. Of course, early on in a new company much time is spent making some pretty mundane decisions-insurance, telephone systems, copiers, software packages, printers, etc., etc. There is also considerable time spent with a variety of service providers, such as our attorney, accountant, and others.
IBI has been at about break-even level, perhaps a little profitable, during its first 3 years of existence. This is especially good since we have been experiencing continuous growth with the cost of new employees in both time and expense. What I enjoy most is the managing-making the key decisions as they come up. What I enjoy least is personnel issues, especially going through the interview process for new hires.
The task I enjoy second most surprises me. I am involved in all areas of marketing for IBI. This is mostly because potential clients have seen me lecture, or have read one of my books or papers, or have been told to con-tact me. I am trying to change this, but to date, most new work comes directly through me. I enjoy talking with prospective clients, preparing proposals, and reeling them in.
My other job, as an information provider, is equally challenging. IBI has an excellent staff and we work well as a team, but I have my own role on the team. My areas of expertise, in strategic planning, regional development, and international competitiveness in biotechnology, requires that I take the lead in some of IBI's studies. So, for example, when we were hired to do projects for the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island to assist with their local development of biotechnology. In other cases, I am specifically requested to work on a project. Finally, I like to serve as quality control for our studies, doing a final check and edit of all reports that go out.
I typically work long hours, but on my own terms. I have a wonderful and understanding spouse-no entrepreneur should be without one-and a growing son. I work full days, weekdays, but try to get home to my family at a reasonable hour. When the family goes to bed, I stay up and work an additional 2 to 4 hours. I am a night owl and do my best work late at night. This way, I can spend good family time, I can coach soccer or take tae kwon do with my son, and I can still put in the 55 to 65 hours it takes to run a business and get the work done. What does keep me away from the family is the travel. I typically go somewhere one or two times each month. Within the last year, my work has also taken me to Canada, South Korea, Hungary, and Switzerland.
Where IBI Is Going
We continue to experience growth in demand for our services. This is likely due to increased marketing and more familiarity with IBI and its capabilities. IBI will likely grow to between 20 and 25 employees and reach $2 to $3 million in annual sales over the next 5 years. I would like to manage steady growth. This growth will be achieved through gaining additional clients and working on obtaining federal contracts.
Although half of our work to date is as a contractor or subcontractor with federal or state agencies, for the most part we have never initiated contact with these agencies. We have been sought as a sole provider. The next step is to actually try to get new government work de novo. For our industry clients, we have a new program called Virtual Information Service, where we can serve as the virtual information arm of small to mid-size biotechnology firms. This program has proved to be quite popular and is growing daily.
I also have the entrepreneurial bug. I enjoyed starting IBI. I am working on a new joint venture company to provide a needed service to the pharmaceutical industry. This company would dovetail with IBI's efforts and create value in its own right. We'll see.
Getting Into the Business
We have a variety of jobs at IBI, but the one most relevant to Ph.D.'s in science is on our research team. We seek people with strong research backgrounds who have made the decision to leave the lab. A strong and broad understanding of research and the biological sciences is required. Also required are: an excellent telephone presence for the telephone interviews for primary data collection; excellent writing and editing skills; advanced use of word processing, spreadsheet, and database programs; some statistical and analytical background; and great teamwork. Desired, but not usually available, is a background with business issues and concepts. The business aspects usually are learned on the job.
Two of IBI's researchers hold Ph.D.'s. One has a background in plant agricultural biotechnology, but she has headed dozens of research projects for us in fields from pharmaceuticals to international assessments in her 4 years with IBI. The other has a Ph.D. in molecular biology and she, too, has worked on a wide variety of projects. The other important attribute for a researcher in this area is a high degree of flexibility. We never know who will hire us to research what from one week to the next.
Paths to This Career
Large corporations often have many employees involved in competitive intelligence or in strategic information. Many of these employees come from the research ranks within the company. Other companies, such as venture capital firms or investment houses, need people with scientific training to assess proposals, markets, and competition in order to make sound investment decisions.
Unfortunately, most Ph.D. scientists do not have the business background necessary to work in these areas, nor do they tend to have any sort of formal information training, although with Internet searching becoming more ubiquitous, this training may be obtained on a de facto basis. The business training can be received on the job if the work environment is conducive to this.
There are not many companies like IBI, but there are some large consulting companies, such as KPMG Peat Marwick or Ernst and Young, that would hire Ph.D. researchers to do business studies. An understanding of business would be helpful, and it can come from experience in industry or even an added MBA.
Concluding Thoughts
I could not have chosen this career path if I had tried. Paying attention to unexpected opportunities was important. I enjoy all aspects of the current phase of my career, from the entrepreneurial pressures to management requirements. I have a constant sense of being challenged, and a constant sense of having a growing and highly satisfying career. The work always takes exciting twists; we get in new research projects weekly and we have the chance to learn about many fascinating subjects. The studies we do become good fodder for writing papers and lecturing, both of which I enjoy. Most of all, when we see our market research or business plan lead to getting needed funding for an entrepreneur, or when we pull together information that is used to further commercial biotechnology in a state, the personal satisfaction is tremendous.
