Discovering that a wallet had been stolen was an instant jolt of disbelief and disappointment as we re-traced steps, and it became more evident that it was lifted from our possession. But, then, realizing the potential consequences started to sink in: identity theft, unauthorized credit card charges, and, most importantly, How Do We Get Back On The Plane To Get Home?

The first step was to call the impacted credit card companies and notify the local authorities to file a police report. This step is crucial, as it establishes an official record of the incident, which may prove useful when dealing with banks and government agencies.

I had no appreciation for a couple of challenges we had unknowingly set ourselves up for until this situation happened to us.  

Big Challenge 1: My wife and I have joint accounts with the same account number on the credit cards. You turn off one card, and the other is dead as well. Great. How do we pay the hotel much less eat until a new card can be sent to us?

Big Challenge 2: How do we get back on the plane to get home?

Some things we learned:

Challenge 1 caused us to realize that we need at least one different credit card account between us. This way, we would have at least one working card should the other have their wallet stolen. Second, I have to give it to American Express and Chase. AMEX overnighted a card to my hotel. Also, they auto-updated Apple Pay. While it was not fine dining, we could eat. Chase has a cool feature where we turn the card off via their mobile app. I turned it on to close out my hotel bill and then turned it right off. Once we got home, we had new cards issued.

Challenge 2 was the airport. TSA has a plan for this situation, but you must get to the airport early. This takes some time. The TSA agents were great. Hands down. No Gripes. They asked many questions to confirm our identity, and we made our flights. 

Having your wallet stolen while on vacation can be a distressing experience, but it’s essential to remain calm and take immediate action. By promptly reporting the theft to authorities, contacting credit card companies and banks, and getting to the airport super early, you can mitigate the impact of the incident.

The journey from the initial stages of developing sole-contributor expertise while striving to bring life-changing treatments forward for patients to gaining personal comfort in the higher-risk environment of smaller companies and leading teams of people has been remarkable. Along this path, I have witnessed many people’s personal and professional growth and development in ways I could have never anticipated. Yet, if we all stopped long enough to reflect and consider the journey, the magnitude would be nothing short of remarkable.

This journey has challenged all of us to expand our knowledge, enhance our skills, and embrace new perspectives. The complexity of pre-clinical to clinical development and on through registration and commercialization pushes us to reach new heights, requiring us to think critically, collaborate effectively (so very critical), and adapt to the evolving demands of our industry.

I have witnessed the power of synergy and the value of collective expertise. Pursuing excellence in the pharmaceutical industry demands continuous learning and an unwavering commitment to personal growth. The challenges we face along the way have not only strengthened our resilience but have allowed so many of us to experience great leaps of development and experience fundamental changes to the ways we think and look at the world.

It has taught me the importance of perseverance, patience, and adaptability in facing setbacks. In addition, it has fostered a true sense of purpose and the belief that our work has the potential to make a meaningful difference in the lives of countless individuals in need.

We must be immensely grateful for the mentorship and guidance we have received from our colleagues and leaders throughout our collective careers. We need to share and spend time helping those who will come next. We did not get here alone, nor will the next generation of leaders. This is our responsibility and debt to our patients and industry. It does not stop with “us,” but the cycle continues.  We must be more committed than ever to help develop and invest in others. This is not the time to be critical of generational differences. No generation or cohort of people has the right to say their way is the only right way. Together, we embrace new challenges, seize opportunities, and create environments that support each other, push each other, and deliver for our patients.

I am grateful for the profound impact this journey has had on my personal growth and look forward to the adventures that lie ahead. Together as an industry and leaders in our companies, let us continue to push the boundaries of what is possible, both in the world of pharmaceuticals and in the growth of our teams.

Day and Night; Heroes and Villains; Fact or Fiction; there cannot be one without the other.

I am working through the biographies of my “heroes” list. I do not read autobiographies as they are too curated for my taste. No one will willingly say they are terrible to their family or colleagues. I desire to try and understand their greatness in the context of their humanity and flaws. However, this is not without its cutting side. I do not know how I feel about some of my heroes now that I know more about them.

Values and societal norms are relative to the people and time period. They are not fixed and change with time. This is a good thing as cultures and societies evolve and adapt (hopefully for the better.) But when I learn about these individuals’ behaviors or beliefs that I find appalling, where does that leave me? Should I judge them by my standards or chalk it up to being the facts at the time?

I am struggling to balance the good with some of the bad. It is wrong to think anyone has achieved the status of being on a pedestal and is beyond reproach. I try to remind myself that they are all human and not perfect creatures. I strive not to lose faith or admiration for the good they did while holding them accountable for the bad. Of course, this is easier said than done.

A word of advice, be careful what you read regarding your heroes. You might not like what you learn.

Now, they are in scramble mode because they were not aware our frustrations had been building.

As I think back, we swept so many minor issues under the rug that this less than desirable interaction was inevitable. Furthermore, we did the relationship no service by withholding all the small items as they occurred. We ignored or did not feel the minor stuff raised to the level where it needed to be addressed. Oh, how we were wrong.

Blaming someone else or another group under the guise that “they should have” been aware of the issues is counterproductive and dodging the real problem. We are in control of what we do and say, and only, what we do and say. We cannot control others no matter what we try to tell ourselves.

Unfortunately, this is a lesson that has to be learned over and over again. A series of “little things” and time make for big problems. No matter if we feel that we are “majoring in the minors” or being trivial, the underlying feeling can be suppressed but not alleviated unless it is candidly discussed with the other party. Failing to address minor issues causes them to compound through a reinforcement loop and come out in ugly, explosive, and unexpected ways.

Let little things be little, meaning address them while they are minor, so they do not have a chance to grow into big and ugly problems later.

With that being said, the big news and social media frenzy right now is the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Jane ROE, et al., Appellants, v. Henry WADE. As a husband and father of three girls, this topic has been up for discussion in our house. Our daughters are very concerned about the decision but are comforted that we live in California. Unfortunately, this attitude is where I get uncomfortable quickly. Here are some thoughts on sharing the blame and lessons learned from our discussions this week.

If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and will never be.

Thomas Jefferson

Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.

Abraham Lincoln

This will not be a one-time discussion in our house. I owe it to my children to educate them about the political process. Get them active, and not just because of this decision. Our elected officials directly impact our lives through the legislation they pass. We have many issues to face as a people, from climate change, racism, and geopolitics to local ordinances and everything conceivable in between. We are busy living our lives, but we cannot take our freedoms and liberties for granted.

In this case, it was Starbucks.

It is a mile and a half walk to the closest place where I can get a cup of Nitro Cold Brew coffee. I love the velvet creaminess of a nitro coffee and take it as an upside that I drink it black. It does not need to be a thousand calories to be able to get it down. It was like any other location with the busy baristas working the machines and the line of people waiting to put in the orders. Normal, as normal can be, until it was not.

There is no glory in climbing a mountain of all you want to do is to get to the top.

Karyn Kusama

They have been having “challenges” with the nitro equipment. We watched as three team members tried to fix the contraptions nestled under the cabinet. This got moved in-and-out, up-and-down, before a frustrated comment and the person was swapped out. We watched this go on for a good half hour with more cups of flat cold brew going down the drain. What a loss of coffee as I thought of all those little beans being ground up for nothing. I can only imagine them saying, ‘well, this sucks.’

At this point, all was lost, and I threw in the towel and politely asked for a refund. The team kindly obliged my request and put an upside-down cup on the Nitro Cold Brew spigot. It looked sad there on the counter as we headed for the door.

A journey up a mountain, albeit tiny, did not achieve my goal of a cup of coffee. This put me in a bit of a funk during our walk home. I had to be reminded that the journey was more important than a cup of coffee. It was time well spent with someone I care about, it was good for my health, and it was a great morning. It is a case in point about not being tied and disappointed by expectations we put on things out of our control.  After all, I will be back tomorrow on the same walk to the same destination.

Life is complex with the challenges of balancing family life and work, not to mention the whole COVID situation. So we need to give ourselves a bit of understanding that we cannot do everything we want to do given that there are only 24 hours in a day and many different priorities are competing for time.

I always fall back to Franklin Covey’s concept of Put First things First. I do love this idea more than many other “management” ideas.

All in all, I am blessed that life is good, and we’ve been spared many of the challenges of COVID. We’ve had some COVID-related illnesses In the family, but they’ve all been minor due to the vaccine’s effectiveness.

Well, here’s to a short post. May many more come in the future.

I walked into the kitchen and was greeted with jeers and smiles by my supportive and lovely family. They thought the noises coming from the balcony were hysterical. My wife giggled through her mocking concerns about what the neighbors may think was really going on. I had no idea that I was making so much noise. I would hate to give my esteemed neighbors the wrong idea, after all. When taking a traditional spin class, between the loud banging music and every other rider gasping for breath, you never notice your own decibel levels. Now, I know. I am going to have to keep my deep breathing, exasperated short breaths, and cheers of accomplishment more to myself until the stay-at-home orders are lifted.

Of course, I will need to reach out to my neighbors so I can hear their virtual giggles as well. It is one of the aspects of our neighborhood; we have great neighbors and friends who all have a pretty wicked sense of humor. If this is the worst complaint I receive during this time of pseudo-family isolation, I will be mostly pleased with myself.

Now that I have been working from home for the last few weeks, I am finding that I genuinely miss the social interactions of the office. I am dreading sending emails and craving to pick up the phone and speak to my colleagues. The forced corporate social isolation has made me long for the days when I could walk to someone’s office and have a quick conversation.

I do feel like I am intruding by just calling during regular business hours. It is kind of funny that I feel the need to preface a phone call with a text message asking if they are available to speak live. I do not know why, as they could always send me to voicemail, but I feel it is an element of professional courtesy to their time. These feelings may just be a holdover of my desire to avoid disrupting the other person with a phone call intrusion. However, the reality so far seems to be that they wish to talk live as much as I do, and they might be having some of the same withdrawals that I am experiencing.

What does make my head twist a little is that my “mobile phone” has never been used so much as a “mobile phone” before.

Today, I used the Scosche Rhythm 24 armband with iCardio by Fitdigits.  I was projecting a Peloton spin class through my laptop onto a TV.  I wanted the heart rate data from the armband recorded on my iPhone, so there was no need trying to get it to display on the TV.  I tried the iCardio App to record my spin session. 

The calorie count differed from what the Apple Health App recorded for the same work out by a single calorie.  I presume these two applications were so close in their results because they shared the same heart rate data provided by the Scosche Rhythm 24 armband.

To my great surprise, the cadence sensor was reasonably accurate in the iCardio App.  It had a few seconds lag time to catch up to what I was spinning, but I found it helpful in the spin class.  A few times, it produced incredibly wacky results in the hundred thousand.  However, that occurred on three occasions lasting about two seconds on each occurrence over a 45-minute class.

I am a little bummed that the cadence sensor does not work correctly with the Peloton App.  However, I am delighted that the Rhythm 24 cadence sensor is functional, and I have an app that I can use when the need arises.

I have no affiliation to these companies and receive no compensation or benefit of any kind for this post.