EDITOR'S NOTE
LSL
LIFESCIENCELEADER.COM JULY 2014
6
be disagreeable. Gladwell stresses not to con-
fuse disagreeable with allowing people to be
obnoxious. Rather, disruptive innovators will
have what many perceive as a strong sense of
self-esteem that comes across as being indif-
ferent to the ways others see them. Gladwell
believes the characteristic of being disagreeable
is what lets innovators pursue breakthrough
ideas, even in the face of objection and deri-
sion. Unfortunately, this same characteristic
can make for a challenging work environment
for fellow employees.
According to Gladwell, for disruptive innova-
tors to be truly successful, the disagreeable
trait must also be paired with the ability to be
receptive to new ideas, a solid work ethic, and
a strong sense of urgency. All of these traits can
be tested for during the hiring process. Though
people may often exhibit one or two of these
characteristics, it is rare to find all of them in
one person. Therefore, not possessing all three
should not be used as the sole reason to not
hire someone. You also can test for self-esteem
and self-confidence, but don't waste your time.
Instead, seek to create an environment where
you can build employee self-efficacy, which
influences the tasks employees choose to learn
and the goals they set for themselves. It also
affects an employee's level of effort and persis-
tence when learning difficult tasks. You can test
and hire for this as well. But if you put such a
person in a nonchallenging, micromanaging
environment, why bother? A great short article,
Self-Efficacy In The Workplace: Implications
For Motivation And Performance, by Fred
Lunenburg (Sam Houston State University), can
quickly get you up to speed on the subject.
I read a motivational expert's insights on self-
esteem and self-confidence, and I think your
time would be better spent understanding the
implications of self-efficacy if you want better
motivation, performance, and perhaps, a little
disruptive innovation.
l
Want To Find
Some Disruptive
Innovators?
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R O B W R I G H T Chief Editor
ne of the most productive con-
ferences for me in terms of get-
ting innovative ideas, as well as
meeting people of a disruptive
nature, is The Conference Forum's
Disruptive Innovations To Advance Clinical
Trials event. For example, this is where I first
met Pfizer's head of clinical innovation, Craig
Lipset; Lilly's VP of clinical innovation and imple-
mentation, Jeff Kasher, Ph.D.; as well as VP of
clinical trial innovation and external alliances,
Andreas Koester, M.D., Ph.D. — the subject of this
month's feature article on page 26. In fact, at Life
Science Leader we are hoping to create a similarly
disruptive conference, Outsourced Pharma West
(www.outsourcedpharmawest.com), geared
toward pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical
executives who form and manage partnerships
for development and manufacturing. In my dis-
cussions with executives, many have shared their
insights regarding the battle being waged around
acquiring top talent. If this involves securing
disruptive innovators, I have some information
to consider.
According to Malcolm Gladwell, bestselling
author of numerous groundbreaking business
books (e.g., Outliers: The Story of Success [2008],
and The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can
Make a Big Difference [2000]), truly disrup-
tive innovators share a combination of traits,
including that of being disagreeable. Thus, if
companies want to court disruptive innova-
tors, they need to learn how to cultivate people
who may not fit their usual employee profile.
According to Gladwell, this is part of the role
of senior management — to create an atmo-
sphere of innovation that allows for people to
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