LIFESCIENCELEADER.COM THE CMO LEADERSHIP AWARDS 2016
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and selection of project managers:
We're not clamoring for new kinds of
PMs; we just need more of what we have,
we seem to be saying.
"For a well-defined and understood
project a CMO has done before or involves
a routine or proven platform," Hoffmann
explains, "a 'regular' project manager
does a great job of keeping track of tasks
and resourcing appropriately, while also
keeping communication lines open when
things aren't going according to plan.
"For a new project or something that's
more outside of the normal paradigm,
I find it works best to consider the role
of a project team leader more than a
project manager . These managers have a
solid grasp of the science related to their
project. They're not as subject to, let's say,
manipulation by the external partner. I've
found that 'professional' project manag-
ers, often with less science background,
don't know when to say, 'Wait a minute,
that doesn't sound right. I'd better check
on that.'"
THE ELUSIVE PM UNICORN
Hoffmann's points may sound familiar
to readers, and her thoughts lead us
back to the well-worn discussion of the
ideal makeup of the individual project
manager. Like some Socratic dialogue,
the discussion turns on a fundamental
question: "Should PMs be more technical
or business savvy, more scientist or man-
ager?" Although Socrates might not have
approved, a lot of us are prone to answer,
"Yes to all the above." Unfortunately,
while that ideal sounds good in discourse,
in reality this superior being is in fact still
unicorn rare.
Since these advanced scientists-
project managers are hard to
come by, we expect the industry
will focus on structured training
and development of PMs within the
current promotional system. If there are
formal and rigorous programs at spon-
sors and service providers, it seems they
are being kept secret.
Joe Guiles, head of development at
Agilent Technologies' Nucleic Acid
Solutions Division, has heard this sci-
entist-project manager dialogue before.
Guiles, like Hoffmann, is a 20-plus-year
veteran of the biopharma industry,
including positions at biotech Medivation,
service-provider Cedarburg Hauser, and