Please allow me to introduce my friend Jack Cohen, our guest this month for a topic that I am asked about regularly. That is, how does one successfully move to an independent consultant role in biopharma? Read Jack’s comments in this month’s column and you’ll come away with some inspiration and a set of rules that should work for anyone considering the same move. Enjoy!
— Dave Jensen
In 1994, I wrote an article for Dave describing my experiences in transitioning from a large pharma to a small biotechnology company, including expectations and surprises. The change was successful, and it more than met my expectations. In 2002 I transitioned again, starting a career as an independent Quality Management Consultant to the pharma and biotech industries.
Now as I’ve passed my 10th anniversary of that shift, I’d like to describe the transition I went through to become a consultant. After 20 years as an employee, specifically as a vice president of Quality, I’ve learned quite a bit about what I can bring to the table. And I’ve learned about managing the business of a consultant.
I initially faced some skepticism. Some people considering a change like this doubt their ability to work on their own; people in senior management positions often wonder if they can “work in the trenches again.” Would I remember how to handle activities that I had become accustomed to delegating? Also, many people discover that, as a consultant, they lose their sense of belonging — they don’t like being an outsider, no longer a part of the team. To a few, that’s a deabreaker.
I found the negatives balanced by the many positive aspects of consulting. In this issue’s column, I’ll review the process I went through in hopes of encouraging others who may be considering this kind of career move themselves.
Thoughts about How My Life has Changed
I am my own boss, with no corporate norms to which I must conform. I can set policies for my business dictated by my needs, without having to consider if they make sense to others. I set my own rates, and have the flexibility to alter them as circumstances warrant. But I have no admin assistant, so tracking hours and billing accurately can be time consuming. And estimated tax, in the absence of withholding, has become my own responsibility to manage.
My hours are relatively flexible, I can work when I want to, as long as I’m meeting my clients’ needs. I found a new sense of freedom, arriving at the job in the morning, leaving when I had completed my work for the day. As a consultant, I resolved never to miss a deadline, because I do the work unencumbered by strategic planning meetings and all the other “management stuff” that occupied so much of my previous life.
I have no company benefits, like health insurance and paid vacations, which takes some getting used to. If I don’t work, I don’t get paid. But I no longer have to squeeze vacations in between performance reviews and budgeting.
I designed and furnished my own office at home, within the space available but with no need to conform to corporate norms. (And it’s tax deductible!) One surprise I found was the ease of working at home. Using e-mail, voice mail, scanning and faxing documents, and FedEx, I could be completely productive at home. However, I found that it’s critical to be at the workplace frequently to build and maintain relationships.
If you’re consulting, you’ll need to market yourself, probably for the first time in your life. I posted a bio on LinkedIn, alerted my friends to the launch of my consulting career, and waited. Fortunately, I didn’t have to wait too long, because I found that, just as in today’s workplace, my assignments came through networking, from people with whom I had previously worked.
I felt that after many years in organizations, I would not develop emotional commitments to clients, imagining that I would go from job to job, spreading my wisdom as needed. But I soon found myself with two long-term clients, feeling almost like an employee, developing the same loyalties I had before. I learned that having something turn out differently than expected doesn’t mean it’s turned out badly.
But because consulting can involve working with more than one client at the same time, you need to keep them distinct in your mind, and this can be tricky. For example, at one point I was working with two clients manufacturing tablets for clinical trials, one 25 mg and the second 20 mg, and I confused the dose in a meeting, asking why we had changed the dose since last week. It’s only happened once, but it was embarrassing.
How My Role in Companies Has Changed
I work for start-ups, and often I’m the only QA person at the company. This may meet my needs to teach and develop policy, but I have no QA colleagues to consult with nor to disagree with me. But I have other colleagues; often these are brilliant people who question my opinions enough to keep me grounded. And I do have many old friends to call on, usually fellow consultants happy to discuss an interesting problem even if they can’t bill for it.
Being the only QA person means I’m always on call. My phone is always on, nights and weekends too, because things happen, and I need to see the e-mails moving around, as well as being available for the “we may have a problem” phone call. This doesn’t stop when I’m running errands at home or on vacation. More than once I’ve been on a conference call sitting in my car in a parking lot.
If you decide to consult, remember that you’ll be asked to do everything, at all levels, whatever the client needs. You are there to help and participate. I’ve worked with consultants who seem primarily interested in demonstrating their knowledge, but that’s not why we’re there. My job is to be responsible for the QA aspects of moving development programs forward. And I’m very clear on my responsibilities to protect both my clients and the patients in their clinical trials.
People depend on you, but be prepared to say, “I don’t know.” You may be an expert with years of experience, and you certainly know what you’re doing, but you are not perfect and will occasionally be stumped or mistaken. Personally, I will occasionally call old friends for advice, or to survey current practice, and I have turned down work if I thought someone with different expertise could do a better job for the client.
I play no role in strategic planning, which can be a difficult adjustment. My wife has asked if I miss being part of a company’s senior management group, and I do miss having a real impact on company progress. Let’s face it: as a consultant, you’ll be a hired hand, there to meet specific needs, and your primary impact will be limited to a specific operating responsibility.
Which leads to the biggest change and my biggest surprise. The consulting life is much easier than being in management. I do the work without the organizational responsibilities. I see and experience people problems, but have no responsibility to solve them, although I provide advice frequently, whether asked or not.
I can be remarkably efficient and productive with very few distractions. For example, one morning I arrived at my client’s with a list of nine tasks I wanted to complete that day. I finished eight, missing the last only because I had to leave for the airport. This could not have happened in my management career, where interruptions and scheduled regular meetings alone would have prevented me from getting past task three.
Lessons Learned
- Satisfy the needs of your clients. Do whatever is required, as long as you know how to solve the problem or at least understand the approach to follow. Use your experience and expertise to anticipate problems and propose alternatives.
- Do, rather than wait for responsibility to be assigned. You’re there to help. The days of building your career and jockeying for position are over.
- Offer suggestions and help even if outside your primary area of work, in areas where you know enough to meaningfully contribute. Say, “I don’t know” if you don’t know, but offer ways to find out and offer to pursue those approaches.
Jack Cohen is a quality management consultant. He previously worked at Nektar Therapeutics, Scios, Inc., and Syntex. He can be reached at jacoh99@aol.com.