 We’ve heard it a thousand times - the labor market is tight and only getting worse. Unemployment for professionals is close to an all-time low while demand continues to skyrocket. Frankly, this is nothing new, nor should this be news to most of us. What is rather striking are the number of companies who seem to have little plan in place for how they’re going to continue to hire new employees amidst one of the most competitive and challenging employment times in our nations’ history. Where plans lack, so do results. Long gone are the days where we can post a job online and get a slew of great applicants, especially in the technology sector. Why? Because everyone is working, which means those who aren’t, well there might be a reason for that. What this also tells us is in large part the people we all want to hire are gainfully employed elsewhere, to get their attention to come work for you you’ll need to have a plan in place to do so. Before we can build a hiring plan we first need to understand what we’re up against. Local Marketplace Dynamics – Orange County, CA: · Wages in OC are on average 17.3% higher than the national average and 21% higher than neighboring counties
If your organization is hiring now or in the near future, especially for technologists, I strongly recommend you consider the following hiring and company operational best practices as these will set up both your organization to attract and retain the best people. Remember, the ‘art of hiring’ isn’t a guessing game or round of blindfolded pin the tail on the doneky. People work where they feel appreciated, respected, and compensated appropriately so your organization needs to be able to demonstrate that and then operate accordingly. Hiring & Company Operations Best Practices:
I’ll admit some of the above items seem a bit over the top yet in the same breath I must also admit many of these things are becoming common place. It’s not to say you need to do them all, but to not offer any of these perks to current and or prospective employees means you may likely find yourself losing current employees to other companies who do have them, or not being able to hire at all. SHRM estimates the cost to backfill an existing employee is 6-9 months of their annualized salary. This offers a good moment of reflection – should you invest upfront (perks) or pay in the rears as you look to backfill and replace employees? Additional Best Practices:
To attract the best of the best we need to constantly review and optimize our strategies to ensure they are both keeping up with the current marketplace while producing the results we need. Remember, continuing to do the same thing over and over again yet expecting different results isn’t a good recipe for hiring success, it’s corporate insanity.
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 Think back to the last time you had a service company over at your home to do work. I’ll bet you’re like most people I talk with who seem overjoyed to talk through the fiery details about their hellacious contractor experiences where hopes for good services are incinerated by severely, underwhelming contractors who still somehow render work for top dollar. Sound familiar? Unfortunately, many of us have similar stories to share when it comes to less than stellar service experiences. Our dismal experience with service provides can be boiled down to a lack of two characteristics: passion and care. In my most humble of opinions the reason why we experience poor service is because those providing it fall short in the areas of being passionate about what they do and caring to deliver a great experience. I thought I would forever be in the service abyss until two guys from a mobile window screen company completely changed my perspective on what’s possible. My wife and I recently decided to finally deal with some house repairs we’ve been putting off for a couple years and without a referral went online to find some help. I, my typical skeptical self, wasn’t expecting anything special. Frankly, I just hoped they would actually show up and not break anything in the process. Yes, we’ve experienced much of this in the past. Were we doomed to be saddled with lackluster help? I certainly thought so. Until these two guys showed up! Tony and Saul of T&S Mobile Screen Services arrived on the scene ready to up the ante and deliver a service I’m still trying to comprehend in all of its majestic glory. I’m writing this article because it needs to be said and perhaps recognized that good service DOES still exist in the world. I also own a services business myself that was started primarily because of this very issue – there seem to be endless companies offering bleak services which fall short of delivering a ‘Wow Factor’. That said, as a quick disclaimer, I’m not an employee of T&S, this isn’t a paid advertisement nor was I asked to write this. I’m simply just a happy customer wanting to share a good word about a great small business. So, what did T&S Mobile Screen Services do which made such a phenomenal impact on us? Let’s go through the experience start to finish:
The guys at T&S Mobile Screen Service put on a class on how to run a business that produces both great results and customer experiences. These guys should get a freakin Emmy Award for their performance! As the day went on I couldn’t stop thinking about the experience. For Tony and Saul it may have just been another job and another satisfied customer but for me it was something altogether quite different. It changed my entire mindset about what’s possible. Now that I’ve experienced this type of service, something akin to a Nordstrom’s experience – maybe even better, I now know this type of experience with contractors and service professionals is possible. What it really comes down to is being passionate about what you do (whatever that may be) and caring enough to put in a great effort. Since then I’ve probably told a half dozen people this story, my father and I have now done a podcast on it and I’m writing this article you’re reading now. If that doesn’t tell you the power of good service I don’t know what to say other than this… I would happily pay good money to have more experiences like this with service providers and contractors who are passionate about their craft and care to leave a positive lasting impression. Thanks again to Tony and Saul from T&S Mobile Screen Services, you guys made me a customer for life.  Recently our company published a poll online offering up the following question for the medical device community: “What is the most important factor to consider when developing a medical device product?” At the close of the poll dozens of people had cast their votes for what they believed to be the factors affecting product development the most. The poll options included:
If you have been in industry for any length of time you know there are dozens of factors which can and often have a direct impact on the product development process. While there are dozens to consider, such as PRS (Product Requirement Specification), planning, user experience, DFM, etc. what we know to be true is each of these factors carry varying weights of impact. They are not all equal in measure or influence. As our poll launched and picked up steam one of the four factors listed as an option began to take a commanding lead. The respondents, who are largely made up of medical device professionals and executives, had identified a common factor which stood above the rest in its ability to impact positively or negatively the product development process. What was this most important factor? Would you have guessed ‘Having the Right Team in Place’ is the number one factor which determines success when developing a medical device product? ‘Having the Right Team in Place’ was identified by 51% of the respondents as being the most important factor which directly contributes to the success of medical device product development. The other options broke down as follows:  Simply put – having the right team in place covers all of the other areas that potentially could produce challenges during the product development cycle. Whereas the inverse is certainly all too true. When we have the wrong team in place, or teammates lacking the capabilities to facilitate their job as needed by the company, inevitably problems go arise which hold back otherwise good opportunities and technology offerings. Jim Collins, celebrated author (books like ‘Good to Great’ & ‘Built to Last’) and business management guru, is quoted as saying “Leaders of great companies start by getting the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats.” What this means is it’s more about the people than it is the technology or problem you’re solving. This is an important lesson, especially for first time entrepreneurs and startup executives. You can have the best product idea in the world, one that is in high demand, but if you don’t have the right team in place you’ll most likely spin your wheels while blowing out copious amounts of money in the process. We’ve also seen this reality in person dozens of times. As a medical device consulting firm we work with a lot of companies, both start up and conglomerate alike. One of the consistent characteristics we see within the companies which are able to drive success, often times repeated success, is their management team is comprised of experts in their particular field who know how to both lead and operate in the weeds. They both strategic and tactical, able to plan for the long term while addressing todays shorter term needs. As a result, they know how the job is done and therefore can either lead or delegate those tasks helping to guide their department or team to successful completion. When you have the right people on the team (your bus) you will then find opportunities (the medical problem you’ll solve) to move forward with. Following this process you’ll also have a far better chance of facilitating that opportunity through the development process and into commercialization, or acquisition.  The Future of Business in California3/30/2021  TODAY AT 4 PM pacific! Business owners of all industries and sizes have had to battle many challenges over the last year; pandemic, economic, societal, technological and political, just to name a few. All of these challenges have served up their own unique obstacles to deal with. The hosts of Business Wingmen Podcast Show Steve and Travis host a special guest, Major Williams, who will talk about today's business climate and his vision for the future of business in California. Join us to meet Major Williams - a seasoned entrepreneur, business owner and now candidate of Governor of California! Listen in on the discussion at www.businesswingmen.com #podcast #business #california #majorwilliams #economy #future #leadership #businesswingmen  Want to get through your remediation project successfully? Doing these two things helps dramatically increase your chances of success. #fearlessmedtech #remediation #fda #medicaldevice #medtech #quality #compliance #QMS  Remediation in the medical device industry is often described as a matter of “it’s not if it will happen, it’s when it will happen”. With so many companies over the years going through major remediation efforts one would think by now most people in the business would have a good appreciation for what success looks like to navigate through FDA remediation projects. Yet, many people will tell you the remediation projects they’ve been a part of were messy, unorganized and a galactic waste of money. Unfortunately, when we’re faced with remediation there is no choice other than to mend our broken wings before flying home for the summer. This sparks an interesting question – if I have a remediation project ready to deploy what are the things I can do to ensure it succeeds? Regardless of the project size implementing these six keys to success will drastically help increase your ability to successful execute on your next remediation project: 1. Ensure Your Entire Company (Especially Executive Management) is Onboard Everyone in the organization, bottom up, needs to understand why this project just went to the top of the work list. Everyone needs to be bought in and rowing in the same direction, otherwise you’ll experience cumbersome internal issues as mentioned above, which waste time, money and energy. One can accomplish by using a tactical scorecard as described in #4. 2. Establish Clear, Consistent and Easy Communication Protocols for the Project Once your entire management team and company is onboard its time to set expectations for communication. This is one of the most overlooked parts of any large scale project. It’s especially important when considering cross functional company divisions and the people accountable to working towards successful completion. When people are misinformed or don’t know what’s going on you can be certain it will slow your project down and cause further product quality and procedural issues down the road. 3. Get a Lobbyist You’ll need someone acting as the liaison between your company and the FDA. Typically, this person comes from your QA/ RA group, but is that the right person? Don’t assume your de facto executive in QA / RA is the best for the job. Ensure your company aligns itself with a proven individual who has relationships within the FDA and knows how to play the game. If necessary get a consultant to support this effort. This will pay off huge dividends in the end as they’ll know how to navigate delicate situations, get continuances and or leniencies where able. 4. Employ a Tactical Scorecard Remediation projects can quickly run off the rails if leadership isn’t hyper focused on tangible execution. When projects span an entire organization involving dozens of resources and a multitude of external suppliers its easy for things to get lost in the shuffle causing delays and confusion among the troops. To overcome this challenge utilize a tactical scorecard which everyone in management has access too along with anyone who is in a lead role for the remediation project. It’s a project charter and Gantt Chart combined into one, just simplified. This scorecard should breakdown the project into four or five key areas as necessary, but no more than five. Each of these project areas act as a cost center of sorts for accountability. Within each area you’ll have the activities coming up in the next 30 days, deliverable dates and the people who own the work. A process like this creates transparency while providing clear direction. The key stakeholders should meet at least monthly, if not earlier, to review the status of the project in comparison to the scorecard. SCRUM style meetings offer a good approach for transparency and accountability. 5. Learn How to Manage Cost Early On Often companies will use a consulting group to lead or help work through their remediation efforts. All too often the selection process for that supplier comes down to a key relationship within the company which basically side tracks any formal vetting process of other possible suppliers. Cost becomes a 2nd or 3rd consideration over a relationship. This can be disastrous as selecting the wrong supplier to help you with a remediation project can end up costing you thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of dollars extra down the road. Case in point – when you use suppliers that fly in consultants you are literally paying more than double the cost for that service just because those resources weren’t local. Flights, housing, food, per diems, auto, travel, etc. adds up incredibly fast. I’ll admit, sometimes the best solution is an out-of-town supplier, however be sure to do your homework before you settle on the one supplier that’s going to get your company back on track. 6. Know the Difference Between Execution & Strategy As mentioned above, companies use consultants because it’s a good way to get ahead of a remediation project with people who have been there an done it before. It momentarily expands your bandwidth for as long as you need. While that sounds lovely there is a downside to the consulting and client relationship – the difference between strategy and execution. Some consulting companies bill themselves as experts and charge big prices to boot. What many companies find out the hard way is that these overpriced consulting firms stay up in the stratosphere where strategy is best played and seldom come down to the ground level to get their hands dirty. This means they can put a plan together but executing on it is another story all together. If you’re going to use a consulting firm make sure your contract includes deliverables which focus on execution and completion of work. Key Take Away: If you’re heading into an FDA remediation project it is paramount to set up a company wide communication protocol which provides direction and project updates in real time. Action Item: Remember – it’s not ‘if’ but ‘when’ you’ll find yourself in a situation where you’re stuck going through remediation. Therefore, you must be proactive. Before you need the help, begin compiling data on suppliers that could help with a possible remediation project. Compare their capabilities, learn how they would approach a potential project, how do they charge, etc. Once you’ve done your homework you’ll then have all the necessary information upfront to make a strategic and informed decision when it comes time to dive into remediation. Could You Live Fearlessly?2/15/2021  Imagine a life that is totally different from the one we know today. A life where disease and medical disorders are not commonplace. A life where medical afflictions no longer claim lives. It’s a wild thought, we know. It is our utopia! Now think about this utopia in comparison to where we are at today. In 2019, roughly 58 million people died worldwide of which 74% of those deaths (or 43 million people) were the result of noncommunicable diseases like heart disease, stroke and COPD. Imagine what the world would be like if all of those people, our family, friends and colleagues, were still with us. It’s a sobering and certainly emotional thought! But how could we ever achieve such a utopian life existence? Enter Square-1 Engineering and the greater life science industry. As I write this I’ll humbly admit there will inevitably be people who read these statements and think we’re absurd or even delusional for thinking we could ever achieve a life without disease and medical disorders. That said, it would also be prudent to note the purpose of this statement is not about our company, it’s not a sales pitch or a ‘look at what we’re doing’ ploy. It’s about an unrealized opportunity we need your help with as we believe it to be our responsibility to spread the word. Our utopia is indeed possible and it will take all of us, both within the life sciences industry and outside, to work together towards a greater goal. This greater goal, which we’ve defined by Square-1’s company vision, is to achieve a life where ‘medical technology has created a new quality of life empowering people to live fearlessly’. Fearlessly! Our company, like many others, is on a quest to change the world as we know it for the better. How are we going to do this you ask? We’ll achieve this through the advancement of medical technology. Along with many other companies in the life science industry, our focus is to drive change and innovation so that we can continue to inch closure to a state in the future where the way we live as people is better than today. Hopefully without disease and medical disorder. Imagine again if all heath care afflictions were in fact eradicated. The fear many of us live with as a result of the daily health issues we struggle with would also cease to exist. Rather than harboring fear we could spend our time focused on a life filled with optimistic gratefulness. We know our ambitions are colossal, even unimaginable at times yet this is exactly what keeps us going. It’s for this reason we’ve made it our mission to put all our time and energy into advancing medical technologies to improve patient lives today so we can in the future meet our utopia, a world rid of disease and disorder. Could you live fearlessly? Join us on our mission and learn more about some of the great companies who are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in order to create a better tomorrow. A fearless tomorrow. Our utopia! Medtronic: https://www.medtronic.com/us-en/about/mission.html Edwards Lifesciences: https://www.edwards.com/aboutus/credo# Staar Surgical: https://staar.com/our-mission Square-1 Engineering: http://www.sqr1services.com/vision-mission.html Axonics Modulation Technologies: https://www.axonics.com/about-axonics/who-we-are Diality: https://www.diality.com/diality #fearlessmedtech  We’re living in some wild times right now. Wild in the sense that life is changing rapidly around us, so fast in fact it can be challenging to keep up with it all. This is certainly the way of the world and what we can expect for the foreseeable future.
While change is inevitable, some change isn’t always for the best. Enter LinkedIn. If you’re unfamiliar with the story of LinkedIn you may be surprised to know it actually went live in May of 2003. You read that right, LinkedIn got started even before YouTube and Facebook. In the beginning LinkedIn’s mission statement was ‘connect the world's professionals to make them more productive and successful’. This is the foundation, the bedrock, of what LinkedIn was supposed to be. Fast forward to today, LinkedIn now owned by Microsoft since 2016, still has this same mission yet the actual user experience of the platform is anything but business focused. A quick scroll down LinkedIn’s running content feed reveals content posted by people and companies covering literally every spectrum imaginable from business, politics, religion, personal pictures and even cat memes. Lots of memes. This, in my most humble of opinions, is an unfortunate perversion of the platform. Today there are literally dozens of social media platforms offering us the opportunity to connect, speak our minds, share content while being paper tigers and internet trolls. So why is it LinkedIn keeps going the way of everyone else and allowing content that isn’t business related? It’s lost its competitive advantage. Why also are we as users adulterating this platform making it like all the others? As a daily user of LinkedIn my soul purpose for using this platform is for business purposes, so naturally this is my bias. I don’t use LinkedIn for anything else except business and on a daily basis wish that was the case for everyone else on the platform. I’m aware this is a big wish, perhaps colossal. There are dozens of other social communication platforms available for non-business purposes including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tik Tok, YouTube, Tumblr, QQ, etc. If you want to post something non-business related you have a never-ending list of options at your disposal outside of LinkedIn. About a year ago I made a personal decision to remove myself permanently from all other social media platforms as I felt like the time I was spending on them, along with the negativity, wasn’t providing good value in my life. Fast forward to today, it’s hard to discern the difference between LinkedIn and other platforms like Facebook, Twitter, etc. This, again in my most humble of opinions, is a sad statement as the idea and original intention of what LinkedIn was supposed to be is a great thing. One which I believe is greatly needed in the world of business. So here is my ask – please stop using LinkedIn for non-business purposes. Take your cat memes, politics, religious statements and personal content to Facebook where it belongs. That being said, in the nicest way I know possible, here’s what I’m not saying in the above statement:
I’m also well aware of the fact that one can simply pass by unwanted content on LinkedIn they don’t like and or remove the connection or hide the content for future purposes. While yes, that is a possible solution it doesn’t necessarily solve the problem. Hiding or just passing by unwanted content is a form of indifference. E.W. Howe is quoted as saying “The most destructive criticism is indifference”. I agree. I remain convinced, even more so today, LinkedIn should and must remain focused solely on business. No exceptions. If you feel the same way about removing non-business content on LinkedIn I ask you to join me in using this hash tag any time you see content that isn’t business related. #keepLIbusinessonly Perhaps over time we can turn the tides and get this platform back to the way it was intended to be – for business purposes only. Be well & live wisely. Get Your Boss to Approve Your Idea12/8/2020  You’ve got an idea! Maybe it’s to optimize a process, save the company money or to develop a new product. Many of us at one point or another in our careers will come across this situation where we have a brilliant idea but we don’t know how to implement it. Once we have the idea what we do after the fact is what makes or breaks our ability to turn into reality.
The steps below can help you organize your thoughts in a formal manner so you can further vet your idea while positioning yourself (and of course your idea) for the best possible chance to get approval from the powers that be. Step #1 – Develop A Business Case A business case captures the reasoning for initiating a project or task. It is often presented in a formatted written document outlining everything from the reason for the project, problem(s) it solves and the ROI. Components of a business case document may include:
Once you’ve compiled your business case now it’s time to present it. Set a meeting with your boss, or the appropriate party who would most likely approve your idea and or project. Inform them ahead of time what the purpose of the meeting is and arrive prepared with multiple copies of your business case both to reference and present from. Leave the approver with a copy of your business case and an action item to keep them engaged and thinking about your presentation. Well look at that! You did such a good job compiling your thoughts and presenting your idea that your boss granted you approval to move forward in the project. Excelsior! Now that you have approval, which is a fancy way of saying “we like your idea enough to put money behind it”, you will need to build out the project in detail using a ‘Project Charter’ to ensure it meets a successful conclusion. Note: What’s the difference between a ‘Business Case’ and a ‘Project Charter’? A business case comes first as it is an assessment or feasibility study of an idea or task; the sponsor (person who has the idea) pitches their case to the funding stakeholders (typically your boss or people in management). If approved, a project charter is completed outlining the project in detail. The information within the charter is the constraints for which success will be measured. Step #2 – Develop a Project Charter As mentioned above, the project charter is a document which clearly defines the project scope, objectives, and participants involved. Components of a project charter may include:
You’ll note that much of the work that was done initially for the business case can in turn be used in completing the project charter. If your project is big enough it may be worth looking into project management software, like Basecamp or JIRA, to electronically track your projects activities and deliverables. Now that you’ve got your main documents guiding you through the project out of the way the next step will be to kick off the project and get underway. I recommend doing the kickoff meeting in person if possible, or via video conference call, where the team can openly talk about the needs of the project and how tasks will be divided up. All resources involved in the project should have a copy of the project charter along with clear expectations on what their role is and timeframe to deliver those tasks. Now that you have a basic foundation for what is needed to get your projects approved and kicked off the next step is to look into resources like the Project Management Institute (PMI) and their primary resource guide called Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). These resources will help you stay on track while providing vast amounts of information on how to move projects through to successful completion. About the AuthorTravis Smith is the founder and managing director of Square-1 Engineering, a life sciences consulting firm, providing end to end technical project services to companies which design, develop and or manufacture products in Southern California. He successfully served the life sciences marketplace in SoCal for over 15 years specializing in engineering services, consulting, project outsourcing and leadership development. In 2019 he was recognized as a ‘40 Under 40’ honoree by the Greater Irvine Chamber of Commerce as a top leader in Orange County, CA. Archives
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