Back after some work

The resolution to be a more faithful blogger crashed quickly…

I've just returned from a business trip to the US, exercising my new consultancy in the service of a paying client. It was an engaging experience. They have a new diagnostic technology that is almost complete and want to have their clinical evidence portfolio ready by next summer. The device review and business plan discussions lead to just the right conversations about patient needs and target markets, competition and reimbursement. The indications for use and claims for what the product will do flow nicely from that discussion, and that, in turn, defines the clinical study and patent strategies. Funding and resource needs support the plan, and a reasonable timeline and plan emerges. These are smart, motivated people and it was fun to be collaborating on ways to build the business and to bring their product towards market.

It did make for an intense visit, though. We worked about 14 hours each day, rotating among topics and working groups. Jet lag ensured that I was up early, so there was time to reflect on the previous day's discussions and to prepare questions and suggestions for the upcoming meetings. It was a great learning experience for me as well, finding out how my role as a contractor best supports them and occasionally reminding myself of the limited part I needed to play.

Aboard a crowded plane with work to do, both coming and going, and with limited time in hotels overnight, there was no time to develop thoughts in essays. Instead, I scribbled notes to expand on when I returned. Similarly, the books I brought along went largely unread; I skipped the new movies on the plane. Life is changing.

The airline lounges and breakfast buffets were filled with corporate folks on sales and strategy missions. I feel a lot of distance from them now. As a small business owner, I'm thinking more about value, cost, impact, and building the future, not about project milestones and negotiated leverage. (Even the vocabulary is changing, isn't it?)

Things are happening faster, but there are so many more things to do. It could feel overwhelming, but things feel remarkably steady at the moment. The business structure is well in place (sans web site, still under development) and my focus is shifting towards filling it with good projects and relationships. It's a fun period, full of potential with many small experiments and experiences illuminating the way forward.