Friends Coming Together
On a Thursday in late September, I took a very early flight out from London to Berlin.
In recent years, my annual number of flights has reduced significantly as I tip my hat towards more climate sensitive travel; however, I must admit I still enjoy arriving early at Heathrow and eating a full English breakfast over a caffeinated cup of tea.
On this trip, I was scheduled to meet a couple of contacts who are working in Berlin, but the real reason for the flight was to catch up with the team who had worked for me when I was employed by a large Berlin-based pharmaceutical company.
I had decided to wear the red suit which was my trademark when I was in my previous pharmaceutical role. I guess my vanity was stroked by the label: Dreikorn for Beautiful People. I was less than pleased, however, when several taxis cruised past my outstretched hand outside the hotel. I suppose it could only be a fear that the wearer was in some way deranged – a walking red flag of sorts.
After eventually being picked up by one of the braver Berlin taxi drivers, I arrived at the the barbeque where almost 20 people had convened. Four hours passed in a second as we reminisced and reminded ourselves of why we worked so well together, bringing a level of success to the company that they were ultimately unable to sustain when the team was broken up.
The secret: we formed a team within a team, built on a foundation of enthusiasm, vision, dedication and mutual support. In a highly competitive, pressured and fast-paced environment, this made us special. We established ourselves as ‘Friends Coming Together’, whether as an internal team, or a broader group that included the physicians who had worked on the trials, even encompassing those that chose to be associated because of the impact our drug could make on patients’ lives. Looking back, I have no doubt that the care and attention we showed, which we shared with the physicians and patients, was key to our success as we coaxed and supported our asset through a difficult path to launch.
The barbeque was a reminder that work fills a large chunk of our lives, but that this should not be an exercise in clock punching. Life can be enriched by work if you have confidence in your colleagues, you believe in your goals, and celebrate your achievements.
