Last week I visited the University of Pennsylvania for a fireside chat with Roger Greenberg, a Professor in the Department of Cancer Biology, as part of the Wharton Undergraduate Healthcare Club (WUHC). I shared my personal history and answered questions from an audience primarily consisting of Penn undergraduate students. This inspired me to write down advice that I wish I could have given to my younger self.
This blog is a reflection on the traits of successful people (current tense), with advice I wish I had received as I was navigating the early stages of my career (subjunctive and past tenses). For fun, I used Google’s “Illuminate” app to turn the text below into a 7-minute podcast (podcast audio link here). Oh, the power of Artificial Intelligence!
[Disclaimer: I am a full-time employee of Bristol Myers Squibb. All views expressed here are my own.]
1. Beware of the personal narrative. When established individuals (i.e., old, successful people!) give advice to youth, they often spin a tale that makes sense in retrospect. The narrative may be accurate from an outcomes perspective but is often inaccurate from a journey Further, personal narratives often tell a story that makes the narrator look favorable at the expense of lessons learned for the audience listening. Personal narratives may conveniently leave out the failures and moments of indecision and fear that are characteristic of a journey. (See my previous blog on this topic here.)
I wish I understood this when I was younger, as these personal narratives made the path to success seem very challenging for someone like my younger self. I was unnecessarily intimidated by those who attended “elite universities” or accomplished unimaginable feats. I assumed at the time I was in a different class of intellectual capabilities. Fortunately, my younger self was sufficiently competitive that I wanted to at least try to get into the arena and see what I could accomplish.
I wish I knew how much luck and randomness contributes to success. And I wish I knew that when Successful People (note hint of sarcasm with capitalization) tell their stories they markedly discount luck and randomness…and incorrectly assume their success was all skill. (See this blog by David Shaywitz, who goes deep into this topic.)
I wish I had asked Successful People not about the outcome (e.g., “I was hired into job X”) but about the journey, the critical decisions in difficult situations and how they navigated periods of uncertainty. I wish I then tried to map these scenarios on to my own situation, rather than trying to mimic or recreate the path of a Successful Person.
So younger self: listen to the journeys of others, not just the outcomes. Listen for the anecdotes that may shed light on decisions you are facing and use these insights to guide decisions unique to you. (For more on decision-making, see “Play poker” below.)
2. Know yourself, be yourself, love yourself. When my daughter graduated from high school in 2021, I gave a toast at a dinner event we hosted with her friends (link to toast here). For inspiration, I watched commencement addresses on YouTube and gravitated to one in particular from Will Ferrell’s 2017 speech at USC (video link here, transcript here). To paraphrase some of my favorite comments: “Give yourself permission to be silly and weird…My fear of failure never approached in magnitude my fear of what if. What if I never tried at all?…Trust your gut, keep throwing darts at the dartboard…Don’t listen to the critics and you will figure it out.”
Don’t listen to the critics. You will figure it out.
But, to figure it out, I wish my younger self had known how important it is to really be honest with yourself, as candid self-reflection is key to understanding true passions. I wish I then had more confidence in pursuing those interest, even if that path had not been trodden by others. Early on – and “early” here is high school, college, and the first few years of medical school! – I didn’t really know who I was, wanted I wanted to be. I didn’t know what made my heart race.
I wish my younger self threw more darts at the dartboard. I wish I had explored more ideas, especially in unexpected roles. And I wish I hadn’t assumed there were only certain, often conventional career paths (e.g., doctor, lawyer, investment banker).
I wish I had spent more time getting to know myself so that I could be myself and then love myself.
3. Play poker. Here is where I start to get into trouble with my younger self. Most people would advise their younger selves to read books. And yes, younger self, reading is very important, too. However, I wish my younger self knew the importance of decision-making in the face of uncertainty, and that the world is probabilistic and not deterministic. And playing poker helps to understand these and other concepts.
Now, I am not very good a poker. I do, however, enjoy the concepts of placing bets on ideas and embracing probabilistic thinking (e.g., see this blog on whether drug discovery is more like poker or chess). There are good books on this topic, including Annie Duke’s “Thinking in Bets” (here), Maria Konnikova’s “The Biggest Bluff” (here), and Nate Silver’s “On the Edge” (here).
Too often, my younger self assumed a black-and-white world, that knowledge is rooted in a deep understanding of facts. During my PhD, I learned that what is in academic textbooks is directionally accurate, but there are many assumptions that are not obvious and occasionally wrong. I wish I’d learned to questions “facts” and ask about underlying assumptions. If I had, my younger self would have been more comfortable in assigning probabilities to knowledge rather than unquestioningly accepting all knowledge as fact. Poker is all about assigning probabilities to cards held by a player (aka “poker hands”) and making decisions based on probabilities and assumptions of the hands of others.
My younger self was too cautious at times in the face of uncertainty. I wish I had the courage to make bolder decision amidst incomplete information. To pull from another commencement speech (link here): “Certainty will elude us. The last degree of caution is cowardice. Perfect safety is a mirage. All you need is the courage to act on the conclusions you reach.” In poker, there are times when you need to go all-in. In life, there are times when you need to pounce, to go all-in with incomplete information.
My younger self didn’t appreciate that many people bluff (e.g., see “beware of personal narratives” above). I remember sitting next to other candidates before medical school or internal medicine residency interviews and hearing their stories of accomplishments. I was intimidated. I felt inadequate. But over time, as I learned more about individual stories, I realized bluffing is as real in life as it is in poker. Don’t be afraid to call someone’s bluff.
Finally, younger self, know that results aren’t as important as the decisions you make, as there is an outsized short-term luck factor in life and in poker. Successful outcomes don’t necessarily translate to good decisions, in the same way that poor outcomes don’t equal poor decisions. Focus on the journey and the decisions rather than the outcomes. Younger self, learn to think in bets.
4. Be curious. I love people who get excited about topics outside of their direct area of expertise. I love people who ask questions and listen to others – they lean into these conversations with wide-eyes, an open heart, and genuine interest. I love people who experiment in life, even in simple ways such as “I wonder what eating raw fish tastes like?”. In contrast, I get frustrated by people who talk only about themselves and the things they know, under the assumption they are the most interesting person in the room. I get frustrated by those who never seem to explore new ideas, whether at work or in life.
From a professional development perspective, curiosity is more than just a desire to seek out novelty and challenges. It can be a powerful tool that can lead to lifelong learning and uncover unexpected interests, which is a springboard for going deep (see next topic). Rather asking, “What will I be when I grow up?”, I wish my younger self asked: “What will be my first job that satisfies my intellectual curiosity today”. Albert Einstein famously said, “Curiosity is more important than knowledge”.
I wish my younger self listened more, asked more questions, and experimented more. I wish my younger self had more confidence to wander, guided by curiosity. I wish my younger self understood that a rewarding career is more a curiosity-directed random walk than a linear path from degree to paycheck.
But younger self, you cannot wander forever, which brings me to my next piece of advice…
5. Go deep. In college, I learned the material. In medical school, I learned the material. During my PhD training, I went deep (thank you, Hunt Willard). In my post-doc, I went deep (thank you, David Altshuler). Interestingly, in my high school English class, I also went deep – talking about ideas from books rather than just summarizing the content (thank you, Jack Labonte).
There is a big difference between learning what is taught and going deep beyond a textbook. I wish my younger self went deeper, sooner.
The colleagues that I respect the most today have gone deep in some subject. It could be an intellectual subject such as art history, politics, or music. It could be a physical challenge, like succeeding in competitive sport or dance. It could be through a community activity, such as contributing to a non-profit organization. In many ways, the topic pursued is less important than the ability to go deep into that topic. Going deep shows commitment, perseverance, and resilience.
If a person has gone deep once, it is very likely that they will be able to go deep in the future, especially if the decision to go deep is guided by genuine curiosity. Combined with other traits above, people who go deep and are curious are more likely (note tone of probabilistic thinking) to navigate complexities of modern careers, as pivots are more likely (poker again!) than linear paths.
So younger self: go deep in an area of interest. Learn from the experience and apply those learnings to other areas. Melding curiosity and depth, I wish my younger self appreciated the pattern: “Wander. Go deep. Repeat!”
6. Communication matters. As I watch successful people today, I am struck by the range of communication styles that are required in very senior positions. In my job today, I go deep into data with laboratory scientists, and level-up content for peers who run non-science parts of our business. I talk relationships and teamwork with members of our human resources and leadership teams. And I write blogs for…an unknown audience who may be interested in the content!
My younger self did work on communication skills. In high school, I enjoyed writing and journaling, and I worked at an ice cream shop in a customer-facing role. In college, I was a tour guide at Sea World and a teaching assistant responsible for small group discussions. During my PhD training, I gave presentations during lab meetings and at scientific conferences. (Thank you again, Hunt Willard.) During medical training, I had to communicate difficult health messages to patients and families, and I had to communicate scientific detail to other physicians about cases.
But I don’t think my younger self really understood how important these communication skills were to develop. Indeed, I got lucky based on choices that I made for other reasons.
Further, my younger self did not realize how the combination of skills – curiosity, intellect, communication, confidence – together with a lot of luck, determines success. My younger self perseverated on intelligence as a key factor in success, without appreciating that the most successful people have the right combination of skills.
Younger self: prioritize communication skills. Spend time writing (again, thank you, Mr. Labonte). Be clear with your words and be precise with slides and visuals (thank you, Hunt and David). Know your audience. Understand that the right mix of skills determines success, with communication skills being as important as intelligence.
7. Relationships matter. I will end on this one, as this is perhaps the most important. When I asked family and friends to share their reflections on advice they would give to their younger selves, this was the most popular answer. (Surprisingly, “play poker” was not mentioned by anyone else.)
In business terms, “It is not the sale, it is the re-sale.” That is, anyone can sell something once – by hook-or-by-crook. But if one establishes strong relationships with people, it is possible to sell products again and again. (I attribute this expression to Harvey Mackay in his book, Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive).
Today, I benefit from many of these relationships. I am fortunate to have family and friends who support me (thank you “Best Damn Fam”). I am grateful to the cohort of peers who were part of my journey, especially those during my post-doc years (you know who you are). I am grateful for mentors who still provide advice today, including mentors from the pharmaceutical industry. (Thank you, Rupert Vessey.) These relationships take work, however – and a commitment to each other.
Younger self: cultivate the most important relationships. Be prepared to work at establishing the relations and maintaining the relationships. I regret not maintaining more of my friendships at different stages of my life. I am trying to make up for some of that now.