What Gives With The New Look?
By Rob Wright, Chief Editor, Life Science Leader
Follow Me On Twitter @RfwrightLSL
Unless this is your first month as a subscriber to Life Science Leader magazine, undoubtedly you have noticed this issue looks significantly different than previous issues. If you’re the type of person who is not a fan of change, I assure you this new look is restricted to aesthetics and not indicative of some broader alteration to our content or market coverage. Go ahead, flip through a few pages. I think you’ll see the monthly features you have come to enjoy and find valuable are all still there, just with a different design.
When I worked in the pharmaceutical industry, I experienced a number of changes, such as corporate realignments, acquisitions, mergers, downsizing, rightsizing, and various other forms of restructurings. Immediately after the change, if you were still employed, you probably sat through a seminar on “change” complete with a PowerPoint presentation. After reviewing the stages of change (shock, denial, frustration, depression, experiment, decision, integration) visually via a diagram of the Kübler-Ross change curve, you would typically receive a parting gift. I personally collected three copies of Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson and Kenneth Blanchard, as well as two copies of Good To Great by Jim Collins. If you have been around as long as I have, you probably already have a copy of the necessary books which might help you with adjusting to the new look of Life Science Leader. If you don’t, I will be happy to share my copies.
According to Rosabeth Moss Kanter, professor of business administration at Harvard Business School, “The best tool for leaders of change is to understand the predictable, universal source of resistance in each situation and then strategize around it.” Prior to making changes that affect others, experts say it is important for change agents to think through carefully as to what the change will include, who it will impact and how, and the potential reaction. For this redesign, we took nearly a year to come up with what you see today. We gained input from a variety of sources before landing on the final design. As for your reaction, I am eager to hear it. Feel free to drop me an email, or better yet, pick up the phone and tell me what you think.
Why did we make the change? The answer is simple. Leadership is about leading. But as you have undoubtedly experienced in your careers, leadership is also about implementing change. Good leaders understand the proverb, “if you aren’t the lead dog, the scenery never changes.” As one of the industry-leading publications now entering our sixth year in print, we at Life Science Leader thought a fresh look was in order — one that matched the quality of our content. Consider this — Apple sweats every detail when it comes to their products, including an obsession for product packaging. The company’s cofounder, Steve Jobs, wanted customers to feel a certain emotion when opening Apple products. And while many subscribe to the notion that you can’t judge a book by its cover, we often do. We hope you judge our new look favorably.