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Trilogy Tidings October 2011 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
First the breaking news - which is not really news if you're currently breathing (and I suspect that you are). The world's equity and debt markets continue to amaze, entertain and scare the hell out of us. The consensus wisdom is to sit tight and hang tough. I believe it. If you missed my views last month on this subject, check it out.
My main topic this month is team building and resource finding. When you're seeking expert help, turning to someone who knows the appropriate domain expert(s) or can quickly and reliably identify them can be the difference between success and failure.
Finally, a very brief update on consulting engagements here at Trilogy.
Regards, Joe

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Find and Engage Domain Experts for a Better Outcome
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When I founded my consulting practice in 1989, I knew I wanted to broadly address the commercialization of new medical products on behalf of industrial clients. I entered the business with certain skills but there were (and still are) many skills and important knowledge domains missing. So I gradually affiliated with other senior practitioners to complement their practices and my own. That approach has worked out extremely well for me and, more importantly, for our clients; it's a superb business model. Trilogy Associates operates as a small cadre of generalists and specialists who together can access a large number of other experts whom we trust with our clients' money.
We also take this model to another level. I'm affiliated with a consulting collaborative based here in the Research Triangle called Innovalyst, an organization that has built a network of senior consultants and domain experts called the Intellectual Capital Network (ICaN). So I can literally access the skills, experiences and domain knowledge of well over 100 specialists within a few days based upon my combined Trilogy and Innovalyst connections.
I'm not telling you this to brag or solicit business; well maybe I am. But my real message to all of you who will someday seek very specific domain knowledge, or need to build a substantial team of service providers to get a lot of work done efficiently with minimal missteps, or anything in between, is: Seek out the people who know the right people who can help and can assemble an effective team to adroitly address your problem. There's no need to simply tap your usual sources and hope for the best; chances are you can do better. |
Some Recent Trilogy Engagements
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A perfect example of building a team of domain experts is a current project underway for a producer of drug manufacturing-related equipment. We are assisting their leadership team in exploring the merits of entering a related services business. We quickly assembled a team of five senior consultants, three of whom are domain experts in the specific services of interest.
We recently completed an engagement for an overseas producer of lab-based clinical imaging systems. They needed to know whether the U.S. market would be receptive to a new product they are contemplating developing. We assessed customer interests in the concept by means of a survey of pathologists and lab managers.
Also just completed was a project for a leading producer of surgical tools. Our mission was to identify complementary new products to add to their already extensive product line. We conducted an exhaustive search, identified some candidate products, and introduced the client to the current suppliers of those candidate products. |