Pole Pole: Summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro

Many of you have been following my trek to Tanzania to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro for Climb for Cancer. Our team of 20+ biopharma executives raised more than $1 Million for The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, Washington.

The trek to the top is 5 days and getting off the mountain is 2 days.

The summit occurs overnight; leaving at midnight with headlamps on. Following the boots in front of you up a rocky, and sometimes slippery, trail for more than 6 hours to achieve a 4,000 foot elevation gain. After about 5 hours, you get to Stella Point; but that is not the peak.  For our team, it was frigid and blowing and many questioned if they could do the last push. You have another hour to go to get to Uhuru Peak at 19, 341 feet elevation.

Throughout the trek, regardless of the varied climates and landscape, you hear the Swahili words “pole pole”. 

Pole pole in Swahili means “slowly, slowly”

On the summit night, you have a lot of time to think.  You’re walking with only your headlamp to light the path and it is hard to breath.  The trek is slow because of the steep incline of the ascent.  Conversation on the mountain is limited generally, and for our team it was further squelched by the cold and whipping winds that made it difficult to hear one another.  

As I was putting one foot in front of the other for more than 6 hours, I reflected on the importance of “pole pole” on many things in life.  

The transition to biopharma often feels “pole pole” to many physicians.  Generally, I counsel clients that they should anticipate a 6 – 12 month period of preparing, applying, interviewing and ultimately signing.  the concept of “pole pole” applies to a transition to biopharma as well.  

Although the following steps take time, ultimately you can reach the pinnacle of your transition.

• Applying for roles: it will take multiple applications to get to the interview stage for one role
• Getting the interview: even when you are being considered for a role the interview process may drag out through several rounds that it feels like take weeks to months
• Going back to step 1: it’s possible there are several candidates being interviewed and you may not get chosen; taking you back to applying again (I would suggest that you should continue to apply for roles until you have the job in hand!)

Through patience and determination, and recognizing that this journey to biopharma transition may be slower than you anticipated, the approach of one foot in front of the other, or “one step at a time” will help you achieve your goal. 

On Mt. Kilimanjaro it is well known that “pole pole” helps people succeed to summit.  Those that go out to fast risk Acute Mountain Sickness and having to turn back and leave the mountain.  

Approach the transition to biopharma with a healthy dose of “pole pole” and you WILL reach the goal. 

Ready to make a career transition to pharma/biotech… want to explore a way to use your medical training and knowledge in a fulfilling way without nights and weekends call or charting. Watch this webinar on Getting Past the Three Major Hurdles to a Career in the Pharma Industry HERE.