Each employee at the Terasaki Institute is expected to be a leader.
As such everyone should strive to possess the following traits.
We obsess on improving human health and wellness. We work backward from the patient to cures. We do not worry about competitors but focus on unsolved medical problems.
We will only do projects that are important and impactful to patients. Doing something mundane takes the same amount of time as enabling a transformative concept. We focus on the long-term and do not sacrifice it for short-term gains.
We communicate effectively to establish strong connections, collaborate, as well as to clarify short-term tasks and long-term strategy.
We expect to solve important problems with creativity and rigor. We aim to develop solutions that can be broadly used, therefore we make sure that they are as simple as possible.
We expect the best from our team. In turn, we reward our top performers. Leaders develop leaders and mentor them to become the best they can be.
We do not waste resources. We aim to accomplish the most with the least resources.
We work as teams and do whatever is needed to get the job done. We do not say this is not my job.
We aim to help others without hesitation and expectation of something in return. We are fair and humble. We speak the truth and strive for greatness.
We aim to understand the important details of our problems. We read broadly and deeply into the literature.
We push ourselves and each other. We constantly increase expectations of ourselves and our teammates. We routinely assess processes and find ways of improving them.
We aim to broaden our knowledge by learning other disciplines. We constantly try to push ourselves beyond our comfort zone.
We challenge each other and express our opinions. We debate the best way to address problems by taking in perspectives from diverse groups. Once a decision is made we fully commit to it independent of our initial position.
We push ourselves to move fast without cutting corners. We constantly try to increase efficiency and improve how we accomplish goals. We focus on making impact on patients' lives through innovative publications, patents, proposals, and start-ups. “I tried” is not sufficient.
Doing biomedical innovation is an exercise in perseverance. Ninety percent of proposals do not get funded and most papers do not initially get accepted. We do not get discouraged and push ahead until we achieve success.
What was in fashion yesterday is old today. Leaders change and adapt as needed to remain impactful. They see opportunities ahead of others and seem to be always at the right place and right time. They stay on course when needed and change directions when it makes sense.