Just say "no" to fad tech projects.

Since we're starting to get into the analysis stage of the biotech pipeline, I wanted to discuss a situation that I've seen a number of times, both in my own work and in discussions with others: Team members at the beginning of their career, or who are unhappy with their career progression often get the idea that the best way to get ahead is to become experts in the latest technical fads. Today that means generative models, LLMs, DevOps, crypto, etc. but a few years ago it was a different list. However, startups usually need their employees to spend most of their time on more mundane things like engineering and data munging. So one of two things ends up happening:

1. The employee finds any excuse to work on projects that involve these fads, but that don't make sense for the company. These poorly motivated projects will eventually end as proof-of-concepts or die with nothing to show for the effort.

2. The employee grows increasingly anxious and distracted working on projects that are good for the company, but that they see as bad for themselves. They eventually quit, feeling resentful for wasted years.

This situation is particularly acute at startups, which often over-estimate how central these cutting edge fields are to their science or pivot after they've made promises to their employees. So it's not uncommon to end up with team members that you hired for an exciting job that doesn't exist.

So what can you do about this?

First, it's important to recognize that this conflict between what's good for the company and what's good for the employee is more perception than real. In a few years, the tech world will have moved on to a new fad, but companies will still need the mundane, obscure experience that actually contributes to the company's success. The people who do this work get hired and promoted.

Second, it's important to recognize as early as possible when you’ve made a promise or started a project that doesn’t make sense for the company. Your investors and C-suite may be pushing you to work on these same buzz-wordy projects that your team is excited about. But someone needs to play the role of skeptic. You should be ruthlessly realistic about what projects will contribute to the bottom line and which ones won’t.

Finally, once you recognize what's happening, it's important to be upfront and honest about the situation. If you misjudged the technical needs, own up to it. If the priorities have shifted, communicate this as early as possible. If you're not sure whether the existing project will still make sense in a month, say so now. Otherwise, asking your team to pay their dues for a reward that isn't coming, or letting them work on a doomed project, is just going to end poorly for everyone.