Beyond Sales: Unveiling the Impact of AI and Diversity with Berendia Jackson. Sales Leader.

The discussion spans Berendia's journey from her early passion for science to her significant roles in commercial sales and leadership at renowned companies like GE Healthcare, Millipore, and Miltenyi Biotec. The narrative explores the evolution of sales tools, the impact of AI on the future of sales, and the intersection of technical and soft skills in the industry. It also tackles important themes of diversity and inclusion within the workplace, reflecting on the challenges and opportunities for minority leaders. Brina shares her vision for the future, emphasizing the importance of empathy, continuous learning, and a people-centric approach to leadership. Tune in for insights on career progression, embracing new ideas, and making a meaningful impact in life sciences.

00:00 Introduction and Background
01:12 Journey into the Life Sciences Industry
02:17 Sales Skills and Technical Knowledge
04:15 Changes in Sales and Customer Dynamics
06:43 The Future of Sales with AI
16:26 Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace
28:01 Career Aspirations and Leadership
32:03 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Transcript

[00:00:00] Patrick: needless to say, I've been pretty excited talking to you. I've known you for a couple years now not only as a colleague, but you were a tremendous leader , working together. And I think a lot of people can learn from you not only as a leader, but just as someone in the industry, you know, take a look at your LinkedIn profile.

[00:00:18] Patrick: You've been in the life science industry for a long time now, since. School pretty much having a science degree in school but you and I are similar in that way.

[00:00:26] Patrick: We've had our. Vision in this industry. You probably a little bit more strong handed than me. I just kind of accidentally fell into this one. But obviously working for big companies like Mil, Tenney, ge Healthcare, Millipore, and most obviously by Nic, I think a lot of people could learn tremendously from your experience.

[00:00:44] Berendia Jackson: It's a pleasure to be here and connect. You know, I'm really proud of what North Star is doing a sales agency, which I think is great. You and I both think of the same way. We've had this tremendous skillset we. Were able to help our former employers and things that we've worked with over the years, but now you can take and pivot that and use that skill for your own enablement and building your own company and helping connect customers, right, with the right ideas, the right products, the right resources. So I think as a thrill to be able to talk here, and you talk about your journey, right from when I was in junior high. Like, I knew I liked science from way back then, it came to me naturally. And then initially wanting to go into med school, but then just later realizing. The main reason why I wanted to be a doctor was to be able to tell people what's going on with them, to really help them understand the implications, make better informed decision.

[00:01:38] Berendia Jackson: So I just started to get clarity around that. I really was drawn to people, right? Like helping people and you know, being in science, working on the bench, and then making the transition to a commercial sales role. But definitely being still a very technical person and not just only. The business side of it, realizing that people do matter.

[00:01:59] Berendia Jackson: I think my hashtag that I use sometimes on LinkedIn is people make the difference, right? And so during that journey, if you can have a outstanding message that impacts and benefits humanity, and you can bring people along with you in that journey, I think that's a blessing. Hmm.

[00:02:16] Patrick: Yes, you nailed it. That's the one thing where I wanna, highlight with people with this industry is that you're actually contributing, albeit a small part to better humanity, and for you, what struck me with you, Brina, is that, it's hard to find someone that has mastered the sort of sales skills and soft skills around sales, but also the technical knowledge, right?

[00:02:37] Patrick: With the role. And I think you, mastered both. Pretty much perfectly. That's what always struck me with you. You know, normally you would find someone super technical and you have the salesperson to talk superficially, and you got the field app to come in and talk to talk.

[00:02:50] Patrick: But you had both, which is like pretty rare.

[00:02:53] Berendia Jackson: I think I was fortunate too during my tenure at Millipore, I had opportunity to as a FAS right, as a stem cell, FAS. And so that kind of reinforced that solid foundation I already had in like, you know, immunology, microbiology, chemistry, and then, so that really like came to life and then, taking that viewpoint of what the FAS does and, and applying that with sales, trying to help the customer. Reach a solution, right? Like de-risking their decision making process. Because oftentimes, I used to, you know, tell the team is that. We deal with people, right? And by human nature, people sometimes try to avoid risk. You're trying to overcome inertia and just like the same way you get motivated to say, I'm going to finally go to the gym, or I'm gonna finally, clean out my garage.

[00:03:45] Berendia Jackson: Right? It's being able to help them see how their lives will be better impacted with that decision. And like you said, with humanity, what we're doing. I mean, even if you're selling a product that's fairly. Upstream early discovery, for example, like, you know, just initial screening, 10 to 15 years from now, maybe one of those targets or compounds or, or molecules can become a therapeutic, right?

[00:04:08] Berendia Jackson: That either extends a grandparent's life or allows a mom to have a baby or whatever that may be.

[00:04:15] Patrick: Yeah, we're absolutely blessed to be in this industry Now you've been similar to myself in the industry for over 20 years, what have you noticed in terms of culture change working at these large companies from back when you started to now?

[00:04:30] Berendia Jackson: You know, that's an excellent question. I think when I first got into sales, the tools in which you use to do your day-to-day job has changed tremendously. You know, not to date myself, but I remember having a Palm pilot, right? I remember. I.

[00:04:46] Patrick: Yeah.

[00:04:46] Berendia Jackson: all my maps before I left the house to go to an

[00:04:50] Patrick: Yes.

[00:04:51] Berendia Jackson: or if I lost my maps.

[00:04:52] Berendia Jackson: I have a story, true story. I'm driving in California, like on La Senega, trying to go to USC or someplace, and I. The papers fly out the window and so I have I, but I had the tabs open on my laptop and each tab basically directed me, right, when you leave this location, this is where you're going next. So I think companies nowadays empower their people with a lot more resources because I think they fully appreciate that time is of the essence and if your people are stuck with using antiquated systems.

[00:05:27] Berendia Jackson: Antiquated processes, then that's less time that they have out there to be helping customers. So a lot of companies that are smart, they make the big bets on providing their team with the tools. But also what has changed too a lot is the customer perspective, the customer journey. In the last 20 years, customers are much more knowledgeable.

[00:05:47] Berendia Jackson: They have a lot more information readily accessible to them. They can weigh cons and pros. Even on chat, GPT, you can ask, Hey, if I'm interested in this technology, how does this impact me? But what all of these technologies cannot replace. the people portion of it, right? That trusting, building confidence, having a rapport, knowing that as a sales or commercial person, that even sometimes you may put your own personal interest aside for what is the benefit of the customer.

[00:06:21] Berendia Jackson: You should always do that, right? As a salesperson, like what's the best solution for the customer? And sometimes. When you're talking to them, they're might not have an immediate need for your solution. Maybe it's a year from now, maybe it's six years from now, but really being able to understand their business.

[00:06:38] Berendia Jackson: Right. I think that's very accessible to a sales professional these days too. 

[00:06:43] Patrick: Where do you see the role of a sales rep going in the future? Now that AI is upon us?

[00:06:50] Berendia Jackson: yeah.

[00:06:50] Patrick: I'm just fascinated by that, question and I'd love to know your thoughts. I'm talking like 10, 15 years in the future, right?

[00:06:58] Berendia Jackson: When

[00:06:58] Patrick: yeah.

[00:06:58] Berendia Jackson: about all these large language models that are out there available and even, you know, as companies start to adopt AI and either their r and d or just, you know, refining their processes, I think as a sales person. People that have strong EQ and IQ will always be in position, right?

[00:07:19] Berendia Jackson: If you are kind of been the salesperson who's made it, but not really at the top of your game, if you're like kind of in that BC category sales professional, you may find yourself reinventing a wheel with either more of a supportive role as opposed to like more direct customer facing because customers can be prepared.

[00:07:39] Berendia Jackson: Right. When they come in and have meetings, they can ask you and know information about your top competitors, what's out there in the market, what people are seeing. But if you don't understand the science, you don't have a good grasp of people's skills and understanding their motivation and what is going to be perceived as a win for them.

[00:08:00] Berendia Jackson: You may, struggle a little bit more. I think the larger companies, they often have strong, significant trading programs to invest in their people and as as the market changes and adopts. So you remember Pat, both you and I when Covid happened, right? It was like an immediate pivot overnight. We went to using teams and using all these online mediums to have.

[00:08:24] Berendia Jackson: You know, personal relationships and it worked. It was successful. Customers adapted. They joined us in this process. So much to the point of when the world opened back up, people were like, oh, no, let's just meet online.

[00:08:36] Patrick: I'm good. Yeah. I'm good seeing you on a screen. Yeah, exactly. But you know what? I have a slightly different take on that because I think right now, I think it's reached the peak of human intelligence. And you know, it's not a far stretch to say that at some point very soon it's gonna exponentially become even more intelligent.

[00:08:55] Patrick: Any human ever, right? And so, in terms of 10 years from now, like you're looking at me now, but I can be an AI. And I could be trained with all the applications in the world and all the history of how developments came about and who knows. Even eq, right? Even EQ could train an AI to maybe pick up certain, even better than a human, like body language signals tone, It's weird now. Like if, if you knew that I was an AI right now, you'd be weirded out. But 10 years from now, maybe that'd be the total norm. It's like, okay, I'm talking to an AI just to get what I want and then boom, I'm in and out, ask my questions, deliver all the right answers, 

[00:09:38] Patrick: so, what are your thoughts on that?

[00:09:40] Berendia Jackson: That's so interesting you bring that up. So I was interfacing with chat GPT the other day and I was doing some investment kind of stuff, you know, with all what's been going on in the market. And so I was just asking purpose. For a perspective, and I was just talking to it a little bit like a person.

[00:09:54] Berendia Jackson: I was like, well, what do you think?

[00:09:55] Patrick: Yeah.

[00:09:56] Berendia Jackson: You know, how would you recommend And giving it context? Of course. So maybe two years ago, I came across an interesting article on LinkedIn that actually spoke to that very fact that 10, 15 years from now, you might not need salespeople or they'd be greatly reduced.

[00:10:13] Berendia Jackson: And at first I was like, no. But then I thought, okay, well, you know, I'll be retired so it won't matter, but. I love this profession though, right? So I would hate to see this profession, you know, go away. But one thing we've all experienced, pat, is the change is inevitable, right? It's a part of

[00:10:30] Patrick: Mm-hmm.

[00:10:30] Berendia Jackson: And so I think for

[00:10:31] Patrick: Mm-hmm.

[00:10:32] Berendia Jackson: that still, I. Desire the human interaction. There will still be a place on both the customer side and the company side, but maybe there will be some processes that get streamlined and are dedicated to ai, especially more of those transactional interactions. Customer wants to buy a growth factor, protein or antibody. You might not need a salesperson for a little. $300 order, but somebody who's making a million dollar purchase, they're probably still gonna wanna talk to a person. I mean, the day that you might see those type of interactions relegated to ai, I don't know if that would ever come in like million dollar, large, big deals, but it's possible.

[00:11:15] Berendia Jackson: Right. It just really depends on how well overall society embraces it. Right. Because getting back to that. Human nature, right? Because the people that we deal with, our customers, our scientists, they're still people at the end of the day, right? And so it

[00:11:30] Patrick: Absolutely.

[00:11:31] Berendia Jackson: they desire that interaction will dictate, you know, the surgeons of AI in the cell space.

[00:11:38] Patrick: Even now we're getting used to calling a supplier and having AI or the automated robot help us resolve our issues just by. Dialing a couple of numbers and then depending on what we dial, then they'll say this and then they'll respond this, ask a couple of questions. So yeah, it's interesting.

[00:11:58] Berendia Jackson: Yeah,

[00:11:58] Patrick: just, I think,

[00:11:59] Berendia Jackson: I had an issue the other day, had bought a plane ticket and then after the ticket was purchased, I got some extra fee, which wasn't in my shopping cart. So I tried the

[00:12:08] Patrick: yeah.

[00:12:09] Berendia Jackson: and the chat bot was like. Not quite getting what I was saying as you know, and I had to repeat myself. And I think if you could make it to where a person can explain it clearly and not be too repetitive, the number of questions, people probably might adopt it more readily. But if you have to repeat yourself 3, 4, 5 times, the person's gonna say, let me get. You know, with the live person, so I could just say it once, ask them clearly, do you understand? And then they can, you know, help me out

[00:12:40] Patrick: It's not totally there yet, for sure.

[00:12:42] Berendia Jackson: Are you a fan of the idea? Are you pro the further expansion of AI in sales?

[00:12:51] Patrick: first of all, it's already outta the box. it's, now it's just a matter of adapting to it and embracing it, in my opinion. To do what you gotta do more efficiently and be more productive in the day-to-day stuff. Not only at work, but just day-to-day stuff. Right? And so, yeah, I embrace it.

[00:13:08] Patrick: There's some scary things about it, but there, I saw this video. There's a prominent AI person, I forgot his name now, but he said that he has this vision in the future of being on his island, but he doesn't know if he's on the island living a life of luxury. And leisure I should say, because all the AI is doing everything for him and he's just like chilling and having a good time, or he's on an island because he's hiding or running away from the AI robots that's trying to kill him.

[00:13:34] Patrick: So he doesn't know what vision that is. And I think that's so true. I think a lot of people have that

[00:13:41] Berendia Jackson: Yeah,

[00:13:41] Patrick: feeling.

[00:13:42] Berendia Jackson: it's natural, right? Because it's, it's the unknown and we just don't know, like you said, the Pandora's box is open. What is that really gonna mean for us 10, 15 years? Like, would you ever be like, you know, star Trek, you know, futuristic where you're having surgery by a robot instead of a physician, right?

[00:14:00] Berendia Jackson: Because, how do you teach a robot? What the. Tensile strengths feels like a, ligament or something like that. But I'm pretty sure with neural net learning and you know, all those models, I'm sure it can be taught to some degree. I find myself reading more. Right. You know, so I can stay abreast of it.

[00:14:20] Patrick: Mm-hmm.

[00:14:20] Berendia Jackson: And I think that is probably thing. I would advise anyone, whether you're for it or not, you still need to be able to understand what this new evolution will look like.

[00:14:31] Berendia Jackson: Since we're in the life sciences diagnostic space, it could even lend itself to a lot more self diagnosing, right? you could, imagine maybe one day you go to the doctor's office and you could select a menu of, different tests that you want, different biomarkers you want, and then you could have some your lifestyle, like really detailed because you know, your doctor only has. 15, 20 minutes. But imagine if you had a program that you could spend an hour and you could talk about how much you walk, how much you exercise, how often does your blood pressure go up or go down, or you know, how well do you sleep? How well do you, excrete waste, right? And then once you put in that information in your family history, as you continue to scour papers and put that information from PubMed and other scientific journals. You might be able to come up with a more detailed information, especially in the earlier predictive phase of healthcare, which I think is what a lot of people want, right? Because we're all living longer, but no one wants to live long with a chronic disease, right? And you could find that you are

[00:15:41] Patrick: It's.

[00:15:41] Berendia Jackson: to something in your thirties or forties and make significant lifestyle changes that might enhance, your overall living.

[00:15:51] Patrick: Exactly. Quality of life versus extension of life. Absolutely. And that's the really exciting part about our industry now in AI is exactly what you said. You know, finding cures faster, diagnosing faster. They said the future is gonna be all wearables. Right? And that's able to, whether it's a shirt or a watch, that's able to analyze your biomarkers.

[00:16:13] Patrick: Biometrics in your blood and recommend food for you for that day, you know?

[00:16:19] Berendia Jackson: Younes now,

[00:16:20] Patrick: Yeah. Or a glass of wine.

[00:16:22] Berendia Jackson: that too, pat. That too.

[00:16:26] Patrick: Obviously you and I have been in sales leadership roles, and I gotta ask you this question in terms of you know, you and I are obviously minorities. In what we did in the group of who we hung out with. fascinating to gather your thoughts on that. Were you conscious about that and did you, think that, hey, this is a big deal?

[00:16:47] Patrick: Or how did you wrestle with that? Or did you wrestle at all with that?

[00:16:50] Berendia Jackson: that's an excellent question. I think in my very early career, I was fortunate to work with a company that had quite a bit of diversity in the sales side, right? So not only African American. Hispanic, middle Eastern, Asian, just Asian population, very diverse. And so I thought like more companies were like that. But as I grew and progressed, not all companies won't say embrace, but how that approach to even though they're hiring the best is still a mixed pool. Right. So I feel like for you and I, we were trying to be catalyst at biotechni to try and encourage that. Diversity in color or background is equally important as diversity in thought, right? Because let's say we both are raised in the south, we still might have different experiences, or we're both raised in Canada, we still might have unique experiences. So trying to have the diversity of ideas is important to me. And then obviously some cultural

[00:18:00] Berendia Jackson: diversity is critical too, because that really helps you connect with human beings. Because if you can't connect with people, you can't really have empathy. And what we do is important to be able to display empathy.

[00:18:16] Patrick: my experience is the same as yours in terms of account managers, sales reps. There was more diversity there, but I think as soon as you broke the ceiling and went into sales, leadership, , manager, director roles, diversity wasn't as much. Right.

[00:18:32] Patrick: And do you think companies are doing enough 

[00:18:35] Berendia Jackson: feel like there should be

[00:18:36] Berendia Jackson: And encouragement of that you can create an environment because if you're at a certain level and you, you aspire to ascend and you look and say, there's no one that may mirror or reflect, who I am as an individual or some facets of meat. Right? And then, you know, there's always that. Are they gonna fully understand me? Are they gonna fully embrace me? Right? Are they gonna really. Be a champion of me because I, I think finding that executive champion is important and you have to find executive champion who values diversity and really, you know, believes in that and is committed to it wholeheartedly.

[00:19:18] Berendia Jackson: Not just in words, but in, but in action too

[00:19:21] Patrick: Action. Yeah.

[00:19:22] Berendia Jackson: for

[00:19:23] Patrick: Mm-hmm.

[00:19:23] Berendia Jackson: I as we move and come along, how do we. Do the same, how do we then take that torch and pass it the baton on to that next generation of, you know. that are aspiring to move up through the wrecks. And so I, I was

[00:19:41] Patrick: Mm-hmm.

[00:19:41] Berendia Jackson: I've had people not only within the company, but externally outside of the company, approach me and say, I want to mentor or foster, you know, learning a little bit more.

[00:19:52] Berendia Jackson: And so what I've done is some volunteering with women in bio and tried to, you know, obviously maybe find that next young. African American woman who's wanting to move from being a salesperson into sales, leadership, or even moving up, beyond like even a regional sales manager and aspire to go higher they're out there, right?

[00:20:12] Berendia Jackson: I think we are out there, pat, right? We would just have to look and be, willing to,

[00:20:17] Patrick: Yeah.

[00:20:18] Berendia Jackson: Making the revenue, making the numbers equally important to you and I, we still have our own commitments and our personal lives that we need to be able to support ourselves. But I think when you can look at a table and round it out and you can see world reflected back at you, that's a good thing, right?

[00:20:39] Berendia Jackson: Because the world is the unique mixing bolt of so many experiences. And if you are. Boardroom only reflects one slant. You are missing

[00:20:50] Patrick: There's that famous picture. It was a couple years ago where Congress got together or I'm not sure what group in the White House, but they were discussing healthcare for the country. And in that room all you saw was like white old men,

[00:21:04] Berendia Jackson: exactly. So somebody has their,

[00:21:07] Patrick: Doesn't make sense.

[00:21:08] Berendia Jackson: there's being impacted, somebody has their nana, their papa, and they're all of. Different heritage, and if you're selling

[00:21:17] Patrick: It's really important.

[00:21:18] Berendia Jackson: healthcare,

[00:21:19] Patrick: I.

[00:21:19] Berendia Jackson: people who make the decisions only have one viewpoint, then how can you

[00:21:25] Patrick: Clueless.

[00:21:25] Berendia Jackson: that people are gonna

[00:21:26] Patrick: And to be honest, I kind of felt like that too in certain companies when I was at meetings,

[00:21:31] Berendia Jackson: hard

[00:21:31] Patrick: and so it's, I think you,

[00:21:32] Berendia Jackson: Like if you go to,

[00:21:33] Patrick: yeah, I.

[00:21:34] Berendia Jackson: Like if you go to church or you go to a football game, like let's use the sporting events. there at a sporting event. You are all colors, all ethnicities, you know? But you know, sometimes you might go to church and you're just like, you know, it's a little bit segregated. Companies should not be like church, right? You should go to church

[00:21:53] Patrick: Mm-hmm.

[00:21:53] Berendia Jackson: in there. Or if you go

[00:21:54] Patrick: Yeah,

[00:21:55] Berendia Jackson: you know, you go to yoga studio,

[00:21:56] Patrick: I agree.

[00:21:57] Berendia Jackson: everybody in there should have some, some mix, right? That, I mean, that's my feeling. I don't know how to. How do you overcome that? And that's one that takes a lot of work and it's a little bit of vulnerability too, right? To be able to admit that, hey, this is important to me. And be able to say it in a way that you don't feel like you're gonna be judged for bringing this up even And if you're the person that's hearing that and receiving that information, then try to be empathetic and put yourself, how would I feel if the shoe were on in reverse, if I was the only person in the whole other room was full of everyone else? And so you have to think about it that way. And if you can't quite do that, maybe it's opportunity for you to go back and, really lean into being even more empathetic perhaps.

[00:22:49] Patrick: That's why I wanted to bring this up 'cause you and I are in a unique position. To talk about this and have these feelings 'cause guaranteed 90% of people in those boardrooms do not have this feeling. Did you have a sense of responsibility or you need to represent, you know, when you were at these meetings?

[00:23:05] Berendia Jackson: Because you feel like maybe you don't want people to. Form a negative opinion and you wanna show that there's a range here. Right? That to some degree, and if that's a trap, sometimes you can fall in because how am I, who am I to say what this person has experienced or what they know?

[00:23:25] Berendia Jackson: Right.

[00:23:26] Patrick: Hmm.

[00:23:26] Berendia Jackson: I don't know for certain if they've interacted with people who might look like me outside of work or within work a lot. So it's a bit of a fine line, but trying to. Do your job well, right? Let that speak for you first to open up the door, because if you're not doing your job well, pat, we all know nobody's gonna listen to what you have to say. But doing that first, but then when it's time to talk about hiring or getting visibility to someone or they're on the fast track, how do you fast track someone and you, you do that. So I think it is a combination of. Somewhat being responsible, like for example, me and my journey. I was the only, you know, African American woman that had reached that level. So of course when I'm hiring, I'm hiring the best people, but I'm also still trying to look for talent that is diverse and bring that on. During my career I've, been happy to hire a person of Hispanic heritage person who is black. And of course. Caucasian people as well, without a doubt, but who are still good, who are still solid talent, top performers. That's at least been my approach.

[00:24:43] Patrick: I have the same approach as well, and that's how I think how we can change, is changing ourselves just by, inclusive and hiring the people.

[00:24:52] Berendia Jackson: Because where someone may originate from in the world does not exclude them from bringing all the traits to the table that you need in a particular role. coachable,

[00:25:06] Patrick: Yep.

[00:25:07] Berendia Jackson: right? Inquisitive, right? If the person possesses all of those, know, and I think that's probably maybe where people, maybe the unconscious bias may creep in a little bit.

[00:25:19] Berendia Jackson: Because if you got two candidates of equal strength and one is kind of like, well, you know, you play golf or we play tennis, you just may lean a little bit more towards your personal preferences. I don't begrudge people that, but. I don't know quite how to overcome that, right? Like, how do you say, you know what? I'm gonna go in this direction because this person is maybe not a hundred percent like me. They're talented, they're gifted, and I have opportunity to learn something new in the world that I might not have if I just go with what I've always had.

[00:25:54] Patrick: Most people unfortunately, like comfort. Like what's familiar? Right. And it takes people like you and I, and hopefully many others as time goes on to realize I'm gonna step outside my box and bring on the team someone that has a complete opposite opinion of me.

[00:26:10] Patrick: That's good. That's a good thing, you know?

[00:26:12] Berendia Jackson: the

[00:26:13] Patrick: Yeah.

[00:26:13] Berendia Jackson: is important because, a kind of authoritarian approach to. Yeah. He couldn't get the job done, you know? But at the same token, most people do their best work when they're inspired, when they're empowered, when they're motivated. Now you can't control the internal clocks, and that's what you have to look for when you're hiring or you're working and collaborating with people, like what's their own internal mechanism. But aside from that, everything else can kind of be. Address or coach too, to some degree. Even if somebody doesn't quite have the skill, you can grow somebody in the skillset, especially if they have the right motivation. But yeah, I think, you know, even if you tie that back into, science, right?

[00:27:01] Berendia Jackson: Like how do. Those decisions impact healthcare disparity, like with clinical trials, right? When you're selecting, a group of cohorts, does the group of cohorts actively reflect, the society or your target base for your gene therapy? Now, some diseases affect others, right?

[00:27:20] Berendia Jackson: You know, whether it's like

[00:27:21] Patrick: Mm-hmm.

[00:27:23] Berendia Jackson: perhaps may, you know, disproportionately affect African Americans, but. That being the case though, when you're talking about cancer, the big C word, which is near and dear to all of us, because every last single one of us has had a friend, a loved one, a coworker, get disease pass away, and then we've also had those who've gotten a disease and survived, right? And so we can make those therapeutics be a better reflection of the society at large. I think ultimately. Society wins.

[00:27:59] Patrick: Humanity wins.

[00:28:01] Patrick: Alright, well, Bria, I just wanted to know what is your next chapter and your illustrious career so far?

[00:28:08] Berendia Jackson: That's a great question, pat. I mean, ultimately for me I've learned a lot. I've grown and, and progressed kind of in a linear fashion, but I'm also realizing that thrive by learning and embracing new ideas. And so I'm wanting to carve out a. Space for me where maybe I'm open to more diagnostics realm or getting a little bit even closer towards helping the patient.

[00:28:35] Berendia Jackson: Right? I've thrived in the upstream early proteomics field, but moving either. Transition a little bit further downstream, or even companion diagnostics would be a way to like kind of see these therapies really coming to fruition. Like at the end, like you've crossed the threshold, there's a product that's commercially available.

[00:28:56] Berendia Jackson: It's been a long, arduous path, but yay. Here we are seeing patients get treated. Here's the results. Here's a promising reward for that. So it's something along those lines, but it's definitely gonna be involving mentoring and leading and coaching. I enjoy that. One of the best things that I was thrilled about, if somebody comes to me with a problem and I can listen intently to what they're struggling with. Create a space where they can express themselves. 'cause sometimes people just need a vent and then they can go out and resolve the problem themselves.

[00:29:31] Patrick: Mm-hmm.

[00:29:31] Berendia Jackson: if you know that you have support, you have a wingman in your corner, so to speak then being able, when they come back and tell you they took that advice, they implemented it, put it in their own path. they got a great result. That's the reward for me. And then of course, the revenue and the processes that you need to put in place, those come along with it. So it could even be something along the lines of like consulting, like with Deloitte or you know, Accenture, something with a global capacity where I can just connect more of those dots.

[00:30:05] Berendia Jackson: I'm interested in things like that.

[00:30:06] Patrick: That is spoken like a true leader, Renia. For sure. And I love the fact that you're not afraid to get outside the box. Try something new and learn. Right? That's the whole point of the journey. 'cause you could easily, like a lot of people just step right back into, what you've been doing and go on your merry way.

[00:30:23] Patrick: But I like the fact that.

[00:30:24] Berendia Jackson: could continue along the same path, but I feel like, you know, forest Gump life is like a box of chocolates, right? You never know what you're gonna get, but when you open it up and join the journey of sampling and figuring out what you like and which combinations work best for you. So me, I'm drawn to building and I'm drawn to bringing people along in that journey. And, you know, I get my hands dirty, getting in the trenches, I always aspire to not be the type of leader that says, you go do this. And then I myself don't live by that same motto. So if you're working hard, best believe I'm right there working hard right along with you.

[00:31:07] Patrick: Gotta be in the trenches with your team.

[00:31:09] Berendia Jackson: Yeah, You know, I think that's probably the hard part as you move further up, moving from being a territory manager, sales manager, senior sales manager, director, you know, you get moved further away from the customer sometimes and you have to collect the information secondhand or third party, so when you're out in the field, it was always a treat for me to be like ai.

[00:31:30] Berendia Jackson: Great. I'll meet customers today. Because you are in leadership, you have a larger picture of what's going on throughout the organization, and so you hear something from a customer and you can say, oh, well there's an initiative or effort in this portion of the business. I can connect those dots, I think the main thing is being able to. Be passionate about what I'm doing. the people that are around me. Hopefully share some inspiration, some great things together, hopefully move a few mountains and make an impact on the world.

[00:32:03] Patrick: Wow, that is a great message for anyone out there, period. Not even in our industry, just period. And I think we'll leave it at that with that hopeful message.