How I Dodged A Career Ending Mistake (aka "what I learned from Theranos")

There are moments in your life or career where you catch your breath.

Something nearly catastrophic happens and you wonder what might have happened had you made one wrong move or not stood two feet to your left. I've met people in my career who told me about their offer from Enron or how they used to work at Arthur Andersen and, although I was there when Merrill Lynch ceased operating as a standalone entity in 2008, I've never gone through an Enron-like experience.

This past weekend I read John Carreyrou's book "Bad Blood," which chronicles the rise and subsequent fall of the former unicorn biotech startup Theranos. The book was released with a great deal of buzz, and if you're looking for a good article on the whole story, try reading the article "Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes may be our first true feminist anti-hero." As I finished the book, I was reminded of how close I came to a career ending move - and what I've learned about ethics and values as a result.

But before I get to what I learned, let's start with what actually happened to me from the period of August to November 2015.

August 7, 2015

I received a phone call from a sourcer at Theranos, asking if I would be interested in a role as a Talent Operations Manager. She told me about how fast the company had grown and its partnerships with Walgreens and the Cleveland Clinic, and boasted that their lab was the "only lab that has a blood test that is CLIA certified and FDA approved." The goal of this role was to operationalize (consultant-speak for "improve") their recruiting function, which had not evolved as quickly as the company had grown. I had literally just started with a new company but the role sounded ideal and all of the press had been super positive up to this point, so I decided to continue the dialogue.

August 11, 2015

A follow up call with a recruiter clarified some of the operational details and we set up an onsite interview for two weeks later. I had done my own reading and the articles in the press spoke glowingly of how the company was trying to disrupt the blood diagnostic market.

August 25, 2015

I drove down to Theranos' office on Page Mill Road in Palo Alto. My plans for that afternoon were to meet with two recruiters, the Chief of Staff for the COO (the now infamous Sunny Balwani), and if there was time, the head of HR. Each of these meetings was surprisingly unremarkable in that there weren't really any red flags at the time. The recruiters admitted there was a need to improve as they began to scale their recruiting efforts. The Chief of Staff actually represented a stark personality contrast to most of what I've read - when I asked who I would be reporting to, he said "You'll be working WITH me, not for me." I thought that was a pretty good sign. And the end of my meeting with him, he told me the head of HR might be available but was running late. I waited for a half hour and when she finally arrived, nothing struck me as amiss. She was very polite in answering my questions about what was working and what needed help. I left that meeting feeling like this could be a good opportunity.

September 10, 2015

After a couple weeks of back and forth, the recruiter informed me,

"We are in a bit of a holding pattern with this role. I don’t believe there will be much movement on it for the next couple of months. Is it ok if I let you know if there are any changes?" 

I told her that was fine and that I would reach out again later in the fall to see if there had been any updated.

September 24, 2015

I had a phone call with the Chief of Staff, who informed me that right after I interviewed, they had decided to hold off on some of their hires and that it was simply bad timing.

"What we like most about you is your enthusiasm and energy," he said. "What we're looking for is cultural fit too."

In retrospect, this was a rather ominous statement for which I don't blame the chief of staff at all - he was a great guy. But if I had been accepted by them, what would that say about me?

October 16, 2015

The Wall Street Journal's bombshell article is released. People go berserk.

October 19, 2015

My scheduled catch up with the Chief of Staff is, understandably, spent discussing the article and the company's response.

"There's no impact day to day. [We are] Still working with FDA. This is an opportunity - or a threat to some. If we get approved on all FDA tests, we will rock it," he told me.

Only that day never came.

The discussion turned to his recent attendance of the LinkedIn Talent Connect conference and how he still viewed me as a great fit for the role, but there seemed to be some company-wide confusion and all hiring was paused as a result. Do you know that feeling when you start dating someone and then you find out something that turns your stomach and worries you tremendously? This day was that feeling for me.

November 30, 2015

(What turned out to be my last conversation with the Chief of Staff, regarding this role) 

Me: "Hi [name redacted for privacy], how is everything?"

The Chief of Staff: "[The situation] will be better once we have our official response out. Growing recruiting team has been on pause for last month and a half."

That turned stomach feeling had now given way to resignation. This wasn't going to get better and I was already moving on. My client work had intensified so I closed the chapter on Theranos and decided to move on. I had no idea what was to come of the company - but its inevitable decline played out in the media.

My Reflections

Reading Carreyrou's book made me reflect on my 14-year career and after an afternoon sitting in the Northern California sunshine and some hours of writing later, I realized a few important lessons from all of this.

Always maintain a healthy skepticism.

Even when everyone claims to love an organization or the media says a company is on a rocketship to the moon, don't let your idealism/optimism/naivete rule your decision making. Scrutinize. Raise concerns. And ask questions.

Don't compromise your ethical integrity. EVER.

The book highlights the stories of Tyler Shultz, the grandson of former Secretary of State George Shultz, and Erika Cheung, who both resisted the company's efforts to silence them when they had concerns. Not only did they resist this pressure, they were threatened repeatedly by lawsuits and family pressure. How will history judge those who turned blind eyes toward legitimate complaints, backed by science or proof or data?

Trust your instincts, but see my first point about skepticism.

The point at which you're interviewing is when employers expect to see the best version of yourself. It's fair to assume the same perspective of employers when they're courting you. In spite of what you may think of me, I am not completely cynical. I'm currently in a role where the people I met in my interview have blown me away with their intelligence, authenticity, and knowledge - much of which I discovered after our first meeting. But the key is to keep your enthusiasm in check with a dose of realism.

Finding the culture that will let you do your best work depends on your level of self-awareness.

It becomes obvious quickly in Carreyrou's book that a toxic culture permeated many levels of Theranos from the top down. The checks and balances in their board and corporate governance were broken. Power was a tool to manipulate and abuse. Any dissent was usually met with cold shoulders, legal threats, and negativity. This is one end of the spectrum and one environment in which I would do terribly. On the other end is a place where dissent is respected and power is not used to bludgeon resistance. I need an environment like the latter to do my best work - and it's important that people find their own best fit.

So why am I writing this? Those employees who have the dubious distinction of having worked for Enron, Worldcom, Long Term Capital Management, Arthur Andersen, Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (just to name a few) all share a common trait: having gone through a painful and unfortunate end of their respective employers. I still haven't gone through this experience, and I am incredibly thankful for that fact.

But my hope is that Bad Blood inspires people to gain the courage to stand up to and resist oppression and tyranny. What Theranos CEO Elizaboth Holmes did was create the worst example of how to run a company and back it up with threats and bullying. Carreyrou's writing is the strong kind of thinking and dogged journalism that inspires - and I hope we all can learn a lesson from it.