Upending Business Marketing As Usual

The Influence of Adam Grant's "Think Again" on Radicle Science

Businesses face increasingly complex challenges in this rapidly shifting landscape of AI and hyper-personalized connectivity. So, as marketers it’s more important than ever to reassess and evolve your marketing to align fully with your mission. This is why, as VP of Marketing for Radicle Science , I have found immense value in Adam Grant's book "Think Again."?

Allow me to share with you how Grant's insights have guided our team in clarifying our own mission at Radicle Science, while also inspiring our company to help other businesses generate product sales through a more thoughtful and agile approach.

Of the many valuable ideas in "Think Again," one that truly resonated with us is the importance of challenging your own assumptions and beliefs. As we at Radicle reflected on our own mission, we realized that we had been operating with a set of unexamined assumptions about what success really looks like.?

Normally, companies see growth and profitability as the main markers of success, without really questioning why those are the primary goals. Through reading "Think Again," we were able to step back and realize that we wanted something different: not just profits, but a sense of purpose and deep connection with our clients.?

As Radicle's cofounder Pelin Wood Thorogood recently said in a FastCompany interview. “We’re not here just to build a great business—we're here to actually change the world. And we want to attract people who are 100% in, whether they are employees, customers, citizen scientists or investors,” she asserts. “We're transparent about who we are to ensure that everybody who joins our cause knows what they are commiting to. And while it may not be an easy mission, it's certainly a very worthwhile one.”

Pelin's solid direction and our committed sense of purpose has led us to make some major changes in our approach.? Rather than taking on as many clients as possible, we're focusing on building long-term relationships with an aligned group of businesses that share our values and mission. We're investing more in the health and wellbeing of our team members, to ensure that they're fully committed to our values as well. And we're taking a more consultative approach to our work, aiming to truly understand our clients' challenges and objectives before recommending specific tactics.?

Another key insight from "Think Again" is that failure can be much more valuable than success, if you use it as an opportunity to learn and grow. This idea echoes my own personal belief that experimentation is key to success in marketing. By testing different approaches and tactics, we can learn which strategies are most effective for our clients' goals. And we deeply listen to our various audiences – to see what truly relates to their needs.? But just as important, we learn what doesn't work, and we adjust our approach accordingly. Rather than avoiding failure at all costs, we embrace it as a natural part of the learning process.

"Think Again" also emphasizes the importance of seeking out diverse perspectives to challenge your own assumptions. We take this to heart at Radicle Science, and strive to build a team and a network of collaborators who bring a wide range of experiences and viewpoints. As Pelin puts it, “We have an audacious culture.” Radicle Science is made up of unique outliers and freethinkers – and that is something being noticed about Radicle.?

Earlier this year, Pelin was honored as an INC200 Female Founder for enabling non-pharmaceutical companies to have easy and affordable access to clinical trials for the first time in history. To have a female founder receive this level of recognition has been deeply meaningful for our young company, not only due to the external recognition and appreciation that these awards convey from the scientific and business communities, but because they represent an explicit affirmation of Radicle Science’s vision, team, and execution. “It’s been a validation of what is essentially a three-fold success,” says Pelin. “One, that we indeed have a world changing idea. Two, that we have the culture and the team to move it forward. And three, that we have the ability to execute and deliver on our bold mission.”

Recently, Radicle Science was awarded the FastCompany 2023 Innovation by Design Awards in the Data Design category. Our company’s ability to rethink the status quo on clinical trials has led to the development of a "proof-as-a-service" platform that enables remote clinical trials. This innovative approach is faster, more cost-effective, and more inclusive than traditional trials, making it possible to include diverse populations on a larger scale, thereby addressing health inequities. Presently, clinical trials predominantly involve white, urban males, with rural populations, women, and people of color noticeably underrepresented. Our platform offers a promising solution to this problem. In Pelin’s words, “We’re looking at understanding how different products, different dosages, and even different combinations of products may help—or not help—each of us differently because there’s no one-size-fits-all.”?

Our “audacious culture” and agile marketing approach helps us avoid groupthink and tunnel vision, and ensures that we're constantly challenging ourselves to push the boundaries in new and enlightened ways. And, of course, it allows us to offer our clients a truly diverse and dynamic team of experts, who are fully committed and engaged with our clients' story, their success, and their people.

Through the lens of Adam Grant 's "Think Again," our approach to our mission at Radicle Science has steadily evolved in exciting ways. We're not ones to be content with simply churning out work and hitting profit targets; instead, we're focusing on building meaningful relationships with clients who share our vision for a more purpose-driven approach to business, to consumer health, to wellness, and to being good citizens who care for and about one another.?

By embracing failure, boosting experimentation, and catalyzing diversity, we're constantly challenging ourselves to think beyond the norm and seek out new possibilities. We believe this approach helps our clients in a more authentic, thoughtful way - and we're excited to share our insights and work together with those of you who are also ready to "Think Again."