Significant Career Lesson From a Chief Legal Officer at BioMarin
Eric, BioMarin's Chief Legal Officer, learned that career success hinges less on "grind[ing]" and more on effective collaboration; the most significant lesson learned is the importance of knowing "when to reach out to folks" and leverage their expertise to achieve better outcomes.
Networking, Teamwork, Leadership, Mentorship, Collaboration
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Eric Davis
Chief Legal Officer
BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc.
U.C. Berkeley
University of San Francisco, Juris Doctorate
Political Science, American Studies
Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical
Legal
Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School, Greek Life Member, Student Athlete
Video Highlights
1. Building a strong network is crucial for success, even more so than simply working hard.
2. Knowing when to ask for help and leverage others' expertise can significantly improve efficiency and outcomes.
3. Effective collaboration and teamwork are essential, and knowing when to reach out to the right people is an important skill to develop.
Transcript
What is one lesson that you have learned that has proven significant in your career?
The biggest lesson I've learned is that it doesn't matter how hard you work. It's a lot more about trying to get the right people to work with you.
There can be a mentality, particularly coming out of large law firms, that you just need to grind to be successful. If you're smart and you grind, you'll be good.
What I've found is that you need to know when to reach out to people. You need to understand when there's expertise out there that can get a task finished easier or faster because you reached out. Knowing when to do that is sort of the art.
You want to make sure that you're well prepared. But life can be so much easier if you reach out at the right time.