A practical guide through the complete Clinical Research Project lifecycle and key Management Skills in small bytes.
These posts walk you through each stage primarily from a CRO perspective with Pharma insights where processes differ. You'll find real experiences from 25 years in the field, templates you can adapt, brain-based strategies to reduce chances of burnout, and AI prompts that actually can help you.
Where project management methodology meets neuroscience and practical AI application.
Featured Articles
Your Brain's Decision-Making Window: Why Timing Beats Willpower
You're 20 minutes away from your one-to-one with your PD/VP.
Your list of topics is enormous: the sponsor pushing back on timelines, the vendor underperforming, the budget that needs defending, three strategic decisions that can't wait. You need to prioritise, you need to think clearly … but you feel exhausted.
It's 4pm. Your brain feels foggy. The decisions seem harder than they should be. That's not a coincidence.
Your prefrontal cortex uses 20% of your body's glucose despite being only 4-5% of your brain's size. By afternoon, you're running on depleted cognitive resources. Every decision you've made since waking has drained your mental battery.
Most PMs and PDs waste their cognitive prime time on emails and routine tasks, then attempt their hardest decisions when their brain is least capable. This post reveals the neuroscience behind decision fatigue and how to identify your personal peak performance window.
Brain-Based Strategies (5/7)
Understanding your Sponsor's journey intellectually is one thing. Translating that knowledge into empathetic, strategic behavior under pressure is entirely another.
When your Sponsor pushes back on budget for the third time, when they request another urgent status call, when they resist a sensible protocol change, your brain's default stress response can override everything you know intellectually.
This post shares neuroscience-backed strategies that work with your brain, not against it, to help you maintain strategic partnership perspective even when pressure is high.
These aren't just mindset tips. They're practical cognitive tools that transform how you show up when it matters most.
The Disconnect (4/7)
There's a profound disconnect between what Sponsors experience and what CRO PMs see. Sponsors carry years of investment, stakeholder pressure, and career stakes. CRO PMs receive an RFP with a two-week deadline and operational requirements.
This gap creates misunderstandings that damage partnerships.
When you bridge this disconnect and see your projects through your Sponsor's eyes, everything changes. You transform from a vendor executing tasks to a strategic partner protecting their investment.