Jim Collins, author of Good to Great notes that getting the right people on your bus is imperative if success is your desired destination. With the right people, the bus comes alive with ideas, energy, and a sense of direction. The Biotech industry bus provides a glimpse of what happens when you indeed have the right people sitting next to you heading in the same direction.

The Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MBC), http://www.massbio.org/ founded in 1985, is a not-for-profit organization that provides services and support for the Massachusetts biotechnology industry. Under the direction of Cora Beth Abel, Vice President of the MBC Education Foundation numerous educational programs have been implemented that provide MBC member companies and institutions with guidance and support to keep the talent pipeline filled with interested and talented students, candidates, and employees.

http://www.massbio.org/massbioed/index.php

The programs that support the biotech industry are not limited by geography. On the west coast Terri Bergman, Director of Research, San Diego Workforce Partnership recently received funding from the US government to create a national Biotech Labor Information Center (LMI). This central clearinghouse will provide biotech companies across the US with access to: specific biotech labor market statistics, job descriptions, company profiles, education and training, listservs and surveys.

Good business decisions are based on good information. And good information can be complemented by having access to data that supports it. If you are looking for a template that can pave the way for a bus full of talent, take a look at the human capital strategies and tactics being developed in the biotech industry. It will be worth your while.