

The Effective Statistician - in association with PSI
Alexander Schacht and Benjamin Piske, biometricians, statisticians and leaders in the pharma industry
The podcast from statisticians for statisticians to have a bigger impact at work. This podcast is set up in association with PSI - Promoting Statistical Insight. This podcast helps you to grow your leadership skills, learn about ongoing discussions in the scientific community, build you knowledge about the health sector and be more efficient at work. This podcast helps statisticians at all levels with and without management experience. It is targeted towards the health, but lots of topics will be important for the wider data scientists community.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 4, 2020 • 42min
Everything you need to know about matching adjusted indirect comparisons
An Interview with Daniel Saure
In today's episode, Daniel and I talk about these questions and discuss more about the following points:
Bucher vs MAIC - advantages and disadvantagesMethodik MAICNICE technical document (http://nicedsu.org.uk/technical-support-documents/population-adjusted-indirect-comparisons-maic-and-stc/) - including R codeWhich baseline variables to include?What to do if you have multiple studies on one side?patient-level data meta-analysesliterature studies meta-analysesHow to compute the “average” baseline variables?How to adjust for baseline variables?What are the different ways to adjust? (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30661638)How does it relate to network meta-analyses
Reference: Case study IXE vs SECU
Listen to this episode and share this with your friends and colleagues who can learn from it!

Jul 28, 2020 • 45min
The future of safety analyses: interactivity, visualizations and the FDA
Interview with Wei Wang
In today's episode, Wei and I dive deep into the future of safety analyses and discuss the following topics:
For interactive tools - how can we achieve traceability of what we looked at demonstrating transparency on the decision process in an interactive tool?What are your experiences in developing an interactive tool?What are the best practices for data visualizations for safety?How can we give external parties like the FDA access to such tools?
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Jul 20, 2020 • 40min
How to play the game of business to build stronger, more innovative, more inspiring organizations
Interview with Stuart McGuire - VERAMED Episode
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Stuart and I talk about the following:
Simon Sinek's latest book speaks about “the infinite game” - What is your take on this and how do you see this applying to our industry?Do you have any examples, where this has helped our industry moving forward?What behaviours do you see, which correspond to a finite game mindset and which limits us from achieving what we could achieve?What can we do personally to adopt an infinite game mindset?
Books:The Infinite GameRebel Ideas - The Power of Diverse Thinking

Jul 13, 2020 • 44min
Have you ever considered a career outside of statistics?
Learn from Lucy Rowell
We also talk about the following points:
You started as a statistician in your career, but then you got further responsibilities. How did this happen?How has your knowledge as a statistician helped you to be successful in your new roles?Which things did you need to learn new?What does leadership mean for you personally?Do you have a story where you struggled in terms of your leadership skills and how you grew out of it?When do you think is the right time to switch into a career outside of statistics?Which leadership skills have helped you the most?
Listen to this episode and become an effective statistician!

Jul 6, 2020 • 1h 11min
Plotting your career and preparing the terrain
Interview with Diana Stuart
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We also debate these important points:
Ways to work with your line managerEmbrace changeGreat self-awareness about your strengths and limitations and about how they change over time (technical and non-technical skills)Create networks to ensure being invited into opportunities: create exposureMotivation (mastery, purpose, autonomy) is key for long-term successConstantly invest in yourself and own your self-management
Listen to this episode and learn more!

Jun 29, 2020 • 34min
3 Time management hacks, that actually work
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In today's episode, Benjamin and I talk about different time management hacks to be productive and efficient while working at home. We also talk about these following important points:
Things you should first establish:
Be clear on your goals and keep them in front of youFocus on building great habits as these will carry you to success
Three time management hacks:
Saying no and turning things back - reflect workFocus your efforts and concentration (schedule time, manage distractions)Get and stay organized (calendar, to-dos, meetings, filing ….) - apply the 4 principles from Atomic habits
References:
Atomic habitsMake it obviousMake it attractiveMake it easyMake it satisfyingDeep workThe one thing3 biggest time management hack all experts agree on
Listen to this episode and learn the effective hacks and share this with your friends and colleagues!

Jun 22, 2020 • 42min
The Story of Veramed - love and statistics
Interview with Emma and Matt Jones
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If your answer is yes, I am sure that you'll be very interested to hear the story of Matthew and Emma as they will be sharing today their experience on how they started their own company, Veramed, in 2012 after having their established careers working in the industry for both large pharma and CROs.
We also talk about the following points:
What is the founding story of Veramed?Why did you start it in early 2012 after being a freelancer for some time?Leaving a nice and “secure” job at Lilly, how did that feel like and why did you leave?How does the business model for Veramed look like?How did you grow your company in terms of getting more business, recruiting new people while retaining the right people and also securing the right quality/culture?How did you manage to balance family vs work being the owners of the company?
Listen to this episode to learn a lot and share this with your friends and colleagues!

Jun 15, 2020 • 42min
8 steps to make a smart decision
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In today's episode, we discuss how to manage problems with efficiency, clarity, logic, consistency, alignment, and speed. Also, the 8 steps to make a smart decision :
ProblemObjectivesAlternativesConsequencesTradeoffsUncertaintyRisk ToleranceןLinked Decisions
Listen to this episode and learn from it!

Jun 8, 2020 • 51min
Present like a pro
14 presentation tips
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In today's episode, Benjamin and I discuss the 14 presentation tips that really work. We speak about:
Be clear on your goals Have a strong startStart with a story, conclusions, then introduce yourself Enter the room or stage with confidence Story on GBA training Speak to Ethos, Pathos and LogosEstablish a powerful position Make eye contact Smile Never lean back when sitting - better stand upDress appropriately Avoid anything distracting Appear confident Position your cameraUse pauses intentionally Variation of the voice Loud and softPitchSpeedUse wide gestures to increase your word choicesUsing visual effectivelyThey support the presenter, not vice versa No sentence Few words Pictures FiguresRarely tables Use bullet points sparingly Less is more, and then you don’t need to look at the slidesHave a powerful end.Story and conclusions and call to action
Listen to this episode and present like a pro!Share this with your friend and colleagues!

Jun 1, 2020 • 27min
Failed study, new safety finding, mistakes - breaking bad news
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In today's episode, Benjamin and I discuss about the following points:
First mover advantagePreparing and planningBe clear on your goalsWho do you want to move from A to B What questions will come up? What will be our replies? What will be the follow-up questions?Who will be affected?Who needs/must know first?How do you communicate it?
How to break the bad news:
Tell it allTell it fastTell them what you’re doing about itTell them, when it’s overGet back to work
Listen to this episode now and share this with your friends and colleagues!