They say, “Never meet your heroes.” This adage may be due to the disappointment found when someone you idolize doesn’t match up to your expectations. There should be a corollary to this axiom: “Sometimes, you’ll be surprised and delighted to learn that a high-profile person is amazing.”
In an interview on the new Happy at Work podcast, I had the pleasure—along with my co-hosts, Harvard professors Michael McCarthy and Dr. Tessa Misiazek—to interview Dr. Robert Langer, the multibillionaire cofounder of Moderna, the biotech startup that helped save the world from the Covid-19 pandemic.
As an executive recruiter, I’ve interviewed thousands of high-powered professionals over the last two decades. It’s rare to find uber successful people who still possess humility and gratitude.
Langer, in addition to being a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is a chemical engineer, scientist, inventor and entrepreneur. He famously cofounded Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotech firm Moderna, and owns a roughly 3% stake, worth about $2.6 billion.
The MIT professor, who still regularly goes into the lab, has also founded more than 40 other companies. He holds around 1,400 patents and is one of the most published and cited scholars of all time.
Langer’s patents have been licensed or sublicensed to over 400 pharmaceutical, chemical, biotechnology and medical device companies. His breakthrough research and business acumen advanced the delivery of life-saving medical treatments, including mRNA vaccines, insulin, anti-cancer drugs and more. His patents helped launch over 350 pharmaceutical, chemical, biotech and medical device companies.
Langer worked with the esteemed Judah Folkman, his mentor, at Boston Children’s Hospital to isolate the first angiogenesis inhibitor, a macromolecule to block the spread of blood vessels in tumors. He’s seen as the founder of tissue engineering in regenerative medicine, and a pioneer of new technologies, such as controlled release systems and transdermal delivery systems, which allow the administration of drugs through the skin without needles or invasive methods.
With this exalted background, it would be reasonable to anticipate a hard-to-understand lecture from a genius operating on a higher plane. To my surprise, Langer was one of the sweetest, nicest, most approachable and genuine rock stars I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. Despite his massive successes, he comes across as a mild-mannered empathetic dad, husband, scientist and businessperson.
He graciously offered work and life advice garnered from his decades of experience. Early in his career, Langer struggled to find a post-doctoral fellowship and the right engineering jobs before landing in MIT’s Department of Nutrition and Food Science. His first nine research grant applications were turned down. “I got a few offers to run chemical plants, which is what many of my classmates were doing. I was not very excited about that. So, I applied to graduate school to learn things that might be more exciting.” A professor, who sat smoking a cigar and blew smoke in his face, told him that he ought to start looking for another job.
Instead of letting it get to him, Langer used it to motivate himself. He noticed that the people who are most successful, whether it’s scientific research or in business, need to learn how to be resilient and effectively deal with failure.
Despite what frustrations and failures might be encountered, Langer said that he believes in positive reinforcement to encourage people and make them feel that anything is possible. He learned this from his mentor that employees and students will confront obstacles and setbacks. As a leader, you need to have faith in them and show appreciation for their efforts. If you believe in a person, they will internalize it and feel empowered.
When asked about how he, along with Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel and president Stephen Hoge, motivated his team of scientists and staff and kept them sane while international media and critics scrutinized the biotech company, Langer said that everyone possessed a passion for their work and the cause. They believed in what they were working on. This gave them the internal fortitude to fight off stress, long hours and high expectations.
He added, “On Moderna, I can only speak as an observer—being on the board of directors and scientific advisory board. But I was incredibly impressed with the remarkable dedication and hard work that the Moderna employees showed. They felt they could change the world, and they did. I think that motivation stayed with them day and night. The CEO to the management team did an amazing job in every way. It was and is an honor to be associated with them.”
When asked about how the company deals with employee burnout and retaining workers during difficult times, he said, “I don’t think there is a universal answer. I think you have to ask people what’s best for them, what they want and you need good, honest communication. I think you also want people to feel valued and to have get-togethers where they get to know each other and collaborate if they so desire.”
Langer is a believer in encouraging people to ask “good questions,” think big and not be afraid of taking outsized risks, in the pursuit of building something that can help improve the world. Dream big dreams—dreams that can change the world. Many times, you’re going to run into obstacles. If you do, don’t ever give up and just keep trying. To succeed, Langer said you should work hard, understand that high risks will result in high rewards and be a good, nice human being.
When asked about the unique things he did to become successful, Langer replied, “Not sure how successful I’ve been. But if I were to mention some things I did, I’d say I worked very hard. I traded job security and high pay for doing things I was passionate about. Out of over 20 job offers I received upon graduation from college, I chose the lowest paying one by far because I thought by doing so, I could potentially improve the health of patients. I dreamed about doing things that I thought would make the world a better place. I tried to treat everyone I worked with as nicely as possible, and if I was pursuing something, I would never give up.”
Although he’s in his 70s, Langer leads by example, putting in long hours and maintains a rigorous schedule. Even with the heavy workload, the scientist-billionaire is a family man. His wife, Dr. Laura Langer, an MIT graduate, understood that his jobs and passions required long days. She made him promise to get home by 7 p.m. every night to ensure that he fulfilled his role as a father and husband.
Throughout his career, he made a habit of taking each of his three children on business trips with him, one at a time. This offered the opportunity for him to bond and interact with each child, giving them undivided attention. This ritual continues, as his kids are now adults.
Langer also makes it a point to exercise and stay in shape. A lover of food, he runs daily and lifts weights. He confides that part of this is because his dad passed away relatively young from a heart attack and wants to avoid that unfortunate fate, as he has new goals to pursue.
Langer said about “dreaming big” and world-changing innovations, “In our MIT lab we are working on creating new tissues and organs to help people with diabetes, damaged bone and cartilage, suffering from hearing loss or spinal cord damage , and many other diseases. We are also trying to create new tissues and organs on a chip, which could possibly reduce animal or human testing. And we are working on developing new vaccines, better drugs and drug delivery systems, and better nutrition to the developing world.”
Source: Forbes
