That’s me sitting between Jeff on bari and Zezi on alto.
Every morning, I sit down with my saxophone and fight a small war.
Overtones. Long tones. Finger drills. Half-tone patterns, chromatic runs, modes, V7–9–3–#5 sequences.
The Charlie Parker Omnibook is my daily dare. Bloomdido at 240? I can stumble through at 150. Sometimes I slow it to 50 — harder than fast.
In the Thelma Yellin alumni band, we’re grinding through Thad Jones’ Cherry Juice. Yigal, trumpet 2 (and principal at the Philharmonic!) says, “I first thought it would be technically good for us, but honestly? I don’t see the point.” I’m not sure that made me feel better.
Some days I want to skip practice. I am my own worst enemy.
But then I remember: no one masters anything without it.
It’s the same with Torah. Each week I memorize the music for 80–180 verses. Hours of repetition. Shabbat morning, I stand and read. Live. No hiding.
Qigong too — an hour a day. Or a 20’ kata when life is heavy. But always something.
I used to think practice was punishment. Now I see it as freedom.
Practice is the bridge between who I am today and who I want to become.
Maybe you feel it too — in music, in faith, in movement, in business, in family, in product.
We’re all just practicing, every day, against the resistance of ourselves.
And if we’re lucky, practice gives us one clear note, one strong breath, one fleeting moment where we hear the better version of who we are becoming.
This Week on Life Sciences Today
I don’t just believe in practice — I believe in people who practice what they preach.
My guest this week is Tigran Arzumanov, the founder and CEO of Basel-based BDaaS. Tigran is a friend, and he was my VP Sales back in the early days of Flask. I’ve seen first-hand how he practices the craft of business development — persistence, listening, patience, and knowing exactly when to push forward.
BDaaS is built on that same craft. US life science companies trying to expand into Europe face a brutal choice: hire juniors with no connections or seniors too tired for the grind. Tigran’s solution is different: a seasoned EU sales team, with infrastructure and tech stack already in place, ready to go from day one in a flexible, on-demand model.
You can see the episode here Business Development for Life Sciences companies with BDaaS
You can learn more about BDaaS here or contact Tigran on LinkedIn here.
About Me
I’m trying to become a better version of myself.
If you want to learn the tactics I use book a call here.
Every Friday morning, I share my insights from a 45 year career in tech, 70+ clinical trials and 5 FDA approvals.
What You’ll Get
Discussing what I think matters in a rapidly changing world.
Patterns and anti-patterns for success and failure
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