#39 - Built to Fail: What Lab Ops Gets Wrong (and How to Fix It)

🎙️ Guest: Steven Laflin, Former Principal SHE Program Manager, Genentech🎧 Hosts: Mike Ouren, Sura Hadi & Elizabeth Rodziewicz📺 Series: Science Means BusinessLabs aren’t failing because the science is wrong—they’re failing because the systems were built to break.Steven Laflin has managed over $325M in capital investments across life sciences. From Eli Lilly to Genentech, he’s the guy who gets called after the multimillion-dollar mistakes. In this episode, Steve shares what really goes wrong in automation, capital strategy, and scientific operations—and how to fix it before the budget (or culture) collapses.🧠 What You’ll Learn:

• Why most automation is installed—but never used
• How $10M labs get built for $1M problems
• The hidden link between EHS, trust, and operational failure
• How to course-correct when your facility, team, or budget is already broken

☕ This one’s for anyone who’s inherited a lab they didn’t build—and had to make it work anyway.🎧 Subscribe for new episodes weekly →    / @helicalbrew  📩 Want to be a guest? Email us: [e-mail]📍 TikTok, Shorts & more: @helicalbrew⏱️ EPISODE CHAPTERS - NAVIGATE THE EPISODE00:00 – Labs fail from poor planning00:28 – Meet Steve Laflin01:46 – $325M in automation lessons03:10 – Siloed teams vs. integration04:58 – Vendor overload problems06:39 – Bad automation examples08:01 – Open access labs09:21 – Proving automation works11:01 – Standardizing platforms12:41 – The emotional shift15:44 – Fear of the word “robot”18:29 – Compliance + safety20:08 – Shared systems across teams23:21 – Award-winning automation26:36 – Scaling across facilities29:19 – Automation in manufacturing32:38 – Biosero + Potato AI potential34:10 – Training the next generation38:50 – Hidden downtime and risk43:13 – Vendor support matters46:32 – Lab myths vs. data reality49:38 – Why rockstar teams fail51:13 – Team roles that execute54:21 – Robots from bench to surgery57:15 – Outro + connect with us🔗 Connect with Steven LaflinLinkedIn:   / steven-laflin-c-b7458a24  📌 SHORTS (Grab Quick Highlights)▶️    • Why Lab Ops Fail (Even with Great Ideas) |...  ▶️    • $100K Lab Gear... Used as a Chess Table?! ...  “Automation without adoption? That’s just expensive furniture.”“They called me when the budget was blown. That’s when the real work started.”#HelicalBrew #ScienceMeansBusiness #LabAutomation #BiotechOps #ScientificLeadership .css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}