“Trust the process” was the mantra pushed by the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers when they went through a particularly rough patch in the mid 2010s. During a six-year period, the team managed to win only 36 percent of their games, reaching their lowest point in the 2015–16 season with only 10 wins against 72 losses. The catch phrase was meant to assure fans that the years of losing would eventually pay off. The process was long, but the L’s would add up to high draft picks, transformational talent, and an eventual return to glory. By 2017, the team finally began winning more games than they were losing and are now considered perennial contenders for the league crown.

For the Sixers, the unorthodox approach of practicing extreme patience paid off.

In pharmaceutical manufacturing, patience is no longer a virtue. With the rise of personalized medicine and swift changes in consumer demand, batch processing is becoming less viable. Considering increased competition, rising costs, and pricing pressure, product revenues have declined to the point that the same technologies the industry has relied on for decades are finally showing their limitations.