For the last decade, it felt like experience was something you wanted to avoid. Why pay more for someone who knows more? Someone who could push back on those above them? No, let’s find someone younger. Someone who will say yes to everything. We lost many of our seasoned leaders over the last several years. Those who experienced product launch failures. Products that didn’t gain traction with payers or physicians. Sales forces that didn’t meet expectations. All these lessons went out the window, and we hired someone who knew how to say yes.
There are smart people in pharma. We just need to let them disagree with management.
Pharma has no shortage of intelligent people. We have brilliant scientists, doctors, marketers, researchers, data analysts, commercial personnel, etc.
What we are lacking is people who can disagree.
There is a big difference between collaborating and agreeing to everything that your management team comes up with. When you allow your employees to think outside of the box, they become better employees. If they start to realize that their job is at risk when they try to think outside of the box, you’ve created an unhealthy work environment.
Once people learn this pattern, they’ll always play it safe.
Oh, the CEO likes that idea? Must be a great idea.
Management thinks the forecast for this launch will be successful? It’s a great forecast.
Research shows that our target market may not agree with us? I wonder why that study showed those results.
Agency says the market loves this message? Great message; let’s add it to the PPT.
Isn’t our launch tracking well? Let’s find a new KPI. At some point we’ll just start telling ourselves what we want to hear. This is where experienced people come in handy.
Experienced doesn’t always mean old
There is a difference between hiring an experienced person and just hiring an old person. I’m not saying that companies should hire all of their leaders from 20 years ago. Experience alone isn’t helpful.
Having experience that is applicable to what you are doing is.
Someone who has been through several product launches can see things others may not.
They have seen products fail to reach their full potential because of limited access.
They know how much management can overestimate physician adoption of a new drug.
They know that what a physician tells you during research is not what they will do when sitting with their patients.
They have seen forecasts fall apart when they meet with formulary, PA’s, patients not picking up their Rx’s or competition.
Most importantly, they know that management can be wrong.
Sometimes really wrong.
Too much focus on dashboards
With so many data points available to pharma today, it’s ironic that we can’t seem to see what’s happening around us.
Management has countless data points to analyze a product. Rx trends, claims, physicians, digital, patients, market access, etc.
Once all that data is compiled into one nice-looking PPT, everything looks great.
All the boxes are green, and management pats themselves on the back.
Then 6 months later you’re asking yourself why your product isn’t selling.
Dashboards can be helpful, but they don’t tell the whole story.
You always have questions to ask when analyzing your data. What is our dashboard not telling us?
Sometimes that’s hard to answer, but you should have someone in your organization who can ask those questions.
Why having yes people is costly to your business.
When you put together a forecast for your product launch, it can impact many areas of your business. Manufacturing, sales force headcount, marketing budgets, investor relations etc.
Millions of dollars are at stake.
Why would you meet with 10 people who know the forecast is unrealistic, and no one says anything because your senior leader already bought into it?
That’s where the problem lies. If your company creates an environment where no one wants to share negative news with management. You’re not getting any negative news.
Your management will hear about it eventually.
Just not until it’s too late.
Hire more trouble makers (the good kind)
You need some troublemakers in every company. Not the type that argue about everything just to be right.
I’m talking about the individual who will tell you that maybe the market won’t adopt this product how we think it will. And can give you reasons why.
Those are the people you want working for you.
The person who can tell you that they remember something happening 10 years ago that we may run into.
The market research analyst who knows that your method will lead to your desired outcome.
The sales manager who knows that your doctors will not love this drug as much as your headquarters thinks they will.
Market access professional who knows reimbursement is going to be a bigger hurdle than your forecast accounts for.
Commercial lead who knows that if patients can’t get to the drug, it won’t matter how good of a prescriber you have.
These are not bad employees. These are people who help keep your company healthy.
Learn from past experience.
There has been so much talk about disruption in corporate America. I think it’s important to disrupt from time to time.
But knowing your history has value.
When you fire your experienced workers, you’re not only losing people. You’re losing their knowledge.
They remember why that didn’t work in the past. They have built relationships and know your customers better.
You’ll end up coming up with the same strategy that failed 8 years ago and spend more money learning the same lessons.
It’s not very innovative.
Stop asking your team if they agree with you.
Ask them why they disagree.
If your CEO is going to ask one question, it shouldn’t be “Does everyone agree?”
It should be “Who disagrees?”
Find that individual and ask them why they think your forecast is too high. Your positioning isn’t working. Doctors don’t like your drug. Patients will not accept the hurdles to get this Rx filled. Your competition will beat you at your own game.
They could be wrong. That’s ok. Have them justify why they believe that. Then have your other employees justify why they believe the opposite.
That’s when you’ll start making great decisions.
It’s about time we valued experience again.
If some pharma companies are starting to appreciate experience, they need to take it one step further.
Hire individuals who have failed. Failed to launch a product, failed to sell a product to your customers. Hire individuals who will tell you the truth about why they failed.
Learn from them, and most importantly.
Hire them if they will tell you what management doesn’t want to hear.
Because having those individuals in your organization won’t do you any good if they are afraid to speak up.
We need more individuals who know how to manage up.
