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Three resolutions to improve your business in ‘13
January 2013
SHARING OPTIONS:
"Lose weight and keep it off—in only seven minutes a day!"
proclaims
the television. "Get organized!" department stores scream as they
line their entryways with rows of plastic storage bins, file cabinets and label
makers. "Get your financial ducks in a row," every neighborhood accountant
advertises on their storefronts. 'Tis the season to reinvent yourself,
get
crackin' on those tasks you've been putting off for way too long and finally do
something uncharacteristically bold or fun—it's time to make
your new-year's
resolutions.
Does the calendar's inevitable turn to Jan. 1 bring some
sort of magic power to
transform our lives? No. But it's as good a time as any
to contemplate how changes in certain aspects of your life or business might
have a
transformative effect.
Our media and blogosphere are aglow with
suggestions of new-year's resolutions for business,
and there are dozens of
lists aimed directly at the pharma and biotech industries. They advise
companies of all sizes and niches to adopt quality
manufacturing processes;
better plan pipelines to prepare for patent expirations and keep revenue
flowing; consider outsourcing to speed up
manufacturing and lower costs; get
back to basic science and partner up with an academic laboratory that is
investigating something novel.
The above advice is sound, but it's certainly nothing new or
groundbreaking in the business world, or in the drugmaking
industry. To me, all
of those suggestions seem like chapters from the "Book of Duh." Of course, all
companies should adopt industry standards in
manufacturing processes. Who
doesn't want their pipeline to provide consistent revenue streams? Who hasn't
considered outsourcing at this point? And
the pages of this magazine are filled
every month with news of industry-academic partnerships.
If you
want minimal results, resolve to do the bare minimum.
If you want surprising results—results that set tongues to wagging and produce spikes
in your
stock price—you'll need to think outside of the box. What's that saying
about doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different
result?
Let's resolve to do something different this year. Change
can be scary, but it can also present the
opportunity to examine how external
or internal forces impact your business and employees. Whether you are a global
pharma with thousands of employees
in several locations all over the world, or
a small biotech start-up comprised of five friends who did their postdoc work
on a novel compound—or even a
supplier of instruments or software to these
companies—we can all benefit from taking a step back and assessing with fresh
eyes how we can better serve
our customers, clients, employees and the life-science
world as a whole.
So I will offer a few pieces of
advice that you probably
won't see in any of the many articles on this subject, in the hopes of getting
you to think differently about how you do
business. After all, I am not a
scientist myself, just a journalist, so my advice may be the set of fresh eyes
you've been looking for.
1. Get out of your own way. There is no "I" in "team," but
there is a "me." None of us like to admit
this, but sometimes, we can be our
own worst enemies. Despite our best intentions, we can overlook opportunities
for growth or change by sticking to a
routine that we feel keeps the wheels of
business turning on a daily basis. Switch jobs with a coworker for a week, and
observe how they tackle things
differently. Put people from diverse departments
on teams together and give them an interesting challenge or task. Walk in the
shoes of some of your
other employees for a day, observe what sort of
challenges they typically encounter and figure out ways to make their jobs
easier. Leaders of any
organization are always examining the engagement level
and dedication of their employees, but how can you be a better team player?
2. Make an interesting new hire. Now, I'm not suggesting you find an English
major to work in your
laboratory. But making a non-traditional hire in a
traditional position may give your company the fresh outlook and culture it
needs. Hire someone who
has a proven track record of success in a totally
different industry to be your chief financial officer, head of marketing or
information officer.
These individuals will likely bring new ideas and concepts
that have worked for them elsewhere. They will likely have contacts and
connections outside
of your industry that may expose your business to new
audiences and broaden your customer base. These skills and abilities can help
you get out of a
rut in a hurry.
3. Listen to your customers—and show them that you're listening. Patients don't like feeling far removed from the companies and organizations that are supposed to be in a position to impact their lives. Let the wishes of your end customer dictate where you concentrate your efforts—and then brag that you did it. Patients don't like being told that there are no truly effective, safe therapies for rare illnesses—resolve to change that, and give them hope for a better quality of life. Patients don't like being prescribed drugs that have side effects that are similar to the symptoms they are trying to alleviate—even if your clinical trial says that a good percentage of patients may see benefits from a drug, recognize when patients complain, resolve to address their concerns and show them that you want to see more patients have a positive response. THAT is what "filling an unmet medical need" looks like. And remember, giving serious thought to making
serious
changes in your business or life is not an activity restricted to the month of
January. Any time of the year is always a good time to examine
where you are,
ponder where you'd like to be and formulate a plan for how to get there. The
most successful businesses are always in this frame of
mind. Best of luck in
'13. Back |
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