In a blog published In May 2011 called Creating a Culture That Uses Mistakes to Learn, Dr R K Powar emphasised how the ‘blaming game’ should be scrapped but like all things saying is easier than doing.

A total paradigm shift can only occur when we take responsibility rather than sitting back expecting a magic wand to be waved. To bring about change is our responsibility as it is of others and one thing is for sure, if we want change the best person to start with is ourselves.

So next time you find yourself in situation with an undesirable outcome, take it as a learning opportunity and try the following:

• Take a good look at what happened at the time of the event and also at a later stage. Different facets of the situation will surface at different times; it is important to reflect on these.
• Learn to look at processes rather than single events as things rarely happen in isolation.
• An appreciation of processes helps in understanding why a situation occurred.
• Look at what you could have done differently (as you are the only person you can change.
• Admit to yourself and the others involved in the situation that you could have done something differently to get a better outcome, (this not only demonstrates strength of character but is also a trait that generally earns respect and hopefully will encourage others to do the same)
• Find the best time to talk about the situation; it may be immediately or after some time has lapsed.
• Decide what you will do and when as actions speak louder than words.
• Monitor and review the situation if needs be.

Finally, be kind to yourself. Feelings of guilt and regret should be short-lived; berating yourself will not change what has happened.

Dr R K Powar has over ten years experience in the pharmaceutical industry and provides a range of tailored programmes to help staff improve on their Softer S’s skill base.

Email: r11osyconsultants@yahoo.co.uk

LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/r11osyconsultants

Twitter: @ravipowar

Sometimes, reporting on the UK pharmaceutical industry feels a bit like Bill Murray’s Groundhog Day. In the late 1990s, when I edited my first title for UK pharma, all the talk was of the move from GP Fundholding and the imminent introduction of Primary Care Groups.

By 2000, New Labour’s NHS Plan promised a revolution in healthcare built around delivering improvements in ‘partnership, performance, patient care and prevention’. The politicians were about to ‘modernise the health service’.

Fast forward almost 12 years and we’re still being read the same script; new politicians, the same old lines. Four Ps – partnership, prevention, productivity and patient care – continue to dominate airtime, only this time, of course, it will be different.

Different? Some hope. This is Groundhog Day. So how is the UK pharmaceutical industry responding to change? Its customer-base, meticulously redrawn through 10 years of implementing the NHS plan, is yet again being reshaped. PCTs are on the way out. CCGs and Clinical Senates are on the way in. Keeping track of decision-makers and influencers is critical. Getting in front of them in the right volume, at the right time and with the right message is life and death.

The industry is currently pinning its hopes on Key Account Management (KAM), supported by a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) philosophy that promises to enable the field force to have a more detailed understanding of individual customer needs across a diverse and complex landscape.

The tools to support the CRM approach are impressive, established and evolving in time with the modern technological advancement. They also provide huge value to medical sales professionals, and the ability to enhance customer interactions.

But, as ever, this is Groundhog Day. Twelve months ago, Pf’s annual survey into field force attitudes revealed an apathy amongst some sales professionals towards the use of CRM. A year later and it appears that, despite its many advantages, the value message for CRM is still not being heard by all of those who can undoubtedly benefit from it.

This year, 90% of Pf’s survey respondents have access to a CRM system – but only 43% of these find time to use it in the field, and more than a fifth admit that they fail to record post-call reports accurately.

In a fast-moving, dynamic marketplace, generating, sharing and maximising real customer insight is one of the best ways for sales professionals to achieve competitive advantage. CRM tools provide the perfect mechanism for this. Only the foolish would pass up the opportunity.

I feel like I am repeating myself. But then again, this is healthcare Groundhog Day. Next month: more NHS reform.

Chris Ross
Editor

In times of economic turmoil, we are all feeling the pinch of our increasingly tightened belts, even those who are working in positions that are thought to be significantly safer.

In fact, recent statistics collected by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) have revealed that business leaders are actually missing adequate leadership skills.

According to the CIPD’s survey, UK Highlights: Global Leadership Forecast, only a third (36%) of UK leaders and one in five (18%) of UK HR professionals rated the quality of leadership as ‘high’ at their own organisations. These figures are unsettling as leaders have admitted lacking the key qualities to encourage success in the workplace.

As we all know, effective leadership in pharma is important to managing a team and achieving success in long-term business strategies, especially as we have now apparently double dipped ourselves in the already soul-destroying recession. It just seems a shame that leaders don’t feel like they are sufficiently trained to be ‘leader of the pack’.

So why are leaders suddenly feeling self-conscious?

Maybe it’s the pressure? I’m sure that everyone has felt a knock of confidence since the recession began. So, leaders must truly feel the blunt of the blow as they try to muster enough poise to carry on and motivate their team. And it’s true. As a figurehead, the leader must represent their employees as one and motivate them through this dark time.

Of course, there remains many talented leaders in the marketplace - both within pharma and outside of it -  but as businesses tighten the purse strings, attracting them against a backdrop of fiscal prudence, is proving challenging. Companies are desperately seeking leaders with innovative ideas for growth - but finding and attracting them is another matter.

Vanessa Robinson, Head of HR Practice Development, CIPD, notes the predicament that we face, as “Leadership development budgets remain tight, particularly in the UK, yet effective leaders make a real difference to the success of organisations.”

So it seems the issue of leadership creates a catch-22 effect as we come to realise the importance and worth of great leadership to encourage business success but also struggle to find the money to fund it. Perhaps ‘speculate to accumulate’ should be our way of thinking when it comes to leadership in future? How would you rate the leadership at your organisation?

There’s a lot of talk at the moment about getting in the ‘real world’. The ambitions of the NHS reforms, which this month survived a Commons vote and are now headed for the Lords, have drawn criticism from inside and outside the health service as not being practical in the real world of patient care.

In turn, the ABPI, along with countless others, has cited the reforms’ ambitions to deliver world-class outcomes as a major driver in the need to augment the current clinical trial model to make provision for the collection of ‘real world’ data. But, say commentators, developing real world data means the industry must ask its customers real world questions, rather than simply work to its own agenda.

For medical sales professionals, this is your selling environment – and the real world you face every day is clearly in a state of flux. But out of confusion can often come clarity. The messages that you take to market need to be shaped in the round. It is no longer acceptable for sales professionals to simply inherit brand messages from their colleagues in marketing – they must help inform value propositions and commercial strategies by sharing the important information they glean from the real world dialogue they have with their customers.

And by challenging the age-old customer perception that the NHS cannot and should not work in partnership with industry. The NHS must be made to realise that it cannot deliver the required improvements in quality and patient outcomes on its own. In this regard, NHS customers too need to get in the real world. And it’s the job of the pharmaceutical sales professional to help get them there.

Chris Ross, Editor

If I were a rich man
PS. The latest results of the Pf Company Perception, Motivation and Satisfaction Survey show that, despite a median basic salary well in excess of the national average and annual total remuneration packages that make the profession among the best-rewarded in the UK, a high volume of medical sales professionals remain dissatisfied with their salary and want more. Of course, we all want more, it’s human nature. But in an era characterised by cuts, job losses and high unemployment, the Lionel Bart’s Oliver approach of requesting more seems relatively misplaced at the present time. Perhaps pharma’s sales people should consider getting in the real world too? It’s just a thought.

By Sarah Setterfield, Personal Marketing Expert

January is typically the time for new resolutions, top of the list for most people is “I will lose weight and get fitter”.
The trouble with that goal is that you can run out of enthusiasm before you see any results, so I thought you may like some tips on how to look slimmer without losing a lb.
For those of you with other goals, remember the key to achieving them is to start living as if they already exist. Adapting the way you look, sound and behave lets people know where you’re heading, even if you are only at the beginning of the journey.

Looking Trimmer for Men

• Single-breasted one or two-button jackets will make you look slimmer in the torso, as will darker suit colours
• Keeping your jacket on will create a longer and therefore trimmer body
• Pinstripes in a jacket or shirt pattern will slim the body
• Make sure your tie reaches your belt, this helps to distract from a post-Xmas tummy
• Avoid bulking your trouser pockets out with a wallet, keys, phone and coins, this just makes you look wider
• If you are shorter than 5’10”, avoid wearing turn-ups on trousers, they make your legs look shorter
• For casual dressing, keep your jeans dark and of good quality, teaming them with a smart-casual shirt. This looks classy and expensive therefore distracting from any excess weight

Looking Trimmer for Women

• Wear your brighter colours next to your face, this keeps people’s attention up high
• Darker colours for trousers will make your bottom half look longer and slimmer. Make sure the hem is almost sitting on the ground. Trousers rise 2” with every step!
• When wearing skirts, a hem just below the kneecap will make your legs look longer – avoid a hem across your calf
• V or scoop neck tops will elongate your torso and make your neck look longer. Cleavage should not be on show in a professional environment though!
• Jackets worn open will create vertical detailing and therefore make you look slimmer
• Hair and make-up represent your crowning glory. People will ignore any flaws when you are well-groomed.
• Get your heels at least 1” off the ground. A women’s posture is more pleasing when she is not in flat shoes. You will also look more elegant and slimmer

Sarah Setterfield is the creator and owner of Impact For Success and one of the most experienced consultants in Personal Marketing in the UK today.

Contact the author

Tel:  01908 375371

Web: www.impact4success.com

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