Pharma Reform

I really appreciate all of you PharmaReform readers who have purchased Pharmaplasia™.  Thank you.

I’m sure many of you realize how hard and seemingly impossible it is at times to affect the magnitude of change we have been talking about for over a year now at Pharma Reform and as described in Pharmaplasia™.  This is especially true in large organizations where the changes have dramatic financial implications for the company, puts careers and the livelihood of so many people at risk, and that are clouded by uncertainty at every step of the transformation.  Yet a more prosperous pharmaceutical industry for the future will require dramatic change.   Some people won’t want to change while others will just complain that things must change but they’ll feel helpless in being able to affect the change.

As a reader of Pharma Reform you have probably even thought, “this is all well and good Mike but… how do I get my management and corporate executives to start thinking differently about these issues and the need to formulate plans that make sense for the evolving new healthcare market?”

For those still contemplating the purchase of Pharmaplasia™, I am certain that as readers of Pharma Reform you would relate to the suggestions and recommendations proposed in Pharmaplasia™ but more importantly, you’ll be well informed and inspired with confidence to begin making your case for change where you feel you can have an impact.  But, how do you do that without sounding like a “whiner” or feeling like the “lone soldier?”

OK.  Here is a self serving but low risk strategy to help you at least get your management to start thinking about what this evolving new healthcare market really means to your company and what they can be doing about it.  If you have already bought a copy of Pharmaplasia™ and read it, this is going to be easy.  If you haven’t bought and read Pharmaplasia™, that’s the first step. Buy a copy and read it.  Wait…I’m not done yet.  Hang on.  This is not just about selling more books, although that would be nice.

If you agree that your company could benefit by at least exploring some of the suggestions and  recommendations in Pharmaplasia™ or  from just talking about the issues, pass the book on to your manager (or somebody else who you feel could help make a difference) with the simple recommendation that Pharmaplasia™ presents some interesting perspectives that are worth reading about.  That’s a pretty benign, low risk commentary and referral.  Then follow up to see what they thought about it and see if they think it’s worth discussing further or doing something about.

If nothing else, Pharmaplasia™ gives you a great opportunity to instigate thinking about the future (rather than day to day activities) and have a non-judgmental discussion around specific issues that might pertain to your company, to better understand your management’s thinking and to explore their strategic rationale.  If you can get the book back from them, you can then pass it along to another person who could help make a difference.

OK.  If you keep passing it around like this I might not sell as many books but that’s not the point.  Neither is agreeing with everything in the book.  The point is to stimulate thinking about your company in the context of the evolving new healthcare market and encourage discussion (not complaining).  Perhaps you will identify some areas where you can take easy first steps to make a change for the better or perhaps even get to the point where it makes sense to “Invite Mike to Speak.”

So. You can remain frustrated, complain all you want, and see what happens or you can make this small effort to contribute to change and maybe you’ll be surprised by the initial impact you can have, even in a large organization.

mike@pharmareform.com