Pharma Strategy Blog

Usually, I reserve Fridays for some random musings, humour, patient stories or some out of the box observations.  The end of the week needs some lighter relief as we all wind down.

During yesterday's #BDI conference on social media and Pharma, which was attended by over 350 people, someone put up this cartoon:

You can find the original link here.

It got the biggest laugh of day and resonated with any of us
who have been Pharma marketers debating issues with the
medical-regulatory-legal review team on just about any item. 

That said, fortunately, I have been lucky enough in my career to work with some great review committees, staffed with excellent professionals, who were willing to work above and beyond as a team to get things done. 

But what's the difference between things going well or badly?  My simple answer is attitude.

Ultimately, you have to be willing to be transparent up front about those old friends: what, why, how and when.  If you are clear about your strategic goals and have a willingness to be open to new ideas about how the objectives can be achieved, you may well be surprised at how a collegiate team spirit and camaraderie can evolve rather than a constant barrage of aggressive argy bargy and snark.

I'll never forget the civility, harmony and hard work that got done by a phenomenal review team (they know who they are), the agencies and the brand team while we were launching under pressure to horrendous fast track timelines.  You know what?  Everything got done on time with some far better pieces for the broader team perspective and input than we started with.  That's a win-win surely?

It's time to salute the unsung heroes – if you are having trouble with your review committee stop and look in the mirror first: ask yourself what image and mojo are you projecting?  The difference between confrontation and collaboration can sometimes be subtle.