Preview of the book “PHARMA FIRST-LINE LEADER TO CEO: THE ROADMAP TO SUCCESS”

Over 95% of the time of a First-line Leader (FLL) in the pharmaceutical industry is spent in working along with medical representatives. This also means that a pharmaceutical company should invest substantially to make joint field work effective and thus develop his team of medical representatives. If 95% of the time of an FLL is spent in joint field work, then 95% of the investment on an FLL should be for making joint field work effective. As a corollary, 95% of the training efforts by an organization on an FLL should be to develop him to make effective joint calls. If this is not happening, it needs immediate attention.

But unfortunately says the management guru Kermally Sultan “Some organizations do not want to accept that all managers need continuous training and support in relation to their function of managing people”. ⁽¹⁾ They do not realize that those adept in the skills of managing people are the ones who are delivering today while preparing to be the CEOs of tomorrow. People-managing skills can be acquired through training.

Excerpts from the book:

Preface

The most exciting characteristic of the   pharmaceutical industry in India is that many CEOs have started their careers as humble medical representatives. By the time they became first-line leaders, the ambitious amongst them dream of reaching the top. This book is a guide for such forward looking people!

When I started writing this book and shared it with a few close friends, the first question which was thrown at me was its title – why ‘First-line Leader’ and not ‘First-line Manager’? Are the terms managers and leaders synonyms?

Many, many years back, when Eureka Forbes was strongly promoting their vacuum cleaners, I observed that the immediate ‘bosses’ of the sales representatives were called ‘Team Leaders’ and since then I have a strong opinion that the managers is not the right terminology – it is  leaders.

What’s the difference, a few may ask? – Read in this book which will be released very soon.

Perhaps the most inspiring chapter is Chapter 13, the stories of pharmaceutical legends; short autobiographies of luminaries who made it to the top - after starting as medical representatives, including the first person who the author knows has risen from a medical representative to managing director.

There is no gender bias in my books. In my previous book, “WHAT THE PHARMA CEO WANTS FROM THE BRAND MANAGER”, the main character was addressed as ‘she’ / ‘her’. This time I have used the masculine gender. I hasten to add that in my career spanning over thirty years, the best first-line leader with whom I have worked was a lady!

The book has been written in a unique style – the entire book is in the form of a conversation between a budding First-line Leader Vinod Kamat and his Mentor. The lessons which the Mentor gives are the take-home messages for the reader.   

Prologue to the book

We all know that in 1999 India won the Kargil war against Pakistan. The sacrifices of the jawans and officers set many a young heart on fire. One of them was Vinod Kamat, the only son of his parents. Vinod, who was then barely 13 years old, declared his intention to join the armed forces via the National Defence Academy route and serve the country. His mother was in a state of shock when she heard this. She spared no efforts to dissuade him from taking up this risky career.  However Vinod was firm; nothing could shake his determination. He studied hard for the entrance examinations and passed with flying colors. No sooner had he received a call for an interview than his mother went on a hunger strike to dissuade him from attending it. After she went for three days without food or water, Vinod’s stand softened and he bowed down to the wishes of his mother.

He joined Bhavan’s College, Andheri, Mumbai to pursue B.Sc., but his heart was not in studies. He scraped through B.Sc. examinations with just 37% marks. And who would give him a decent job with this ‘brilliant’ academic record?

His first job was as a shop-to-shop salesman selling medicated cough drops introduced by a well-known FMCG. His customer audience included retail chemists, general stores, grocery shops and even ‘pan-bidi-wallahs‘. Selling the stuff packed in polythene bags, he was accompanied by a cycle-rickshaw puller carrying the wares. A chance encounter with the regional manager of Capella Pharmaceuticals changed his destiny. While in the field and working at retail chemists, this gentleman spotted his talent and invited him to join Capella Pharmaceuticals as a medical representative; he was offered Ahmedabad as his headquarters. Vinod was delighted and accepted the offer. Capella Pharmaceuticals was a very fast growing organization which had acquired licenses to market some of the top brands of various MNCs. Vinod decided to excel in this company with an ambition to reach the top and become a CEO one day. (Suggestion: If Capella Pharmaceuticals is still a major company, please mention it here.

Unfortunately for Vinod, his district manager at Ahmedabad was a new incumbent.  His behavior was more like that of a super-medical representative. Vinod could neither get any guidance from him nor learn anything from him. Day in and day out he bragged about his success stories as a medical representative. Vinod and his colleagues often heard him saying, “If I were you, I would have done this, and I would have converted this doctor to our brands. I converted a key opinion leader, Dr. Sharma, to our brand within three visits.” Instead of leading the team forward, he was boasting about his successes all the time! 

Vinod realized the limitations of his immediate superior. He was career conscious: – “I couldn’t join the armed forces; I will make a career in selling, which is also tough and challenging,” he said to himself. Capella Pharmaceuticals was growing rapidly and his growth prospects here appeared very bright. Instead of leaving Capella Pharmaceuticals, he began searching for someone who could guide him as a mentor and found one in his father’s friend, who was the National Sales Manager of a large Indian multi-national pharma company based at Ahmedabad. We shall refer to him as Mentor (with a capital M) here. Mentor became his constant guide. Vinod sought Mentor’s help and advice frequently to help him excel in his chosen profession.

Mentor taught him many things – and the most important one was on his accountability as a medical representative. Said Mentor to Vinod, “As a medical representative you have many roles and responsibilities; but you are accountable for results: to achieve value-wise, brand-wise targets every month, month after month.”

“Accountability,” explained Mentor, “means being liable for rewards or punishments for the tasks assigned to you. Some of the responsibilities can be shared even with your district manager, but accountability can never be shared.” 

Time and again Vinod continued to get guidance from Mentor. Despite having a weak superior, he worked on sharpening his skills.  He worked very hard and displayed his leadership qualities during cycle meetings, new product launches and other developmental programs. He came into the limelight and within four years was called for an interview for the position of district manager, as the first-line leaders in Capella Pharma were designated. After a grueling four hour interview he was selected and posted at Pune.

Vinod went to share his success story with Mentor. It was then that Mentor said, “The job of the First-line leader (FLL) is the most important position in the hierarchy of any pharmaceutical company, whether in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal or the USA. A company is as strong or as weak as its First-line Leaders (FLLs). Over 95% of the time of a First-line Leader (FLL) in the pharmaceutical industry is spent in working along with medical representatives. This also means that a pharmaceutical company should invest substantially to make joint field work effective and thus develop his team of medical representatives. Pareto’s Principle is highly visible here,” went on Mentor. “If 95% of the time of an FLL is spent in joint field work, then 95% of the investment on an FLL should be for making joint field work effective. As a corollary, 95% of the training efforts by an organization on an FLL should be to develop him to make effective joint calls. If this is not happening, it needs immediate attention.” Mentor continued to coach Vinod.

The lessons Mentor gave Vinod are narrated in this book. After reading this, today’s FLL should be able to spend his time very constructively during joint field work which eventually will be the roadmap to success.

Note: The term CEO in this book is generic – it symbolizes the person at the top who leads the organization – irrespective of the designation.

Reference 

1)   Kermally Sultan. (2004) Gurus on People Management, London: Thorogood Publishing Ltd.

Pharma First-Line Leader to CEO: The Roadmap to Success

Developmental Philosophy and ‘PHARMA FIRST-LINE LEADER TO CEO: THE ROADMAP TO SUCCESS’

What is ‘DEVELOPMENTAL PHILOSOPHY’? It recognizes that although some people seem to be born with different abilities, or more natural gifts: everybody can develop higher levels of performance, given the right encouragement and support!

Having learnt that the most important role of a First-line Leader is to develop his people, how do you go about?

You will find the details in the book I have written: ‘PHARMA FIRST-LINE LEADER TO CEO: THE ROADMAP TO SUCCESS’

What’s more, one can learn from four pharma stalwarts who have risen from medical representatives to become CEOs and MDs! Their autobiographical sketches are in the book ‘PHARMA FIRST-LINE LEADER TO CEO: THE ROADMAP TO SUCCESS’, which I have authored.

The book features the autobiographical sketches of 

1. Mr. C.M. Hattangadi - Medical Representative in Pfizer to Managing Director of Parke Davis and later Executive Director and CEO of Piramal Group of Industries.

2. Dr. Ganesh Nayak - Medical Representative, Cadila Labs to Executive Director & COO, Zydus Cadila. 

3. Mr. Hariram Krishnan - Medical Representative, Searle India,, to Managing Director, Galderma Inc. 

4. Mr. Shyamal Ghosh - Medical Representative, Sarabhai Chemicals to Executive Director, Sun Pharma, Bangladesh. 

This book which I have written is now available in India and abroad through uRead.com. Moreover uRead offers a discount of 10% to readers in India.

Please log onto: 

http://www.uread.com/book/pharma-firstline-leader-ceo-vivek/9789382359456

All the best!    

“What thePharma CEO Wants from the Brand Manager”.

Greetings to you on Ganesh Chaturthi!

May Lord Ganesh shower His choicest blessings on you!

On this very auspicious day, I am happy to announce the hosting of my website: www.theenablers.org.

With great pleasure, I also introduce you to my second book: “What the Pharma CEO Wants from the Brand Manager”. I have written this book specifically for the brand managers of the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry and will soon be released.

Please do visit the page on this website: ‘Book to be released soon: What the Pharma CEO Wants From The Brand Manager’ on the website www.theenablers.org. Please do await the date of launch.

My business e-mail id effective today is: vivekhattangadi@theenablers.org

MCI Whip : Pharma Brand Managers on the Roll - By Prof. Vivek Hattangadi

News article on the lecture delivered by Prof. Vivek Hattangadi during the National Pharma Symposium which appeared in 'The Economic Times' of 5th April 2010

Brand managers in the pharma industry have been feeling low lately. Their roles and responsibilities have undergone mortification as pharma companies no longer consider brand managers as important members in the marketing team. What with the foreign junkets and freebies offered to the medical profession in the name of Continuous Medical Education and brand building, most companies today are almost not concerned about brand management.

A senior brand manager of a well known pharma company in Ahmedabad in a lighter vein said that he is more of a travel agent or an event manager of his company rather than a brand manager. On a serious note, he goes on to say that he has almost forgotten the fundamentals of brand management!

Well, the recent Medical Council of India whip which has traumatized the industry and the medical profession, however, has brought smiles on the faces of the pharma brand managers. This means he can once again establish the positive values of his brand – such as trust, integrity, and its intangible assets. He can now communicate them through the medical representatives for generating prescriptions and get true job satisfaction.

To be successful in brand management, it’s just a matter of thinking differently from ‘freebies’ and ‘gifts’ and ‘junkets’ approach. The he will now have the drive to create those lifetime prescribers in an ethical way.

The pharma brand managers are on the roll once again, thanks to the MCI Whip!

Actions, not authority, drive leadership - February 11, 2010 - Technique - The South's Liveliest College Newspaper

Actions, not authority, drive leadership - February 11, 2010 - Technique - The South's Liveliest College Newspaper

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Discipline and Willpower - Vivek Hattangadi

Discipline and Willpower - By Vivek Hattangadi

• While uneducated birds and beasts
  Know how to lead regulated lives,
  Alas! Man endowed with intelligence
  Does not lead a disciplined life
  (Anon)
  Discipline is fundamental to every living being. For Homo sapiens it is even more important; may be as much as the spinal cord. Without discipline mankind will be ruined.
  Said Zig Ziglar “Discipline yourself to do the things you need to do when you need to do them, and the day will come when you will be able to do the things you want to do when you want to do them”.
  
  Today, in India, it is because people do not practise discipline, whether for instance traffic discipline, social discipline, discipline in daily routine, or elsewhere, life is becoming painful. Discipline must start from the early years, but it is needed not only by students but even by elders. The elders must impress on the young ones that discipline is imperative to become a successful student, a professional, a parent, a musician or even a sportsperson.
  
  One of the misconceptions in the world is that the people who end up being successful somehow achieve this success through short cuts, and other miracles of fate. In the process, the world forgets about the disciplined life of these successful personalities. The importance of discipline in life is something which is often ignored. Discipline is behavior in accordance with rules of conduct. For example, discipline is denying oneself of an excessive pleasure in order to accomplish more demanding jobs. Discipline is the most essential quality of life. It is necessary in the personal life of everybody. Discipline means teaching ourselves self-control, obedience, cooperation and punctuality. It is the ability to stay focused on our chosen action path without detour, distraction, or interruption
  
  This brings us towards willpower and self-discipline.
  
  Willpower is an expression of our inner strength, determination, decisiveness, and assertiveness. It is the ability to act and exert ourselves in spite of laziness and discomfort. Willpower confers on us the strength and fortitude to act in spite of inner resistance or external obstacles. The application of willpower can be like a military strategy:
• Choose your target and objective
• Create a plan of attack
• Execute the plan

Willpower is the spearhead of self-discipline. Self-discipline can be said to be the ‘spouse’ of willpower.

Self-discipline is usually understood to be synonymous with 'self control'. It is the giving up of instant pleasure and gratification or satisfaction for a higher goal. It gives us the power to follow our decisions, stick to them and not change our mind too often, and thus reach our goals. Self-discipline refers to the training that one gives to one's self to accomplish tasks or to adopt a particular pattern of behavior, even though one would really rather be doing something else. Self-discipline is the ability of a person to force himself to do something he knows he should do, whether he likes it or not. Every successful person knows that self-discipline is important for success. Self-discipline must be developed and practised in order to succeed. Every time we practise self- discipline, we will strengthen it.

Thus, self-discipline is the assertion of willpower over basic desires. Self-discipline is the power to keep going forward, when everything around us seems to be pulling us back.

Lack of self discipline may lead to failure to reach goals, even minor ones, and to loss of health, wealth, relationships and may lead us to many other troubles.

Unfortunately, many people, especially the young ones are not interested in self-discipline. They prefer to engage in actions that satisfy their short-term needs – even at the expense of long term failure. Lack of self-discipline is a source of low self esteem. Self-discipline is something we all need because it is a vital characteristic of successful people. Self-discipline helps us control our actions and makes sure we stay on the right track.

What then are the benefits of discipline? Discipline generates trust and confidence in ourselves, and attracts trust and confidence from others. The constant act of discipline can magnify our power many, many times. The possession of this power leads to self confidence and self esteem, and consequently to happiness, satisfaction and real strength.

Practise self-discipline and we shall be in control of ourselves all of the time.

“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of willpower”. - Vince Lombardi

Jack Welsh on Leadership

Jack Welsh on Leadership

Leadership can be defined as one's ability to get others to willingly follow. Every organization needs leaders at every level. Leaders can be found and nurtured if you look for the following character traits.

A leader with vision has a clear, vivid picture of where to go, as well as a firm grasp on what success looks like and how to achieve it. But it’s not enough to have a vision; leaders must also share it and act upon it. Jack Welch, former chairman and CEO of General Electric Co., said, "Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision and relentlessly drive it to completion."

A leader must be able to communicate his or her vision in terms that cause followers to buy into it. He or she must communicate clearly and passionately, as passion is contagious.

A good leader must have the discipline to work toward his or her vision single-mindedly, as well as to direct his or her actions and those of the team toward the goal. Action is the mark of a leader. A leader does not suffer “analysis paralysis” but is always doing something in pursuit of the vision, inspiring others to do the same.

Integrity is the integration of outward actions and inner values. A person of integrity is the same on the outside and on the inside. Such an individual can be trusted because he or she never veers from inner values, even when it might be expeditious to do so. A leader must have the trust of followers and therefore must display integrity.

Honest dealings, predictable reactions, well-controlled emotions, and an absence of tantrums and harsh outbursts are all signs of integrity. A leader who is centered in integrity will be more approachable by followers.

Dedication means spending whatever time or energy is necessary to accomplish the task at hand. A leader inspires dedication by example, doing whatever it takes to complete the next step toward the vision. By setting an excellent example, leaders can show followers that there are no nine-to-five jobs on the team, only opportunities to achieve something great.

Magnanimity means giving credit where it is due. A magnanimous leader ensures that credit for successes is spread as widely as possible throughout the company. Conversely, a good leader takes personal responsibility for failures. This sort of reverse magnanimity helps other people feel good about themselves and draws the team closer together. To spread the fame and take the blame is a hallmark of effective leadership.

Leaders with humility recognize that they are no better or worse than other members of the team. A humble leader is not self-effacing but rather tries to elevate everyone. Leaders with humility also understand that their status does not make them a god. Mahatma Gandhi is a role model for Indian leaders, and he pursued a “follower-centric” leadership role.

Openness means being able to listen to new ideas, even if they do not conform to the usual way of thinking. Good leaders are able to suspend judgment while listening to others’ ideas, as well as accept new ways of doing things that someone else thought of. Openness builds mutual respect and trust between leaders and followers, and it also keeps the team well supplied with new ideas that can further its vision.

Creativity is the ability to think differently, to get outside of the box that constrains solutions. Creativity gives leaders the ability to see things that others have not seen and thus lead followers in new directions. The most important question that a leader can ask is, “What if …?” Possibly the worst thing a leader can say is, “I know this is a dumb question ...”

Fairness means dealing with others consistently and justly. A leader must check all the facts and hear everyone out before passing judgment. He or she must avoid leaping to conclusions based on incomplete evidence. When people feel they that are being treated fairly, they reward a leader with loyalty and dedication.

Assertiveness does not mean aggressiveness. Rather, it is the ability to clearly state what one expects so that there will be no misunderstandings. A leader must be assertive to get the desired results. Along with assertiveness comes the responsibility to clearly understand what followers expect from their leader.

Many leaders have difficulty striking the right amount of assertiveness, according to a study in the February 2007 issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, published by the APA (American Psychological Association). It seems that being under-assertive or overassertive may be the most common weakness among aspiring leaders.

A sense of humor is vital to relieve tension and boredom, as well as to defuse hostility. Effective leaders know how to use humor to energize followers. Humor is a form of power that provides some control over the work environment. And simply put, humor fosters good camaraderie.

Intrinsic traits such as intelligence, good looks, height and so on are not necessary to become a leader. Anyone can cultivate the proper leadership traits.