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Digg It - Hidden Consultants Within Your Organization
You’ve all heard the old joke about a consultant being someone who uses your watch to tell you the time, and then steals your watch. There’s some truth to the story: consultant recommendations are often the same things that your employees or customers have been telling you all along. But while you will listen to a consultant, you don’t listen to y
According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product
our employees and customers. Why is that? Why do companies pay more attention to consultants then they do to employees or customers? And what should you do about it? But let’s start with an even more important question: why should you listen to employees and customers?
Why listen?
The best reason for listening to employees and custome
Why listen?
The best reason for listening to employees and custome
; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.
Examples of combination products may in
Examples of combination products may in
s is that they have a detailed understanding of your company's problems. They're close to day-to-day operations so they see what's happening and what's wrong. When you implement their ideas they’re committed to success because of their personal involvement. The result is a fast implementation of change, with a high probability of success.
So why
So why
lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.
on’t companies listen to employees and customers? Based on my own experience, here are the primary reasons why companies don’t take advantage of their hidden consultants:
No Clear Summarization
First, we don’t hear recommendations from employees and customers in a clear summarized way. We interact so much with these people that the re
No Clear Summarization
First, we don’t hear recommendations from employees and customers in a clear summarized way. We interact so much with these people that the re
here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe
ommendations aren’t separated out from everyday comments. A profound statement is dropped casually into a conversation on another subject, and we miss the importance of the statement.
When I'm working as a consultant doing interviews with employees and customers, I often hear significant statements, but I notice them because I’m listening for the
When I'm working as a consultant doing interviews with employees and customers, I often hear significant statements, but I notice them because I’m listening for the
d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.
Combination pro
Combination pro
. My brain is focused on gathering important information, and so I’m able to separate out the irrelevant stuff from the important things. Most people don’t listen that way on a day-to-day basis.
Then, after I’ve heard an important statement and verified it with others, I’ll figure out the best way to convey the statement to my client. Sometimes t
Then, after I’ve heard an important statement and verified it with others, I’ll figure out the best way to convey the statement to my client. Sometimes t
ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc
e issue with accepting a recommendation isn’t so much the recommendation itself; it’s how the recommendation is presented. Important truths have to be presented in a way that makes the client see the light without taking offense. Employees and customers don't often use appropriate summarization and presentation techniques, and so we reject their r
easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi
commendations.
Bias
Second, we think employee and customer opinions are biased and therefore unreliable. We think they are trying to advance their own personal agendas. For example, an employee just wants to do that project because it would make his job bigger. Or a customer wants us to improve our service because she won’t take respo
Bias
Second, we think employee and customer opinions are biased and therefore unreliable. We think they are trying to advance their own personal agendas. For example, an employee just wants to do that project because it would make his job bigger. Or a customer wants us to improve our service because she won’t take respo
nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically
sibility for problems in her own company. Sometimes personal bias will color an opinion, but we don’t take the time to sort out the motivations and get to the truth of the matter. Instead, we just tune out the employee and customer comments, throwing out valid suggestions because we think the source is biased.
Reluctance
Third, we hav
Reluctance
Third, we hav
and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ
made it pretty clear to employees and customers that we don't want their advice, and as a result, they are reluctant to offer it. They see us criticize ideas and shoot them down, and they see us label idea creators as rabble-rousers and troublemakers. In such an unsupportive environment, they have determined that it’s best to keep their heads dow
ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi
and their ideas to themselves.
Other reasons
Here are some other reasons I’ve run across:
• Some managers don’t want to acknowledge that their own employees can be more knowledgeable about a subject than the managers are. The managers forget that the employees (a) are usually closer to everyday problems, and (b) have had a life befo
Other reasons
Here are some other reasons I’ve run across:
• Some managers don’t want to acknowledge that their own employees can be more knowledgeable about a subject than the managers are. The managers forget that the employees (a) are usually closer to everyday problems, and (b) have had a life befo
ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.
Following aspects would a
Following aspects would a
re working for this manager, and so they have other experience to bring to the table.
• Managers sometimes feel that giving an employee a strong say in an issue will be viewed as “giving up control.” We forget that we aren’t in control anyway. At best we’re leading and steering, and certainly we’re accountable, but the employees who do the work a
• Managers sometimes feel that giving an employee a strong say in an issue will be viewed as “giving up control.” We forget that we aren’t in control anyway. At best we’re leading and steering, and certainly we’re accountable, but the employees who do the work a
dd to the challenges in developing combination products:
Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod
Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod
tually have control over the process—not the managers.
• There’s a feeling of “you get what you pay for,” so we feel that a low-paid employee can’t provide as good an opinion as a high-paid consultant. This is a narrow viewpoint, but it feeds the families of many consultants.
How to use your hidden consultants
So what can you do to t
• There’s a feeling of “you get what you pay for,” so we feel that a low-paid employee can’t provide as good an opinion as a high-paid consultant. This is a narrow viewpoint, but it feeds the families of many consultants.
How to use your hidden consultants
So what can you do to t
cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin
ke advantage of these hidden consulting talents? Here are some suggestions:
1. Help your hidden consultants learn how to focus. Provide training for your employees and customers in techniques that help them find the root cause of a problem, determine possible solutions, and put together a plan to solve the problem.
2. Provide a way to get feedba
1. Help your hidden consultants learn how to focus. Provide training for your employees and customers in techniques that help them find the root cause of a problem, determine possible solutions, and put together a plan to solve the problem.
2. Provide a way to get feedba
tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen
k from employees without you being biased by the source of the feedback. Create a method for employees to submit suggestions and ideas anonymously, but with a way to subsequently identify the suggester if you want to provide a reward.
3. Identify someone (internally or externally) who is good at summarizing and presenting. Have that person summar
3. Identify someone (internally or externally) who is good at summarizing and presenting. Have that person summar
t?
As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel
As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel
ze employee and customer feedback and present it in the way that an outside consultant would.
4. Have a program in which selected employees can be “consultants for a week.” Having these employees think like consultants takes them outside the day-to-day process, if only temporarily, and gives the employees the opportunity to identify issues and re
4. Have a program in which selected employees can be “consultants for a week.” Having these employees think like consultants takes them outside the day-to-day process, if only temporarily, and gives the employees the opportunity to identify issues and re
ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.
Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust
Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust
ommend solutions. Sometimes this approach is even more effective if the employees act as consultants for different departments than their own.
5. Help your employees to learn how to differentiate between a “reason” (why you are a certain way) and an “excuse” (why you stay that way). And make sure that you understand the difference yourself.
C
5. Help your employees to learn how to differentiate between a “reason” (why you are a certain way) and an “excuse” (why you stay that way). And make sure that you understand the difference yourself.
C
y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products
nclusion
I make my living as a consultant, so I obviously don’t want you to stop using my services. But ultimately my goal is to help companies be more profitable and become better places to work, and most companies are missing a huge opportunity for self-improvement. By taking advantage of the ideas generated by your own employees and cu
I make my living as a consultant, so I obviously don’t want you to stop using my services. But ultimately my goal is to help companies be more profitable and become better places to work, and most companies are missing a huge opportunity for self-improvement. By taking advantage of the ideas generated by your own employees and cu
.
As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de
As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de
tomers, and by focusing those ideas on providing benefit to your business, you can reserve the use of outside consultants for the things we’re best at:
• Providing skills and expertise that don’t exist within your organization, and
• Helping your organization develop better processes for optimizing your own skills and expertise.
You have a huge
• Providing skills and expertise that don’t exist within your organization, and
• Helping your organization develop better processes for optimizing your own skills and expertise.
You have a huge
elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.
Companies that provide selfless information through particip
Companies that provide selfless information through particip
pool of hidden consulting talent within your organization. You just have to focus it and use it.
© 2004 MakingITclear, Inc. This article was originally published in the June, 2004 issue of the MakingITclear® Newsletter, a free monthly email newsletter published by MakingITclear, Inc. MakingITclear is a registered trademark of MakingITclear, Inc
© 2004 MakingITclear, Inc. This article was originally published in the June, 2004 issue of the MakingITclear® Newsletter, a free monthly email newsletter published by MakingITclear, Inc. MakingITclear is a registered trademark of MakingITclear, Inc
tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products
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