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In the past month, I’ve attended three different meetings where people introduced new ideas. The discussions that followed were lively, the ideas gathered support, and we starte

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

d talking about next steps. And each time, in one disastrous moment, someone weighed in with: "Let me just play devil's advocate for a minute. . ."

Why is this persona so damn

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

ng? Because a devil's advocate assumes the most negative possible perspective, one that sees only the downside, the problems, the disasters-in-waiting. People who play devil's a

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

vocate are mounting a verbal attack without taking responsibility for it. And attacks they are. Before they’re finished, they've torched your fledgling concept.

If your company

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

wants to build an environment where teams are fully engaged in positive change, and where the culture is rich in creativity and renewal, everyone will need to hear new insights

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

nd new viewpoints. Innovation doesn’t occur in a vacuum. People make it happen through their imagination, willpower, and perseverance. And whether you are a team member, a group

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

leader, or an executive, your only real path to innovation is through people. You can't really do it alone.

You need other voices around the table that are equally as strong as

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

that of the Devil’s Advocate.

In his new book The Ten Faces of Innovation, Tom Kelly, General Manager of design firm Ideo, outlines a number of roles people can play that will

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

oster innovation and new ideas and act as effective counters to the naysayers.

Here are three potent roles that you and others can play to keep ideas from being trashed:

These

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

‘roles’ are driven by the idea that no matter how successful a company currently is, no one in it can afford to be complacent.

Anthropologists brings new learning and insights

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

nto the organization by observing human behavior and developing a deep understanding of how customers interact physically and emotionally with products, services, and their surr

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

undings.

Experimenters play with new ideas continuously, and learn by trial and error. Experimenters thrive in environments where failure is acceptable.

Cross-Pollinators exp

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

ore other industries and cultures, then adapt what they have found to fit the unique needs of their own companies. Here’s an example: A Japanese businesswoman was taken with the

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

generic beer she found in a U.S. supermarket. She brought the idea home, and it eventually became the "no brand" Mujirushi Ryohin chain, a 300-store, billion-dollar retail empir

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

.

So when someone says, "Let me play devil's advocate for a minute" and starts to smother a fragile new idea, another person in the room may be emboldened to speak up and say,

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

Let me be an anthropologist for a moment, because I personally have watched our customers suffering silently with this issue for months, and this new idea just might help them."

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

And if that one voice gives courage to others, maybe someone else will add, "Let's think like an experimenter for a moment. We could prototype this idea in a week and get a sen

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

e of whether we're on to something good." The devil's advocate may never go away, but on a good day, people who assume other roles can keep him in his place.

Once employees in

.

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

company get the hang of taking on the devil’s advocate -- with respect and, hopefully, humour – the company will benefit from the wide possibilities that open up.

Talk Back:

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

’d love to hear your ideas about how you handle company naysayers. Please share them with me by pinging me an e-mail at nicki@saleswise.ca

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

Would you rather go out to a different store every time you want to buy something, never being completely satisfied with what you get, and having to look for a new store on each new shopping trip or would you rather go to the same store and get everything that you need and want each time you go? The same is true for your customers. Just like anyone seeking a relationship, customers want a long-standing business relationship not a one night stand. To get your business to flourishing you need to focus on your customers and their satisfaction.

I regularly seem to come across businesses that have pinned their hopes on one press release. They tell me how they sent it out with excitement in the pits of their stomachs and then felt the hard cold flop of disappointment when they didn’t get an army of journalists on the phone the very next day. And then, disillusioned, they resign their venture into PR to the past and move on to what they consider safer tactics.

Are you looking for a simple but very powerful way to get a boost of clients? it’s time to reach out to your Centers of Influence in a systematic way (it’s like hitting the bulls eye every time). You’ve heard about COI’s before, but I’m guessing that you don’t take advantage of these relationships systematically.

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Digg It - Ideas To Combat 'The Devil’s Advocate' in Sales Environments

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