December 2007  -  As organizations work rapidly to redefine themselves in today’s rapidly evolving markets, HR professionals are tasked with aligning roles, structure, and competencies to support implementation. In their article Building a Leadership Infrastructure: A Road Map for Strategic Change published in the Winter 2007 edition of HR Pulse, authors Michael Abrams, Managing Partner, and Bill Ott, Senior Consultant, outline a framework HR professionals can use to ensure that key leadership development processes systematically support the organization’s strategic direction.

Thoughtfully constructed and efficiently implemented Leadership Infrastructure is the cornerstone for sustained and successful change. The authors describe the linkage that drives consistent role redefinition, performance management, hiring and selection, training, and individual development in support of new strategic market requirements, and offer guidance for successful implementation.

December 2007  -  Rita E. Numerof, Ph.D., President and Bill Ott, M.B.A., discuss how to create Strategic Sales Excellence in Maintaining Momentum in an Increasingly Competitive Environment, published in the Winter 2007 issue of Focus magazine.

Too often, the organizational response to increased competitive pressure is to assume simply that reps haven’t "gotten" the training that’s been given, and do more of it. The authors argue that when the sales landscape changes, sales management needs to look at the end-to-end sales process against the new requirements of the situation, and to focus on the role of management in changing behaviors to adapt. Numerof and Ott illustrate through a case study the step-by-step approach taken by a successful pharma organization to successfully adjust to such change.

November 2007  -  Globalization and the increased competition that it brings is driving change in the role of the market research function and the way it defines itself. The need to move from a tactical approach to a strategic marketing orientation is nothing less than a transformation -- and that is the point of Transforming the Market Research Department -- and Why You Need to Do It. Published in the November 2007 issue of Product Management Today (as A Transformation of the Market-Research Department May Be in Order) , authors Dr. Rita Numerof, President, Bill Ott, Senior Consultant, and Teena Rull, Consultant, discuss the changes required in the function to support pharmaceutical companies in their transition from a product-driven to a market-driven business model.

The authors discuss the new demand requirements of the strategic marketing role, the competencies required at the individual contributor level, and the changes needed in the functional mandate to successfully support growth and sustainable competitive advantage.

October 2007  -  Senior Consultant Bill Ott, M.B.A., and Patrick T. Drake, M.B.A, Business Analyst focus on the critical next step for healthcare organizations determined to manage their multiple challenges in Infrastructure Development: It’s Time to Get Serious, published in the October 2007 issue of HH & N Online.

Healthcare systems are facing numerous critical challenges: growing costs, decreasing reimbursement, and tough marketplace competition. Organization-wide cost reduction has often been the reaction to these factors. The fallout has been increasing turnover in a labor market that is chronically short of workers, and a deteriorating work experience for employees and patients. The authors outline the shortfalls of cost reduction strategies for addressing these challenges, and focus on a longer-term solution -- building the skills and accountability for more effective and efficient people and process management into a redefined managerial role. Leadership Infrastructure Development involves aligning critical processes with the organization’s objectives and making managers at all levels accountable for managing to people and process metrics. The authors outline the steps and rationale for Leadership Infrastructure Development, and offer guidance about challenges to expect and pitfalls to avoid.

October 2007  -  As a real time progress tracking tool, dashboards are the report card of choice in many organizations today. But, do they make the grade? In Uses and Abuses of Dashboards, published in the October 2007 issue of Health Leaders IT. Dr. Rita E. Numerof, Ph.D., President and Mark Morgan, M.S. (R), Senior Business Analyst, explore the reasons that many dashboards fail, and the necessary steps for making them work.

The point of a dashboard system is to provide a real-time snapshot of progress, but the accuracy of that picture is only as good as the data used. The authors delve into how and why dashboards sometimes mislead organizations. They examine critical issues like linkage of metrics with activity versus results, the potential of the wrong metrics to obstruct collaboration instead of enhancing it, and the questions that need to be answered to build a better dashboard.

October 2007  -  Rita E. Numerof, Ph.D., President, and Jack Nightingale, M.P.A., Consultant, point the way to a new pharmaceutical sales model in Truly Differentiated Sales Capabilities, published in the October 2007 issue of Eye for Pharma.

In today’s highly competitive market for physician time and attention, many companies consider it a mark of success if they can increase their sales representatives’ average time with targeted physicians from 1.5 minutes to 2. This statistic speaks volumes about the poverty of interactions between most reps and the physicians they call on. Given the changing economics of the pharmaceutical industry, an expensive sales model that delivers declining value is simply not sustainable.

The authors argue that pharmaceutical companies need to implement a new sales model -- one in which reps are deployed selectively, and when used, deliver significantly more value to the physicians on which they call. They go on to explore the implications of this change for the development of reps and for the transformation of the sales management function.

October 2007  -  Rita E. Numerof, Ph.D., President, and Mark T. Morgan, M.S.(R), Senior Business Analyst explain how pharmaceutical manufacturers can make a broader, stronger appeal to the value-conscious in Building Value for Payers, Patients, and Physicians, published in the July 2007 issue of Product Management Today.

Payers, patients, and physicians think differently about the value provided by medical interventions, but spiraling healthcare costs are forcing a consensus around the need for cost-effective treatment. Pharmaceutical manufacturers face the burden of demonstrating that their offerings are worth paying for -- a burden that is made lighter if delayed beneficial impacts are recognized and accounted for.

The authors argue that there is a strong case to be made that this lifetime value approach is optimal not only for the manufacturers, but for payers, patients, and physicians, as well. It will fall to manufacturers to make the case, to explain how lifetime value can be prospectively modeled, and to convince other key players that partnering to fully evaluate the value of drug treatments is in everyone’s best interest. Fortunately, these other players are ready to hear the message.

September 2007  -  Rita E. Numerof, Ph.D., President, and Mark T. Morgan, M.S.(R), Senior Business Analyst explain how pharmaceutical product managers can use CRO-based clinical trials as a marketing tool in Using CRO-Based Clinical Trials to Shape a Successful Marketing Program, published in the September 2007 issue of Product Management Today.

Contract research organizations (CROs) give pharmaceutical companies the ability to execute trials almost anywhere in the world, on relatively short notice, and with modest impact on internal resources. Most commonly used as a cost-management strategy, the authors argue that CROs are under-appreciated as an element of the marketing plan itself.

They explain the marketing value of embedding CRO-based trials in product lifecycle plans, discuss ways to maximize the impact of your CRO budget, and provide insights into the risks inherent in CRO-based studies -- and how to manage them.

August 2007  -  Michael N. Abrams, Managing Partner, and Jack Nightingale, Consultant, show product managers how to become the "CEO of their brand" in A Strategic Approach to Product Marketing Plans, published in the August 2007 edition of Product Management Today.

Each branded product is an important asset, and it’s the product manager’s job to maximize its long-term value. However, given the inevitable demands for ad hoc marketing support, the annual planning cycle often devolves into a tactical exercise in forecasting and budgeting.

The authors argue that product managers should use product planning to define the direction for their brand and drive cross-functional alignment in support of that direction. To maximize their brand’s potential, product managers need to generate real insight into evolving market dynamics and the opportunities and challenges they present for the product, and then translate that insight into an innovative positioning strategy and associated tactics. The authors recommend four key guidelines that product managers should follow to upgrade the strategic value of their plans.

August 2007  -  Mark T. Morgan, M.S.(R), Senior Business Analyst, and Rita E. Numerof, Ph.D., President, discuss the need to look beyond the technical details when implementing a Regional Health Information Organization in RHIOs: Making Your Piece Work, published August 21, 2007 in HealthLeaders News.

There are two sides to making any IT implementation work well -- the technical side, and the "softer", human side. Legislation is likely to set standards for the operation of RHIOs as part of a National Health Information Network, and failure to meet those standards is likely to incur sanctions. This sharpens the need to make both the technical and the human side of implementation work.

The authors present the three major "people issues" that cause IT implementations like RHIOs to fail. IT professionals need to be acutely aware of these issues, but they can’t address them alone -- operational leadership needs to commit to making the necessary changes as well. Key challenges in addressing these obstacles to successful IT project implementation, and their solutions, are outlined.

August 2007  -  Michael N. Abrams, Managing Partner, and Mark T. Morgan, M.S.(R), Senior Business Analyst discuss emerging strategies that allow hospitals and hospital systems to successfully build competitive advantage in Strategies for Competing on Value, published in the August, 2007 issue of Managing the Margin.

Price is an element of value, but it is only one element, and not the one on which most hospitals and hospital systems would choose to compete. More profitable, and hence desirable, ways exist. The authors discuss two general approaches to increase revenues by providing more of what key stakeholders want -- increasing patient choice, and improving perceived quality.

The authors survey and critique a number of current attempts by hospitals and hospital systems to create additional value, and extract additional revenue, through the application of these strategies, offering suggestions for next steps fot he industry. The "value strategy" is appropriate for all healthcare systems, large or small, public or private, for profit or not. It provides a hedge against payers’ ability to grab a larger slice of the profit pie, and the added value benefits hospitals and patients alike.

July 2007  -  Michael N. Abrams, M.A., and David K. Garver, M.B.A., discuss the need for hospitals to reconsider their business model to deal with a variety of competitive threats, including free-standing clinics, in Carve-outs Mean Hospitals Need To Redefine Their Business Model, published in the July 9, 2007 issue of HealthLeadersMedia.com Online.

The growth of physician-owned free-standing clinics that "cherry-pick" the most profitable health care delivery segments is just one more sign that the industry needs to rethink its business model. New approaches to distribution, lines of business, and capital acquisition are needed to enable hospitals to compensate for the multiple sources of margin erosion that many are currently subject to.

The authors discuss some emerging new approaches to health care delivery, and the process, structure, and competency gaps that typically must be addressed to enable health care delivery organizations to successfully adapt to the changing competitive landscape.

July 2007  -  Michael N. Abrams, M.A., Managing Partner, and Mark T. Morgan, M.S.(R), Senior Business Analyst discuss the range of emerging physician relations management models in Nurturing the Hospital Physician Relationship, published in the July 9, 2007 issue of H&HN Online.

Historically, management of physician relationships has been the province of the CEO. Often, such efforts were largely fire-fighting exercises that offered drama, but in the long run, limited effectiveness. As hospitals become more business oriented in their approach, there’s a growing realization that a more systematic approach is needed.

The authors categorize the kinds of range of approaches currently in use across the industry, describing the characteristics, strengths and limitations of each. The complexity and ambition of these models varies, as does the ease with which the return on investment can be measured, but they all represent movement in the right direction -- more systematic and effective management of a key organizational asset.

June 2007  -  Rita E. Numerof, Ph.D., President, and Jack Nightingale, M.P.A., Consultant, discuss the direction pharmaceutical sales organizations will take in After the Arms Race: the Future of Primary Care Salesforces, published in the June 2007 issue of Product Management Today.

The authors predict dramatic changes in the way that pharmaceutical companies promote drugs to Primary Care physicians. The major pharmaceutical companies that have dominated this market have built success on their ability to saturate the market with sales representatives. For years, the potential payoff in increased revenues from blockbuster drugs fueled an ‘arms race’ among leading companies, creating an army of sales reps competing for physician attention. This trend has run its course as the underlying business drivers have shifted, and retrenchment has begun. The question now is how quickly new commercial models will be adopted and how disruptive they will be to current sales practices. The authors outline the likely shape of these new models, and suggest that early adopters will gain competitive advantage for several years to come.

May 2007  -  Michael N. Abrams, M.A., Managing Partner, and Bill Ott, M.B.A., Senior Consultant, describe how leveraging the disciplined mindset of the Finance Department can quantify the financial return on investment of human capital in How Finance Can Help Build a Leadership Infrastructure, published in the May 2007 issue of Financial Executive.

The authors point out that despite the significant investment made in recruiting and training staff, most organizations don’t think about human resources in the same way they think about other assets. Likewise, investing in a systematic process to assess and develop future leaders deserves but often does not get the rigorous financial treatment used for other asset-growth strategies. The authors suggest that many of the concepts common to finance can be profitably applied to the challenge of building a leadership infrastructure. They offer a framework for non-HR managers to understand how finance concepts can be applied to HR, and how management of the leadership pipeline parallels other asset management efforts.

April 2007  -  In an article titled Adapting to the Changing Landscape of Healthcare, published in the April Issue of H&HN Online, Michael N. Abrams, M.A., Managing Partner and Mark Morgan, M.S (R), Business Analyst outline fresh solutions for fixing the outmoded business model of healthcare delivery systems.

Regulatory compliance demands, staffing shortages, competition from boutique clinics, and the increasing pressure to become more competitive in the confines of ever shrinking revenues are all critical factors that have forever shifted the landscape of healthcare delivery. These tremors have left no doubt that something has got to change.

In this article the authors’ reveal strategies for redefining the business model, offer examples of entrepreneurial solutions, and highlight ‘out-of-the-box’ tactics that hospitals and system’s can use to adapt to a new healthcare landscape.

April 2007  -  Rita E. Numerof, Ph.D., President, and Mark Morgan, M.S.(R), Senior Business Analyst, describe how expanding your focus beyond the purely technical aspects of new drug development to the cultural and organizational ones can greatly speed product throughput in Guidelines for Optimizing Your Time-to-Market, published in the April 2007 issue of Eye for Pharma.

The authors argue that many of the potential gains in rapid commercialization depend on factors like giving speed of decision-making appropriate weight as a counterbalance to risk avoidance, putting enough effort into moving low priority opportunities along to keep them from languishing, and improving the effectiveness of the organizational infrastructure outside of R&D. They explain how these kinds of issues impact time-to-market, and suggest ways to improve performance in several specific areas.

February 2007  -  Michael N. Abrams, M.A., Managing Partner, Jack Nightingale, M.P.A., Consultant, and Rita E. Numerof, Ph.D., President, discuss the implications of emerging "consumer-directed" health insurance plans for the pharmaceutical industry in High-Deductible Health Plans Are Another Step Toward Pricing Sensitivity for Pharmaceutical Companies, published in the February 2007 issue of Product Management Today.

Pharmaceutical companies need to change their commercial strategies as a result of High-Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs), though not for the reasons many observers put forward. The early success of HDHPs since 2004 has led to predictions that these plans will achieve very high market adoption rates over the next 5 years. In contrast, the authors expect penetration to stay well below 20% despite generous tax benefits and considerable employer interest. However, consumers in these plans tend to be active price shoppers for prescription drugs in particular. Furthermore, HDHPs are one more element of a broader global trend toward increasing price sensitivity among payers and consumers. The authors recommend strategies that pharma companies should pursue to position themselves for success in this environment.