Mal's Musings: Monkeying around with Change
A world where nothing changes is a world where there is no need to plan, I recently told delegates at a conference.
By on Mar 29, 2010A world where nothing changes is a world where there is no need to plan, I recently told delegates at a conference.
One of the main reasons why we plan is because change happens. Planning is our proactive response to change. Intuitively, we know yesterdays ideas will not cut it tomorrow. We need new thinking, new ideas and new solutions.
What has all this got to do with the pharmaceutical industry? Summer is well and truly over for the industry and it is clear we are behind schedule in our plans for the next phase. The number of conferences and papers on the future of the industry is a case in point. Not all change leads to improvement, but without change there is no improvement.
We had the choice to change or be changed. Our indecision has left us with the latter of the two options. The need for change is being driven by patient, payer and physicians.
It is time to rethink our approach to value creation and delivery. In the famous words of Darwin, It is not the strongest species that survive nor the most intelligent but the most responsive to change. Unfortunately for us, our reluctance to act means evolution will look more like revolution as changed is forced upon us.
What has really changed, apart from payers that cannot fund future healthcare expenditure? There has been a series of subtle changes over time: governments and patients attitude to the industry, increased lead-time to introduce innovations, and public demand for holistic solutions not tablets. The truth is that the big oil tanker has been trying to change for some years now but it is easier said than done. The thinking that created the problem will certainly not produce the solution.
It is time to accept the fact that the insulation that has protected the industry for many years is coming down. Like other sectors, we need to improve our practice of customer focus and focus on solving their problems totally not just selling our pills.
Many will not make the next phase of changes and will succumb to mergers, takeovers and other disguises of extinction. With the public demanding proactive healthcare solutionslike make me smarter, make me younger, and make me sexierthe dilemma for the industry now includes a strong ethical dimension.
For those of us who decide to fight change, it is worth acknowledging the fact that 70% of our end users are over 65. When you couple that with the fact that the majority of our shares are held by pension funds, the line between end user and shareholder starts to blur. Soon, the same question might be asked from opposing ends of the chain.
The Monkey Theory
In one corner of a warm comfortable room, dangle a banana from a string and put a ladder under it. Next put five monkeys in the room. Before long, a monkey will go to the ladder and start to climb towards the banana. As soon as she touches the ladder, spray all five monkeys with cold water. When another monkey makes an attempt to climb the ladder, spray all five monkeys with cold water. Pretty soon, when the next monkey tries to climb the ladder, the other monkeys will try to prevent it.
Now, turn off the cold water, as you don't need it anymore. Remove one monkey from the room and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and wants to climb the ladder. To his surprise and horror, all of the other monkeys attack him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the ladder, he will be assaulted.
Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with a new one. When the newcomer goes to the ladder, it will be attacked. Even the previous newcomer will take part in the punishment with enthusiasm.
Then replace a third original monkey with another new one. When this new one makes it to the ladder, it will be attacked as well.
If you think about it, two of the four monkeys that beat him have no idea why they're not permitted to climb the ladder, nor why they're participating in the beating of the newest monkey.
After replacing the fourth and fifth original monkeys, all the monkeys that have been sprayed with cold water have been replaced. Nevertheless, no monkey ever again approaches the ladder. Why not? Because, as far as they know, that's the way it's always been around here.
Nonetheless, change does not have to be viewed from a negative stance. Change is at the root of getting better. The challenge we have is that the change we require is a change of culture as much as anything else. And we are all too aware of how easy it is to change culture not.
As the saying goes, if you cannot change the people, change the people. The internal adaptation process is slower than the external changes. We need action to get back on track. The industry has been on a defensive footing for too long.