Transparency, Talent, Trust: What can Pharma learn from AIG

I was recently in the US on business and I was there at a particular pertinent time in America's history. Not Obama's election or Madoff's conviction but the so-called AIG "Bonus Scandal".

By Anonymous (not verified) on Mar 27, 2009

I was recently in the US on business and I was there at a particular pertinent time in America's history. Not Obama's election or Madoff's conviction but the so-called AIG "Bonus Scandal". Now before you boil up into a ball of rage and fury and call me a capitilist nihilist I need to say this. The AIG executives along with other financiers probably deserve their bonuses.

Many arms of the AIG business were actually proving profitable, The AIG Financial Products division returned nearly $100million in net profit annually. The majority of AIG executives who were still there at the bitter end fought tooth and nail not to let AIG slip totally out of control towards untold damage. The people who were responsible for the mess were very few and far between and had long since gone from AIG before this came into the public eye. Many executives were promised these bonuses upto a year before in an effort to help them wind-down this behemoth organisation effectively. I believe retainers that were promised and those people that followed the business practice with hard-work and dedication should be rewarded from saving it from absolute disaster.

Now, what has this got anything to do with pharma??? Well, having recently overseen the running of the USA's premier Business Intelligence Summit, I think we can learn quite a lot from the failings of the finance world.

1) It is key to retain the talent and reward properly. In the era of downsizing and mergers we need to identify the skilled executives. The one's who can react and push your company forward in whatever the economic situation are the most valuable tool you have.

2) Transparency is essential in making all your divisions leaner, productive and on the right path to advancing your business. The integration of intelligence, sales, marketing and forecasting within a centralised context could be one to do this. Without transparency, as in AIG's case, we get mis-communication, scandal and inefficiency which ultimately impacts the entire chain.

3) Extend the arm of trust and communication to all stakeholders. AIG was seen as proud american brand, however it lost its way when it began to isolate itself from the public and politicians. Those very same people who came after them with picks, forks and fire after nationalisation. Pharma has brands as big as AIG and I advise them to open up more to the public and move away from PR, DTC campaigns and offer added value and eductaion which builds trust in the company which ultimately builds trust in the shareprice.

Thanks ;-)