DigiStorm 2018 was held on 11 September at the Lalit Ashok in Bangalore. The event was headlined by Prabir Jha – President & Global Chief People Officer, Cipla. Deep Bhandari – Editorial Board Member, MedicinMan, gives us the highlights of the post-lunch session.
For years, Novo Nordisk was the poster child of growth. Its GLP-1 drugs, Ozempic and Wegovy, didn’t just change obesity treatment — they reshaped the company’s balance sheet. Demand outpaced supply, public awareness skyrocketed, and Novo’s market cap surged.
But growth always attracts challengers. Enter Eli Lilly with Mounjaro and Zepbound, and a wave of competitors and compounded generics threatening margins. Add in slowing sales growth and operational bloat from years of expansion, and suddenly Novo’s leadership had to answer tough questions about sustainability.
One interesting fact: most medical colleges and linked public hospitals in major cities were designed in the British era, with an open ward design. A medical administrator, tongue-in-cheek, put it succinctly: “When these hospitals were designed, nobody would have imagined that doctors will face violence”.
Time for design thinking in public healthcare delivery!
With the Second Wave hitting India, customers (patients and physicians) will continue to socially distance themselves in the foreseeable future. Pharma must use the field force for reach and relationship and digital for frequency and personalised content for better customer experience.
The pandemic has made doctors adopt Telehealth in a substantial way to shore up their revenues and this will continue to be one of their channels to engage patients. Telehealth along with EMR/EHR, digital therapeutics and wearables is enabling doctors to better care for their patients. There are many ways in which pharma can support the digital evolution of doctors.
In the organisational context, LEADERSHIP appears more glamorous than the word MANAGEMENT. When it comes to a team whether small or large, we need to realise that the first requirement is to be an effective manager and then a leader.
Why so?
First and foremost, Managers are responsible for making sure that things are done properly. And while leaders may bring us vision, inspiration and challenge, these things count for nothing without the efficient implementation brought about by good management.
To be a great manager, you must have an extensive set of skills, both hard and soft – from planning and delegation to communication and motivation.
The skill set is so wide, and hence, for your long-term success, it's wise to analyse your skills in all areas of management – and then to challenge yourself to improve in all of these areas.
So, a fundamental question that is unasked, but lingers in the mind often is, Are managers really necessary?