From 1990s Business Wisdom to Today’s BioPharma Success

Susan Abedi
Chief strategy officer
81qd

Between 1989 and 2006, the most widely held monograph in the US was a business book called In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best Companies. Written by then–McKinsey consultants Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman, the book ushered in a radically new approach to organizational effectiveness. Prior to Peters and Waterman’s publication, an organization’s structure—its roles and reporting arrangement—was seen as the core drivers of success. In Search of Excellence, featuring insights from more than 40 companies, instead posited that 7 interconnected factors determined organizational effectiveness: structure, strategy, systems, shared values, skills, style, and staff.

This framework grouped the aforementioned factors into hard elements determined by companies—structure, strategy, and systems—and soft elements driven by culture—shared values, skills, style, and staff. The model is based on the theory that, for an organization to operate at peak performance, these seven elements need to be aligned and mutually reinforced.

Blake Walters
SVP
81qd

For traditional business strategists in the 1970s and 1980s, the idea of interconnection and equal importance being placed on hard and soft factors was revolutionary, even more so for having shared values sit at the center.

The Revolution Must Continue

The authors of In Search of Excellence, Tom Peters and Robert H. Waterman Jr, were driven to write the book by a desire to understand what made certain companies highly successful compared with others. As biopharma companies stand up and/or significantly expand thought leader liaison (TLL) with varying degrees of effectiveness, an opportunity exists to leverage a similar approach to enable success.

TLL teams sit at the intersection of multiple functions—marketing, sales, key account management, market access, and corporate relations—creating a need for an integrated approach to team strategy and execution. However, the approach for assessing and design of TLL has been very similar to a 1970s or 1980s business ethos with a focus on the hard elements of structure, strategy, and systems.

Andrea Schatz-Anderer
EVP
81qd

When we apply the 7S framework to TLL teams, we can uncover insights that are vital to optimizing how these teams engage with healthcare professionals, key opinion leaders (KOLs), and internal stakeholders.

Applying the 7S Framework to Review Your TLL Team:

Structure: The Organizational Chart

• How many TLLs are required to ensure appropriate engagement with national, regional, and local leaders?
• Have we leveraged local and regional data insights to define how territories or regions should be aligned? Medical or field sales regions, or by location and density of thought leaders?
• Do TLL or regional marketing team reporting structures reinforce strategic goals?

Strategy: Overarching Goals and Plan for the Team

• What are the current strategic imperatives for TLL teams? How do these align with the brand’s strategic imperatives?
• Which metrics and KPIs will define the strategy and success of engagement activities?
  • Which metrics will define when teams need to expand or pivot?
• What is the vision for where the TLL or regional marketing team will be in a year?
• How does the team’s strategy and approach compare with other TLL teams within the same company, as appropriate, and with the competitor’s TLL teams?

The McKinsey 7S Framework

Systems: Processes and Tools

• How will the TLL team use stakeholder profiling and management systems?
• Does the team need a bespoke TLL CRM tool to capture and track engagements and insights, or can current systems be used?
• What processes and templates are in place for gathering insights, integrating them into the broader business strategy, and tracking the application of these insights in marketing campaigns?
• How can systems and tools support decision-making and not just track activity?
• Do systems and tools enable compliant communication between TLL team and other functions?

Shared Values: Core Values, Mission, and Culture to Guide Behavior and Decision-Making

• What do we want our TLLs to be known for?
• How do we want TLLs to engage with cross-functional stakeholders?
• Does the team’s name and reporting structure support the shared values?
• What systems and tools are needed to enable alignment with “shared values”?
• Example: If being data-driven is a core value, are we providing TLLs with relevant and updated data sets? If collaboration is a core value, have we created cross-functional forums that enable discussion?

Skills: Distinctive Competencies and Capabilities

• What skills are critical for the team, given the product or portfolio needs, as well as the metrics they are measured on?
  • Examples: Do TLLs require negotiation skills to discuss benefits relative to entrenched competitors, clinical knowledge to explain the nuances of a new mechanism of action (MOA), or business acumen to engage in discussions about practice economics?
• What training does the team need to effectively display these skills?
• How can our hiring process focus on the skills required?
• What are some current competency gaps?

Style: Leadership Approach and Management Style

• What is the leadership style of the TLL leader and the TLL team?
• How is TLL team morale and how can we boost it?
• Does the TLL team have support from the very highest levels of the organization?

Staff: People, Their Skills, Capabilities, and How They Are Managed and Developed

• How are the teams managed and developed over time to address the evolving needs of the business?
• What types of previous experience make some team members most successful and how can we incorporate this into the hiring process?
• How does the naming of the team-eg, TLL, regional marketer, customer engagement, regional insights-pact the team approach?
• What incentives or rewards can we put in place to drive teams?

“Structure Is Not Organization”

In a 1980 article, McKinsey consultants Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman emphasized that “structure is not organization.” The same concept applies to TLL teams. The sheer number of individuals doesn’t determine the success of your team—it’s how those elements work together to form a cohesive, high-performing organization that matters.

The first step in applying the 7S Framework is conducting a thorough analysis of the current state of your team across these 7 dimensions. Use the framework and key questions to:

• Spur discussion among leadership and team members about what is working and what needs improvement
• Identify misalignments between elements, such as strategy and structure or leadership style and skills
• Map out gaps and uncover opportunities for alignment

With increasing limitations on HCP access and growing competition for KOL engagement, TLL teams play a crucial role in ensuring brand success.

As Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman observed: "We found that the excellent companies tend to have tight interrelationships among the seven S’s—structure, strategy, systems, style, skills, staff, and shared values. The interplay of these elements is what truly defines an organization’s success.”

Start today—leverage the McKinsey 7S Framework to refine your team’s strategy, strengthen stakeholder relationships, and drive lasting success.

• Evaluate existing tools and systems that support TLL engagement
• Proactively define TLL strategy to align with business objectives
• Incorporate style and skills into training and professional development

By regularly assessing these key elements, TLLs teams can position themselves and their companies optimally in support of their search for excellence.