In this Fireside Chat, I got to speak with Randi Goeckeler, Global Stakeholder Relations & Strategic Engagement Leadership Expert, to discuss some of the key lessons she has learned from the various roles she has held at top pharma companies. We also dived into current topics such as how COVID-19 has affected the creation and sustainment of company norms and culture, the need for systems thinking and integrated strategic plans, the importance of engaging patients and digital key opinion leaders, and many more exciting questions.
Here is a short snippet of our discussion:
Q: As a “connector,” what are some of the key lessons you have learned as you have helped your clients navigate through murky quagmires and the difficult understandings of how to get their treatments and drugs or get access to certain things?
A: There are few things, and I speak to folks a lot about this, whether the size of the organization is large or small. It almost doesn’t matter whether you are an N of 1 or an N of 10. What is really important is that you generate, from the work that you’re doing with your external as well as internal stakeholders, a diversity of thought. If you don’t bring the diversity of thought of the patient and the payer, or a C-Suite executive, or a global physician, or a community physician externally, and you don’t bring the diversity of thought internally (R&D, Clin-Ops, Medical Affairs, Commercial) and bring all of those pieces together, you are never going to get the richness of what you are trying to achieve. That connect-your-skill comes first and foremost in generating the diversity of thought.
I think the other thing that is important, once you have generated that diversity of thought, is looking at your end goal. Your end goal as that connector, if you will, is always to establish those mutually beneficial partnerships that are critical to the success of not only the organization but also to the care of the patient. It is those stakeholders that will take on the opportunities to look at new drugs or look at things in a different paradigm, which will ultimately benefit the patient.
Internally, one of the connector roles that I have often had to serve, because it’s a role that is relatively unique, is to function and serve as a cultural change agent. You need to be that change champion and that is another connector skill.
Lastly, as a connector, you need to ensure that there is really good cross-functional collaboration and transparency. You need to not only connect the tactics and the strategies but you need to communicate back in a transparent manner. All those bits and pieces fall within that connector network.
For more of our discussion, you can watch the whole Fireside Chat with Randi Goeckeler, or listen to the podcast version, below.
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About Impetus Digital
Impetus Digital is the spark behind sustained healthcare stakeholder communication, collaboration, education, and insight synthesis. Our best-in-class technology and professional services ensure that life science organizations around the world can easily and cost-effectively grow and prosper—from brand or idea discovery to development, commercialization, execution, and beyond—in collaboration with colleagues, customers, healthcare providers, payers, and patients.