Charlene Li (see: “Credit where credit is due”) and I talked at length about the benefits and challenges of blogging. She told me there ARE unintended consequences to blogging. What these would be for Prolifiq she couldn’t tell me; but, she assured me they would be there, and I was not to fear.

Well it has happened; and, I am quite happy by the consequence. We are adding staff because of our expansion initiatives and have been doing a lot of interviewing. This is where one of the unintended consequences comes to light. Many, if not all, of the interviewees spent time reading our blogs, and as a result have a pretty good sense of our corporate culture. This has drawn several to us; and, I suspect, has driven some away.

Our most recent hire, Jeff Pearson will take a position as our head of operations. He starts October 1  He comes from a background of small companies that have grown huge (three successive stints) and he wants to find the “culture thing” again. He believes he found it with us. We are thrilled he chose to join us as he will be charged with the mass scaling we will need as our Life Sciences business takes off.

Jeff found us through our mutual networks which intersected; he read the blog and came after us immediately. We chose him out of over 300 resumes (top-tier candidates, all) and what I find most amusing is that his was the first resume in the door. Too bad I didn’t know enough to stop looking at that point.

I wonder what other consequences the cosmos has in store for us….

On Thursday October 1, Life Sciences industry trade group AdvaMed is conducting a webinar entitled: “Navigating the Compliance Challenges of Product-Related Communications”.

This educational session is conducted by: Elsa Chi Abruzzo, President and CEO, ARAC, LLC and Steven E. Skwara, Partner, Epstein Becker and Green, P.C.. Side by side, these industry luminaries will discuss and demonstrate how marketers, sellers and compliance officers can safely and successfully do their jobs in this “post-Pfizer Corporate Integrity Agreement” world of FDA regulation.

Prolifiq is sponsoring this webinar in an effort to raise awareness of Good Promotional Practices (GPP) and to help the industry understand how to comply with the increasingly complex web of government regulations in the Life Sciences industry.

Should you, a co-worker, or friend be interested in attending, please let us know and we will see that you get registered.

My last post, “Promise”, talked about how Forbes magazine recognized us as #10 of America’s Most Promising Companies. This is a VERY BIG DEAL for us, and before too much time passes, I want to make sure proper recognition is given to some very key people.

In a previous post, “Unsung heroes”, I talked about all of the people in the background who make things happen and seldom get recognition. Because of my role at Prolifiq, Forbes interviewed and videotaped me for the website; and while I am the face of the company to the outside, I did not provide the creative spark that caused this collection of incredible talent to coalesce. This came from our three founders.

Jeff Farnsworth, Anh Huynh and Hemingway Huynh were 26, 25, and 22 when they all met at the Portland Trailblazers. Jeff is a Duck, having completed an architecture degree at the University of Oregon. Anh is a Beaver having received his degree in Computer Science from Oregon State. And, Hemingway is a Pilot having completed his undergraduate in Business at the University of Portland. The Forbes recognition is a testament to their vision and the quality of education they received at Oregon schools.

This last point is very significant, as many leaders in the local business community, while working hard for economic development in the region, bemoan the fact that the “network effect” of capital, incubator companies and educational institutions does not exist in Oregon to the same degree as in Silicon Valley or Seattle. I believe Prolifiq’s history suggests this is changing as there are successful, promising companies resulting from “home-grown” education and the nurturing provided by the local business community.

Once their original business idea was formulated, the three Prolifiq founders were joined by our founding investors: Neil Marshall (also a Beaver), Roger Pringle (both a Beaver and a Duck) and Mike Henderson (the odd man out – he is a Huskie). These three provided the initial capital, office space and “adult supervision” (management experience, coaching, legal contacts, banking relationships, accounting oversight, customer introductions, etc.) to start the company and get the very first product off the ground. All six still serve in key capacities: two (Mike and Roger) serve as Board members, advising and guiding me on a daily/weekly basis and holding us accountable, and the other four are in key positions within the company.

Jeff is our chief architect. His primary role is to take our white-board application ideas (see: “Harold and the purple crayon”) and turn them into functional designs that are broken into sub-components that can be developed and woven into Prolifiq’s application fabric by members of our development team. Jeff uses his architectural design aesthetic in formulating our applications. If software were buildings, Jeff’s work would be showcased in Architectural Digest. Anh is a developer extraordinaire. He produces top-quality code in record time and is a “benchmark” for sheer brain-power against whom all of our developers are measured. If Anh tells you something can be done and gives a date it will be functional – we take it to the bank. Hemingway is our “Jack Bauer”. He works side by side with me in our business development functions, fearlessly taking great risks in securing and executing partnerships and managing our largest customer facing team. Hemingway is a “fire and forget” weapon – when I set him on a project, I sleep knowing it is taken care of. Period. Neil responded to the question I posed in “The world is your oyster” with a one word email to me that read: coach. Neil’s fingerprints are all over everything we do; however, this is often not seen by outsiders. He coaches and advises on virtually every decision we make, every product we produce, every customer we touch, and every cultural aspect of the company. In fact, it was Neil, while serving as our COO, who came up with the name Prolifiq. Neil is the soul of the company; and, best of all for me, he has turned out to be a true friend – never afraid to tell me the blunt, cold hard truth.

The Forbes announcement came as a complete surprise to us because we have always been publicity shy. However, it comes at a very interesting time in our evolution. Our Life Sciences initiative is the first of several vertical markets we will address, and marks the “inflection point” in our growth. We will be expanding, dramatically, adding new teammates in executive and functional roles, and our interpersonal dynamics will naturally evolve and change. But before all the “headiness” of the growth takes over, I wanted to make sure the “unsung heroes” got their due recognition; I wanted to tell the story of: two Ducks, three Beavers, a Pilot, and a Huskie.

Gentlemen, it’s an honor.

Forbes magazine chose Prolifiq as #10 of “America’s Most Promising Companies”.

I don’t know what to say other than, we couldn’t be happier! We’ve known for some time we transform the way companies communicate with their customers – it is an absolute honor to be recognized by America’s premier business magazine.

Now it is up to us to continue to deliver on this promise.

It has been 5.5 months since Maureen joined Prolifiq (see: ”She is here”) and yesterday we unveiled the results of her market and business development leadership by introducing “Prolifiq for Life Sciences”. This introduction happened in record time -- a real testament to the team – and I can honestly say it has not been without its challenges.

However, the best testament came at 3:30 yesterday afternoon. A Senior officer of a medical device company came into our booth, approached me and stated:

“Your website is spectacular; I completely get what you do and it solves a huge problem for us. I have already sent my marketing folks to your site so they can get back to me with questions. Will you be here tomorrow so we can talk more?”

Is this a trick question? I was looking for Alan Funt and the hidden camera -- nothing like this has ever happened in my 30 years of professional selling. I’d say Maureen, Neil, Lisa P, Bridgett and the entire Prolifiq team nailed it.

Some months back, we were interviewing a potential account manager and I asked her: “Do you know what I do here?” She responded with: “Other than make people uncomfortable?” I laughed so hard I thought I would cry; I think I am a pretty easy person to understand (see: “Take a walk in my shoes”).

So yesterday, I read an article in Bloomberg about the “Chief Sales Officer”; the author describes how many very successful organizations are led by CEOs who are constantly “selling” – their products, their company, big ideas, etc.

There are many examples of this: Lou Gerstner, after joining IBM from McKinsey, got on the company jet and conducted whirlwind tours making sales calls. Carly Fiorina, after joining HP, bought a jet and went on the road to visit customers.

We don’t own a jet; but, I tell all my people my most important task is to make sales calls and meet with customers. I believe this is the primary task of all our senior managers. I am not shy about this; when introduced as “the CEO”, I candidly tell people,  “I’m a sales guy with a title”. This is who I am (see: “The world is your oyster”).

So, with that said, I am on the East Coast – Philadelphia to be precise – pulling booth duty at the RAPS conference and exhibition where we are introducing our “Prolifiq for Life Sciences” initiative. Can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing than this. So, if you are in town, stop by the convention center, come by the booth – booth number 607 – and we’ll ask you a few questions (see: “I think”).

Yesterday, I spent 4 hours in classroom instruction and actual track time learning how to drive a race car. (This outing was a birthday present from my co-workers). The cars we drove, Spec Racer Fords top out at roughly 135 MPH. I have to tell you it is difficult to forget 30+ years of defensive driving as you are approaching a 70 degree turn at 110-120 and have to get it down to 40 before accelerating through the turn. Not exactly the off-ramp to the office.

As I was winding it out in 3rd and up-shifting to 4th I had lots going through my mind, not least of which was Todd and his broken arm. Todd, our instructor, had literally hit a wall three weeks prior at Watkins Glen and shattered his forearm. He has 26 years experience in the car we were driving – this was my eighth lap. Oh, did I mention the two-page legal disclaimer and waiver I had to sign that warned me about all the things that could go wrong, including death?

So, as I approached turn 11 standing on the brakes to shed 80 mph in 400 feet, I was thinking about all of my responsibilities: my wife, my family, my co-workers and my shareholders. I admit, these thoughts had a “tempering” effect on how aggressively I was driving – I was not setting a lap speed record today.

Last night I attended the first meeting of the Software Association of Oregon’s (SAO) CEO Forum. My friend David (see: “Know the foe”) was significantly responsible for creating this Forum. The Forum is intended to provide my peers and me a venue where we can share our hopes, our dreams, our fears with others who can truly “relate” to our experiences and feelings because they either have or are facing the same circumstances. The group is designed to help leaders grow.

When I took this job, a Prolifiq director counseled me that: “…the CEO is the loneliest guy in the world – none of your co-workers can possibly relate to you.” I’d like to think our company culture mitigates some of this because of how open we are and how broadly we share decision making input and responsibility. However, there are decisions and responsibilities that are mine alone to bear. And sometimes I don’t always have the experience or confidence to “know” I am right (see “To Know”).

It was very refreshing to sit with the CEOs of companies like AutoDesk, FiOS, EthicsPoint, TripWire, Liquid Development, eROI and ViaLanguage, and hear them talk openly about these exact same emotions and see them so willing to help, providing a forum for us to learn and share. I, in kind, will share what I know in an effort to help and support my peers as well.

Thanks SAO!

The US Life Sciences industry employs a small army, approximately 200,000 people, who are on the front-lines of this roughly $400 billion industry. Their job is pretty straightforward – they are charged with educating and informing the health care providers (HCPs) about the latest and greatest tools and techniques in patient care; and, driving the revenue of their companies.

Scattered throughout the country, and clustered around population centers, these reps traditionally work from home-based offices, and from their cars. They typically have 4 year degrees (plus some graduate level work) and are HIGHLY trained by their employers. They must know their product inside and out; they must be able to effectively deliver their pitch in 60 seconds or less – often in less than ideal circumstances; and, they need to advise highly specialized clinicians as to appropriate uses and efficacy – in short, they must be experts in their fields. They also must be businesspeople who can talk contracts, volumes, and value analysis with administrators. And, they need to document all of this on a daily/weekly basis.

The primary task of these reps is to achieve as much “face-time” with the HCP as possible, and to secure their preference for a compound, device or consumable; HCPs need and want these interactions (see: “The needy people”). Because they are so mobile, the reps have large volumes of reporting they need to complete weekly. This includes: fulfilling information requests to HCPs and VACs, call reports, inventory reconciliations, account profiles, etc. This work is often completed at night or on the week-ends.

Charles is a NW Corporate Account Manager for a life sciences company based on the East Coast. Over lunch he told me:

“The two biggest barriers to my success are time and my own company. Time is a challenge because each HCP has between 20 and 60 reps. calling on them—every day. On a good day, I get maybe 2-3 minutes with them. Time is also a challenge because of how much I have to document and communicate. My company is an obstacle because we don’t always move as fast as the market and I am challenged getting what I need, when I need it.”

Their management’s challenge is to have all of these reps operating as uniformly as possible, following the same sales “play book”, getting as much HCP face time as possible, reporting in a consistent manner, and achieving optimal sales revenue. And, did I mention, all of these activities are very closely governed by FDA regulations? The FDA “expansively” classifies anything that “accompanies” a compound or device as labeling, so anything a rep says, does, or distributes as part of their sales process may be considered to be part of the “labeling” process for the company. 

Charles went on to tell me: “I need to follow all of the rules; however, what would make my life so much easier when providing information is if it was quick, timely, accurate, and looks good. My success is dependent on my relationships; my relationships are dependent upon my ability to provide information. In this environment, that is a huge challenge.”

So, the companies spend lots of time developing processes and systems, and train, train, train…all in an effort to ensure the reps are doing the right things; and, if everybody and everything works as planned – all is well.

However, no system involving humans is ever perfect – “outlier” circumstances come in to play. How does a company respond to a request for information about an un-approved use case; how does the company ensure compliance with FDA mandated Good Reprint Practices (GRP)? How does a company ensure the rep is using the latest journal article, labeling disclosure, or price sheet? How does the marketer know who is using what material? How does the rep know what info most interested the HCP? How are these interactions “discoverable” should a compliance officer need to support and defend the actions of a sales rep? And, most importantly, how can a company accomplish all of this without adding to the time and reporting burden of the rep?

So, today’s question is: “what is: quick, timely, accurate and makes the rep look good? Oh, and follows all the rules.

Momma said there’d be days like this

In his song “Days like this” Van Morrison says:

When it’s not always raining there’ll be days like this
When there’s no one complaining there’ll be days like this
When everything falls into place like the flick of a switch
Well my mama told me there’ll be days like this

Well, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were “days like this”. To the Prolifiq team (and especially to Lisa M) – THANK YOU!

I read, with more than casual interest, this morning that Pfizer has agreed to a settlement with the US Government stemming from its “off-label” promotion of its drugs. The settlement includes $1.3 billion in criminal penalties and the remaining $1 billion are for civil liabilities.

WOW! I don’t care who you are or how big the company -- $2.3 billion is A LOT of money. This comes right off the bottom line.

THE FDA and the DOJ have gotten very aggressive in their stance on this and put into place this year the Good Reprint Practices (GRP) guidance that governs how Life Sciences companies should behave when sharing third-party, scientific information with health care providers concerning “off-label” or un-approved use cases. The Pfizer settlement proves the government is serious; and, today’s settlement is more than the government showing its bark – they just showed their bite. Ouch.

Prolifiq knows how to address this problem – we have codified the GRP requirements into our messaging workflow; and, we’ve proven it in the field. We are unveiling our initiatives at the Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS) annual conference in Philadelphia September 13-15. We help Life Sciences companies maintain their ethical and regulatory standards where it matters most – at the salesperson – HCP interaction.

In this case, an ounce of prevention is worth $2.3 billion of cure.