Sometimes meetings we dread turn out to be the smoothest experiences.
Who aided in this seamless experience?
What happened outside of the meeting that enabled the pleasant experience within the meeting?
Whose invisible hand was helping us? If they don’t speak up, we might never know.
When the audience is seeking a punchline, don’t lead with an ambiguous title and then bury the punchline somewhere underneath.
Good decks and brochures in market access have thoughtfully crafted messages in their headlines. Your audience should be able to figure out your story even if all they have time for is reading the headlines.
If your audience isn’t up for a scavenger hunt, don’t create one.
You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. -Jim Rohn
There are different ways to spend time with people: in-person, virtually, by reading their book, by thinking of them.
Where do you want to be in the future? Who can help you get there? It could be worthwhile spending time with them.
There are some 1st grade teachers who have been teaching for over 20 years. Their earliest students are now in the workforce, moving and shaking the world.
It’s hard to imagine the long-term reach of our efforts in the midst of the day-to-day grind—but what are we working so hard for anyways?
In the spirit of Back-to-School season, an SAT-style analogy:
(assignments and lectures) : (1st grade teachers) :: (decks and meetings) : (market access professionals)
For ANYONE in the workforce, our work is an expression of relentless effort to create a brighter future.
Teaching someone the complexities of market access is…well…complex. The numerous intricacies need to be explained in a way that doesn’t bore the audience to sleep.
Telling a story is more engaging than spitting out facts without proper context.
Persona profiles are a great way to teach your audience about your customers. Answer these questions to create the persona profiles:
It’s impossible to predict the future.
Nevertheless, it’s easier to catch the arrow in mid-flight once you figure out their WHY.
Therefore, it’s often less important to understand WHAT they did, and more important to understand WHY they did it.
A position is open for hire because we need an extra set of hands. Yet we hesitate to risk relying on inexperienced ones.
I would argue that recent grads are hardly inexperienced. They already have 21-28 years of experience behind them. Have they cultivated the foundational skills of perseverance, resilience, active listening, collaboration, receiving feedback, taking initiative, confidence, humility, and empathy?
Foundations are invisible and, therefore, never given credit—but tall buildings couldn’t be tall without strong foundations.
Even if they can’t hit the ground running, do they have a chance at catching up? How long would it take them to catch up? What’s at stake if you didn’t hire someone quickly enough?
Giving novices a chance is an act of benevolence towards both the newly grad as well as your organization—because even though they benefit, you will have to temporarily do double-work until the novice catches up. It is also a sign of humility: willingness to learn and seek transformation from those FAR less experienced than you.
What an incredible story you could have to share at YOUR next interview. A story of benevolence and humility that only an experienced person could share.
A rocket launch provides the initial thrust to overcome the force of gravity.
A locomotive engine that pulls the entire train with it starts out very slow.
They can catch speed with each passing second, but the initial thrust is the most difficult and determines whether or not they will take off.
The first draft always takes the longest because it involves the most thinking and collaboration.
Then, each subsequent draft becomes easier and faster.
But someone needs to put the care into the first draft so that it’s given the chance to take off.
What’s top of mind for the customer?
You should be able to address it and then move out of the way. No fluff.
Does your deck, dossier, or brochure include this information? Is it organized in a way so that you can INSTANTLY navigate to the relevant slides or sections? If the answer is ‘no’ to either of these questions, there’s a problem.
Thoughtfully engineered pieces turn heads. Over-engineered pieces…well….
Pictures on social media are misleading. They portray merriment and achievement.
People hardly share their traumatic stories to the public.
Whether or not you’re privileged to learn of their traumatic stories is irrelevant.
TRUST that they are fighting their own battles, which is why they’re treating you this way. Be generous in your trust: their battles are more dangerous than yours.
