PPMLD Newsletter - September 2008

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Welcome to our occasional newsletter – for September 2008. We would like to offer some tips, guidance and case studies which may help you improve the effectiveness of your work. In this edition, there’s a reminder of who we are and what we do, an example of something we’ve done recently for a client, a tip of the day, and an introduction to our new assessment system.

John Faulkes and Ralph White - September 2008

We specialize in improving collaboration at work – particularly in the management of Pharmaceutical and Biotech project teams. We can help you to make positive change in your company and improve your own leadership skills in the project environment!

Picture of John Faulkes

John

Picture of Ralph White

Ralph

See us in Autumn 2008 and Spring 2009!

We will be speaking at several forthcoming conferences and meetings in the coming months:

The Drug Information Association (DIA) ’Art and Science of Project Management’ conference – held simultaneously in Slovenia, EU and Washington, US, October 2008. Download the program here.

The Pharmaceutical Industry Project Management Group (PIPMG) meeting in November 2008. Download the program here.

The DIA Annual Meeting in Berlin, March 2009. Download the program here.

Case study – word spreads – and meeting’s length reduces by 75%!!
	During this year we have been working with a medium sized Pharma company, with bases in the UK and US, who are aiming to enhance their project management system. One of the things we were able to do quite quickly was help one lead project team rationalize its regular meetings.

These had largely been ’information sharing’ forums, with extended discussions about current functional activity, often lasting nearly two hours. Prior preparation and pre-circulation of materials was usually requested, but often didn’t occur. Planning for the meeting was last-minute.

Leading a tough-talking session, we helped the team make a radical change. Regular project team meetings in future would focus on significant issues that really needed cross-functional discussion, decisions, and action. Information updates would be input into the Sharepoint site (which also would form the basis of better briefing for senior management). The need for occasional, in-person information sharing would be done in specially arranged meetings.

This development had one more interesting effect! Another team in the company – that we hadn’t yet worked with – simply heard about this development, implemented it themselves – and completed their next project meeting in 25 minutes, instead of the usual one and three quarter hours!

Measure your effectiveness!

How effective is your project management? Do you and your colleagues work together across functions? Most importantly, what are the barriers (and these may be obvious or hidden) that might stop you achieving your targets?

You can get fast, simple and inexpensive answers to these questions using our new online assessments – the ‘Collaborate’ questionnaires.

Find out more information and see demos here.

Key tip – don’t forget the underpinning culture of your company

If you work within the product development business in Pharma / Biotech, we won’t have to tell you that it’s difficult and uncertain. There are very few absolutely right ways to ensure success.

Sometimes however, we do feel that others are blocking new ideas – changes and development which may seem blindingly obvious to us. This is commonly found in the places where we try to blend commercial and scientific thinking.

We have met many teams where some members are trying to push esoteric research leads, or perhaps advocate the need to be much more rigorous about prioritization in the face of commercial analysis. And often getting no acknowledgment.

It’s worth just remembering ’where have people come from?’’ For example, most of the senior team may be researchers. Or sometimes, the senior team is an entrepreneurial unit, but most of the company’s people are leavers from big Pharma companies. The cultural feel that these groupings will impose (even unconsciously) will change, but change slowly.

To some extent, you have to accept what you can’t change, and set your sights accordingly.

But note: understanding the cultural blocks in your company is the basis of starting to change. Our online tools can be a positive, yet gentle start to this process!

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