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 High performers
SAN DIEGO--Leaders are in the business of creating communities within
their companies, and strong communities almost always lead to
high-performing teams.
That was the message from Lawrence King, Ph.D., keynote speaker at IMDA’s
recent 25th Annual Conference and Manufacturers Forum. Based in
Downers Grove, Ill., IMDA is the association for specialty sales and
marketing companies.
Organized by Shawn Walker of Bay State Anesthesia, North Andover, Mass.,
the Conference offered leadership training as well as discussions about
issues affecting medical specialty sales and marketing organizations,
including group purchasing, sales rep compensation, creative marketing
techniques, and business continuance in the midst of natural or manmade
catastrophes. In addition, the association sponsored its annual
Manufacturers Forum, in which specialty distributors and reps got a chance
to visit with manufacturers of new, innovative medical technologies.
High-performing teams
High-performing teams almost always exhibit the following
characteristics: clarity and focus, talent, a project-oriented approach to
work, an appetite for challenges, and innovation, said King, who is
president of King Strategic Alliance, Santa Monica, Calif.
Business owners or managers can’t expect to create such teams from the
safety of their offices, however, said King. “You have to spend time face to
face with your people, pressing the flesh, making sure your vision is
communicated.” And you need a scorecard to keep track of your team’s
performance.
Nor can leaders create an effective team if they persist in hiring on the
basis of personality or longevity. In fact, the only way to field a
high-performing team is to hire for performance. “You have to be selective
about who is on the team,” King said.
Once the high performers are in place, they must be recognized as such.
But their leader must be specific, pointing out those things that the team
members are doing correctly and coaching them when they veer off course. And
he or she must do so frequently. It’s far better to huddle with one’s
people on a weekly basis than to let misunderstandings or resentments build
up over time. That’s a recipe for an explosion.
In order to consistently field high-performing teams, leaders have to
assume all of the following roles:
- Strategist. The leader must set the future direction of the company.
- Ambassador. The leader must call on key customers periodically to find
out what’s on their minds.
- Inventor. The leader must play a key role in developing new services
based on the anticipated pain and needs of the customers.
- Coach. “CEO” stands for “chief education officer.” The leader must
train her people about the industry and the company’s role in it.
- Investor. The leader must put himself in the shoes of someone who
might want to buy the company. He or she can increase the company’s market
value by investing in the people and the systems that will help it succeed
in the long run.
- Student. Leaders must never fall into the trap of thinking they have
nothing more to learn.
GPO issue aired
Patients are being deprived access to the best and most innovative
medical technologies, and group purchasing organizations are partly to
blame, said Mark Leahey, executive director of the Medical Device
Manufacturers Association, Washington, D.C.
Several years after its founding in 1992, MDMA members began complaining
that even though they had received 510(k) clearance for their devices from
the Food and Drug Administration, they still could not penetrate the
hospital market because of group purchasing contracts, Leahey told IMDA
members.
 “There’s nothing wrong with the GPO model,” he said. “But the concern is
that through massive consolidation, by 2001, you had two GPOs controlling
two-thirds of the marketplace.” Purchasing decisions have moved away from
local and regional cooperatives, to national organizations based far away
from their hospital members, he said. Worse, the amount of money GPOs
collect from manufacturers in the form of administrative fees far exceeds
their operating expenses. “Small companies can’t play in this game,” said
Leahey, referring to small manufacturers.
In October 2004, following a number of Senate hearings over the course of
two years, Senators Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) and Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) introduced
the Medical Device Competition Act. The Act would have prohibited GPOs from
receiving administrative fees greater than 3 percent, prohibited some
perceived conflicts of interest, and would have called for regular
certification by an outside body that GPOs were acting in accordance with
the law. The bill died when Congress adjourned in November 2004, but Leahey
urged IMDA members to write to their lawmakers and call for the bill to be
resurrected.
“Based on some of the reports we’ve heard, we think the fees [that GPOs]
are collecting need to be brought back to a reasonable realm, and to make
sure that their decisions are being made in the best interests of patients
instead of their own financial well-being,” said Leahey. “And to achieve
that, we think additional steps need to be taken.”
Shop talk
In response to IMDA members’ requests for more networking time and
opportunities to “talk shop” with peers, Walker built into the program a
number of member-led sessions, including sessions on how to:
- Prepare to keep your business running in the midst of natural or
manmade disasters.
- Prepare to face hidden dangers in your business, such as Internet
attacks or employee embezzlement schemes.
- Protect your business’ cash flow.
- Provide excellent customer service.
- Compensate your sales reps for maximum results.
- Tap into new markets.
- Actively market your business to current and prospective customers.
- Overcome market barriers with creative selling techniques.
In addition, IMDA members learned about product and professional
liability insurance, as well as opportunities to help their customers with
creative financing for their new equipment.
Association news
Bob Wahlenmaier of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Products for Surgery stepped
down after serving as IMDA’s president for the past two years. Wahlenmaier
presided over the organization during a crucial period, as it switched
management companies and joined forces with a new provider of medical
product liability insurance – Medmarc Insurance Group, Chantilly, Va.
Replacing him as president is Ed Boracchia, Boracchia + Associates,
Petaluma, Calif. Additional officers for 2005-2006 are:
- President-elect: Shawn Walker, Bay State Anesthesia.
- Secretary/treasurer: Terry Hinchliffe, Advanced Medical Systems Inc.,
Littleton, Colo.
- Director-at-large: Jim Herrmann, Med Alliance Group Inc., Carol
Stream, Ill.
- Director-at-large: Leo Mindick, DMA Med-Chem Corp., Great Neck, N.Y.
- Director-at-large: Kevin Trout, Grandview Medical Resources Inc.,
Bridgeville, Pa.
- Manufacturers representative to board: Bruce Brierley, Maxtec Inc.,
Salt Lake City, Utah.
IMDA Executive Director Judy Keel announced that the association’s next
Conference will be held June 7-10, 2006, at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville,
N.C.
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