Why do Senior Managers Keep Repeating the Same Mistakes? Part I – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #944

Why do Senior Managers Keep Repeating the Same Mistakes? Part I – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #944

Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #944 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to aq.pharmaveterans@gmail.com for publishing your contributions here.

Credit: Andrea Piacquadio

Credit: Belle Co

Credit: Markus Spiske

KK started his career in pharmaceutical industry fourteen years ago as Assistant Product Manager. He had an MBA degree from a well-reputed institution which was known to prepare their students well for job market. His beginnings were therefore better than others. He was received well, he was given somewhat better treatment, and he got more freedom to work. 

Over the years, KK grew steadily, although he was not mentored much. This is one common issue with boys and girls coming from elitist institutions. Their senior managers treat them with somewhat more deference and do not mentor them like they should be mentored. Even the best of the best institutions does not prepare them exactly for office work; they must learn on the job when they start. Anyway, KK became Product Manager, then Senior Product Manager, Assistant Marketing Manager, and finally was given the position of Business Unit Manager. Great job done. 

KK was intelligent and observant, picked up things on the way, and kept his learning alive. It was a great thing, but the problem was that he was largely on his own. He did not feel much about it, and though it was a deficient area in his grooming, he developed great faith in himself and his work. He thought he had learned all there was, and he could spend the rest of his life with his knowledge. 

KK had learned to work hard on his own, but he did not learn how to inspire his team to do hard work. He did not have a large team anyway up to this point, but now he had a 130 strong team with hierarchy of managers. To put his message across the team he needed to use multiple styles to reach the frontline medical reps, first line managers, middle managers, and senior managers.

A few days after taking charge as BUM, KK arranged to gather the entire team for a two-day session. He opened the session with his own introduction which was rather lengthy and punctuated with lots of ‘I did this’ and “I did that’. He showcased himself as a superior learner, hard worker, target-oriented, and no-excuse person. KK was riding high on the constant wave of success and made it obvious also. The team perceived him as arrogant, haughty, and self-centered. It was a bad beginning. 

On different occasions during the two days conference, KK made clear that he would accept only good performance, target achievement, and would not accept low performance and low                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            performers, whatever their reasons might be. The conference ended on a rather tense note. KK patted himself on his own back for making everything clear. 

From next day, KK started assigning tasks to various managers. He commanded the marketing team to prepare for at least two launches in the next three months. He himself handpicked products based on IQVIA data. The marketing worked overtime, and the first launch was ready in eight weeks. Meanwhile, zonal sales managers reported 90% achievement of sales targets in the first month. KK was unhappy and had some words with sales managers. Next month, sales achievement was 87%; KK had some very harsh words with sales managers. Then it was time to hold new product launch meeting, which was arranged in a five-star hotel. All team members were given the same tie for wearing on the occasion. There was a gala dinner, and a souvenir gift was present to each participant. 

On the sidelines of the launch meeting, KK had individual discussions with the sales managers about sales results. They told him about the market situation, team matters, and some issues faced by the team at the customer level due to company policies. KK listened to them one by one saying the same thing and fumed inside. He felt that they were probably trying to gang up against him. In his closing speech at the launch meeting, KK talked less about the new product and more about sales performance. He made it clear in a stern tone that less than 100% results shall not be accepted, even for the new product.

Based on IQVIA data, KK had made ambitious targets. He was confident that his impeccable working will yield more than expected results. However, things did not turn up that way. The launch brought lukewarm results. The achievement of the first month was around 30%. KK was worried, stressed, and furious. Next day, he got on the phone and had some very hard talk with the sales managers. When they tried to give him feedback on the launch, he refused to listen. He stuck to his guns of achieving 100% targets. After phone calls to sales managers, KK felt that he needed to get further down the hierarchy to get a better handle on the situation, so he called the first line managers one by one. They were surprised to receive his call directly, some got excited while others got concerned. KK did not ask them how the launch went, what the customer said, where they got the first prescriptions if any, what their small victories were, and what their losses were. He was polite but firm and reiterated that everything about the launch was planned perfectly and could not go wrong. He emphasized that 100% results were bound to come, and if these did not come, the problem would be                                                                                                       with the field force working, not with the launch plan. He felt satisfied that he had done the right thing to contact first line managers directly.

The next results were no different from the first ones. KK was called by his manager who asked him what was happening, and why the launch almost bombed. The manager always had a good impression of KK and he had been instrumental in his career growth. He asked KK if everything was okay and if he could help in any way. KK said he was in control, and he would be able to handle the situation.

The situation did not improve, rather, the results went down further. KK pushed the managers more strongly, at times using undesirable language, and then two of his senior sales managers resigned. KK did not budge and immediately promoted two first line managers to take their position. Results did not change.

KK’s manager had a tough discussion with him this time. He told him in so few words that this could adversely affect his career. KK was extremely stressed, but he still chose to do it on his own. Six months lapsed with sales spiraling downward, and major cracks in the team.

One day, the manager called in KK and had a detailed talk with him. He explained how much he had supported KK, but the matter was now over. He asked KK to resign. KK tried to argue but it did not work. Finally, KK handed in his resignation.

KK had a good profile on CV. He had a long time career with one organization, and with consistent growth. He talked to couple of headhunters, and they quickly arranged interviews for him. KK got a new job in four-week time.

We shall see what happened next in the next blogpost.

To be Concluded……

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