Pharma Veterans

Changing Leadership Aspirations – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1237 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog #Post 1237 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here. Credit: Abdel Baset Credit: Jordan Bergendahl Credit: Mikhail Nilov Preamble This blog post is based on a recent INSEAD article. Link at the end. The Leadership Aspiration Gap: Why Fewer People Want to Be Leaders An insightful article published by INSEAD explores the roots of this issue and suggests ways organizations can rebuild the appeal of leadership. The analysis highlights generational shifts, changing perceptions of leadership, and evolving workplace expectations that are reshaping how people view authority and responsibility. Understanding this gap is essential for companies that want to build strong leadership pipelines in the future. A Leadershi...

Leadership Lesson from Women CEOs – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1236 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1236 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here. Credit: Alexander Andreev Credit: Michael Wismierski Credit: Olia Danilevich Preamble This blog post is based on a recent McKinsey article. Link at the end. The Inner Game of Women CEOs: Leadership Lessons for the Modern Executive Leadership research often focuses on strategy, financial performance, and operational excellence. But an emerging body of research suggests that what happens inside the mind of a leader, their beliefs, mindset, and internal discipline; may be just as important as external decisions. The research draws on conversations with several early-tenure women CEOs across industries such as banking, energy, infrastructure, and manufactur...

Beyond the Flowers: What International Women’s Day 2026 Is Really Asking of Us – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1235 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1235 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here. Credit: August de Richelieu Credit: Bave Pictures Credit: Viridiana Rivera Preamble International Women’s Day fell on Sunday March 8, as happens annually. This post is dedicated to Women.  Every year on March 8, the world marks International Women’s Day with speeches, social media campaigns, and well-meaning gestures. But behind the celebration lies a more urgent conversation, one that the world’s leading gender experts are demanding we have, honestly and without flinching. The numbers alone make the case. Approximately 130 million girls and young women around the world are currently out of school. More ...

The Art of the Excuse: Why We’re All Masters at Justifying Our Worst Behavior– Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1234 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1234 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here. Credit: Sadi Hockmüller Preamble You skipped the gym again. You snapped at a colleague. You told yourself you’d recycle “next time” while tossing the bottle in the trash. And somehow, within seconds, you felt perfectly fine about all of it. This is not a character flaw unique to you. It is one of the most deeply wired features of the human mind: the breathtaking speed and creativity with which we excuse our own bad behavior. Decades of research in psychology and behavioral science have mapped this terrain in extraordinary detail, and what they reveal is both humbling and fascinating. We are not passive victims ...

AI Inflection Point is Here – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1233 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1233 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here. Credit: Michael Hodgins Credit: Andrea De Santis Preamble In February 2026, technology entrepreneur Matt Shumer published an essay titled “Something Big Is Happening,” arguing that artificial intelligence has reached a turning point that could transform society as profoundly as the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped global life. His central message is simple but urgent: AI capability has recently crossed a threshold, and most people are underestimating how fast it will disrupt jobs, industries, and knowledge work. [Link at the end] The article is written as a warning to friends, family, and professionals outside the AI industry, urging them to understand the pace of ...

Delivering Difficult News – A Leadership Imperative – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1232 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1232 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here. Credit: Werner Pfennig Preamble No matter how competent or visionary a leader is, credibility is often tested not when announcing growth, but when delivering bad news. Plant closures. Budget cuts. Regulatory setbacks. Failed trials. Leadership exits. Ethical breaches. The real measure of executive maturity is not whether difficult news arises, it always does, but how it is delivered. Below is a structured, research-based guide with real examples that senior executives can use in boardrooms, town halls, and crisis situations. Why It Matters Research from Harvard Business Review consistently shows that employees judge leaders more on how...