Interview Excerpts Ex-CEO Novartis – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1077

Interview Excerpts Ex-CEO Novartis – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1077

Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1077 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.

Dr. Daniel Vasella

Credit: Edmond Dantès

Credit: Tiger Lily

Preamble

Dr. Daniel Vasella M.D. held several medical positions in Switzerland before he was hired in 1988 by Sandoz Pharmaceutical Corporation, the former US subsidiary of the Swiss company, Sandoz Pharma Limited. In 1992, he was promoted as the CEO of the parent Sandoz company. Vasella was instrumental in the merger between Sandoz and Ciba-Geigy, another Swiss company, to form Novartis in 1996, which is now the fifth largest pharmaceutical company in the world. He was appointed CEO of the new entity in 1996 and was named Chairman of the Board of Directors in 1999. In 2010, Vasella stepped down as CEO but remained Chairman until 2013.

McKinsey senior partner in New York Office, Ramesh Srinivasan, sat with him for a discussion on the role of CEO, how the job should be handled, and a range of other related points.

It is an interesting talk from a highly seasoned and accomplished person, and I am presenting some excerpts here under certain heads. Editing is done in the interest of brevity.

Interview Excerpts

Challenges

[Quote] The challenges are multiple, and not all are of the same nature. You have geopolitical issues, including power blocks between the East and West that have changed in recent years. That affects business and can make things difficult to navigate.

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have also created a very challenging situation. In the first moment, there was disbelief: What is happening? One doesn’t realize entirely the gravity of the situation. And then it sinks in, and we discover how people lead an organization through a crisis. [Unquote]

Organization Culture

[Quote] At Novartis, it was crucial to develop a shared purpose and to talk about convictions. We asked ourselves, what do we deeply believe in, and how will we act accordingly? What boundaries should we set? When it comes to values, what will we not tolerate? What will we promote and support and celebrate? We also created clarity around aspirations.

Purpose also relates to business strategy. You have to have clear goals and align people with them. Then you have to take action and implement those goals. And then you have to measure what is being achieved. That takes transparency.

I see many more companies thinking about purpose now. But you can’t just hang up a slogan somewhere in the office. You must really think about purpose—debate it, discuss it, and commit to it. It’s not a one-time thing. One has to repeat, “Is it still true?” [Unquote]

About the Leader

[Quote] I certainly evolved over time. As a leader becomes more self-assured and authentically at ease with oneself, it becomes easier not to be so self-protective.

I would separate the question of vulnerability into two aspects. One aspect is positive vulnerability, which means you are not building a big wall around yourself. Instead, you’re approachable. Negative vulnerability would be someone with thin skin who, when criticized, immediately gets hurt and reacts negatively.

These are different forms of being vulnerable. I would encourage leaders to be as normal a person as possible. The CEO position creates distance between yourself and others. Because you are a person of authority, the role can draw overly positive or negative reactions. Some people may find the relationship reminiscent of the past, maybe recalling a parent, a teacher, or another authority figure. So, I think it’s very important to be aware that you need to be especially approachable. [Unquote]

About Being Perfect

[Quote] In my own case, in the beginning I wanted to do the job perfectly, to exceed expectations. And being self-critical, I was constantly in action mode. But over time, I learned what really mattered, and that I didn’t have to be perfect. That gets us back to the question of vulnerability, as well as the idea of approachability. Not being perfect and allowing yourself not to be perfect provides a lot of freedom.

When you are trying to be perfect, you can find yourself in a prison of perfection. Whenever I was criticized in the media or in a more public way, I always checked in with myself to see if the criticism had merit. If I truly believed in something I was doing, I decided not to care if it was popular or not. I would just try to follow through. But I always wanted to take in feedback, especially if it was negative, then admit a mistake if there was one and continue on my path.

Not being perfect also empowers others to speak up. People like to see that bosses admit when they’re wrong, that they are comfortable asking questions so they can learn, and that they are grateful for good answers from the people around them, who may in fact know more than they do about a particular issue. This complementarity of capabilities and knowledge is very important to be aware of so that it can be used to the benefit of the enterprise.

Second, you need to give yourself quiet time so that you can reflect. For me, that meant thinking about a challenge and running through possible approaches for how to solve it. A rumination process can be productive. I went for long walks with my dogs, for example. This gave me time to think. [Unquote]

About Empathy

[Quote] Empathy is critical for learning. You also need it in very specific moments. One may be confronted with a colleague who just lost a child or a spouse or who had an accident. These are moments when having the emotional understanding of what is going on in another person’s life will help you address the situation in a much deeper and more supportive way. It’s important to just be human.

Some people have more empathy. I tend to believe these people have suffered more in life or have had experiences of suffering. They can imagine what goes on inside an organization or, more specifically, inside an individual.

In an organizational context, you may have to tell someone their job is being eliminated in a restructuring. You must transmit this information while being attentive to the feelings of that person. At the same time, you can’t lose the capacity to act despite your feelings of empathy. I think for CEOs generally, they should understand that acting with empathy, whether in routine circumstances or in crises, builds connections that can strengthen the organization. [Unquote]

About Work Life Balance

[Quote] I believe things have changed to some degree. While younger people all work hard, they often don’t view that as the right way to live their lives. They are much more oriented toward balancing work, life, and life at work.

My experience was very different. Being a physician, there was no question that you worked whenever you were needed. We had a day shift, a night shift, and a workday without pausing. That was a given. And that has changed. At least in Switzerland, the rules of the hospital have changed. [Unquote]

Advice to CEOs

[Quote] First of all, my advice would be to enjoy it. Being a CEO is the best job you can have. It’s a wonderful job, even with all the challenges and negatives.

My other advice relates to coaching. In the past, coaching was viewed as something that a leader might do if something went wrong. Not anymore. Having productive conversations with someone from outside the company is valuable. I see that at many organizations where the top executives all have coaches.

This is part of the broader idea of getting help. Leaders may have a yoga instructor or a therapist. These changes reflect how views of leadership are evolving, away from the classic authoritative type of leader to a more collaborative approach. Most recognize that we can use help and support. This shift also supports how Gen Z views leadership, and how it may evolve in the future. [Unquote]

Concluded.

Disclaimers: Pictures in these blogs are taken from free resources at Pexels, Pixabay, Unsplash, and Google. Credit is given where available. If a copyright claim is lodged, we shall remove the picture with appropriate regrets.

For most blogs, I research from several sources which are open to public. Their links are mentioned under references. There is no intent to infringe upon anyone’s copyrights. If, however, it happens unintentionally, I offer my sincere regrets.

Reference:

https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/how-to-embrace-the-ceo-role-an-interview-with-daniel-vasella?stcr=0B16ADC20E364153B58976A24BBC4DDC&cid=other-eml-alt-mip-mck&hlkid=62aa1ab2dae941f7a6c45474744a850f&hctky=15999472&hdpid=6853d3fb-14d7-4aa5-8a61-82728334b421