Pharma Veterans

Different Kind of Leadership – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1152 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1152 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: Miguel A. Padrinan Credit: Pavel Danilyuk Preamble – How to Lead Like No One Has Led Before: Lessons from Marginal Leaders This blog post takes insights from a recent INSEAD article. Link at the end. The concepts embedded in this rather high-end article are alien to organizations in our part of the world. We are still stuck with the classic, conventional leadership style, where the end justifies the means. Nevertheless, these are interesting, intriguing, and refreshing. In most organizations, leadership is associated with clear metrics, performance goals, and hierarchical authority. Yet, a growing cadre of “marginal leaders”, those tasked with buildi...

Executive Coaching – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1128 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1128 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: RDNE Stock Project Credit: Timur Weber Preamble In this blog post, we explore executive coaching, its purpose, the expectations from an executive coach, and the deeper questions surrounding whether a coach should provide answers or ask more questions. Executive Coaching: Answers, Questions, or Both? In today’s fast-paced, competitive, and often volatile business world, leadership roles come with relentless demands. Executives are expected to deliver results, drive innovation, manage people, and navigate complex markets, all while maintaining composure and clarity. This is where executive coaching comes in. Executive coaching is talked about in corporate circle...

How to Continuously Reinvent Yourself Throughout Your Career– Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1074 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1074 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: Asia Culture Center Credit: Tima Miroshnichenko Preamble In today's rapidly evolving professional landscape, the ability to reinvent yourself is no longer optional—it's essential. Whether you’re navigating industry disruptions, shifting personal aspirations, or responding to technological advancements, continuous reinvention is the key to staying relevant and fulfilled. When I look at my own rather long career, I find that I was forced to reinvent myself in the middle years of career because of continuous changes in my assignments, each considerably different from the other. Understanding the value of reinvention, I...

Framework for Effective Delegation 1 – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1069 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1069 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: Cedric Fauntleroy Credit: Ketut Subiyanto These posts are based on an INSEAD article by Eliot Gattegno and Nadav Klein. Link at the end.  Preamble The article starts with an interesting opening. [Quote] Consider this man. He takes daily post-lunch naps and frequently dozes off in a lounge chair after dinner. He spends his afternoons at home rather than at the office, tending to his garden and golfing. He spends months away from work on vacation. He prides himself on avoiding “hustling”. “I’m here because I shirked: [I] did less work,” he reflects. Many people may look askance at such a guy, but in fact this was how John D. Rockefeller, a...

Issues with Leadership Development Programs – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1057 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1057 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: Alax Matias Credit: Chu Chup Hinh Credit: Mustapha Damilola This blog post in based on a McKinsey article published ten years ago in January 2014 but is still very relevant. Link at the end. I have added my own point of view based on Pakistan experience.  Preamble Every organization of substance and character spends money on leadership development programs. US companies alone spend almost $14 billion annually on leadership development. Most universities offer degrees and courses in leadership development even in Pakistan. Elitist institutions in Pakistan may charge 1.5 million for a two-week management development program while a top bu...

Alert for Career and Profession Changes – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #888 Dear Colleagues!  This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #888 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans  aims to share knowledge and wisdom from Veterans for the benefit of Community at large. Pharma Veterans Blog is published by Asrar Qureshi on  WordPress, the top blog site. Please email to asrar@asrarqureshi.com for publishing your contributions here. Credit: Anna Shvets Credit: Marily Torres Credit: Monstera Production Workers of all grades! You guys should consider doing these things, now.  One, learn and keep learning new skills while you are safely tucked in your present job. Learn skills related to your current profession, and also the professions which shall be in demand in the future. Two, do take pride in what you are doing and have been doing, but be mentally ready that you may have to do some other work. It may be an emotionally stressful event, and if it is, seek help to overcome it. Three, ...

How to Promote Engagement in Your Organization? – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #852 Dear Colleagues!  This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #852 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans aims to share knowledge and wisdom from Veterans for the benefit of Community at large. Pharma Veterans Blog is published by Asrar Qureshi on  WordPress, the top blog site. Please email to asrar@asrarqureshi.com for publishing your contributions here. Credit: Alexander Suhorucov Credit: Ketut Subiyanto Credit: Wills.io This post is based on several research findings by Gallup and McKinsey. Fighting disengagement is a defensive strategy; offensive strategy will be to promote engagement. Multiple strategies must be employed to promote engagement level across the organization. We take a brief look at some of these strategies. Recognizing and Valuing the Presence The first step in creating and sustaining an environment of engagement is to recognize the people who work here.  This basic step is needed bec...

Harnessing the Energy of Youth – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #802 Dear Colleagues!  This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #802 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans welcome sharing of knowledge and wisdom by Veterans for the benefit of Community at large. Pharma Veterans Blog is published by Asrar Qureshi on  WordPress, the top blog site. Please email to asrar@asrarqureshi.com for publishing your contributions here. Photo Credit: Ahmad Zakaria Photo Credit: Mahmoud Gamal Photo Credit: Suraphat Nuea-on Last Saturday evening, I was invited as chief guest at a residential college on the passing out of their class 12. The college admits students in grade 6 only, and then they live there for seven years and pass out after completing class 12 – FSc. The entire student body was present in the auditorium along with their teachers. The auditorium environment was live with excitement, emotions, and above all, palpable energy. I am still wondering if we, the elders, parents, and teachers are do...