VP Sales & Marketing | Chief Commercial Officer | P&L Owner | Entrepreneurial Commercial Leader | Passionate about MedTech
What's Your O-Ring? 28 years ago - it seems like yesterday. The AV Cart that typically brought us so much joy in elementary school became a symbol of despair. Like most Gen-Xers, I remember vividly January 28, 1986 - the day of the Challenger disaster. Less than 17 years after Apollo 11, Challenger brought the US immense despair & a long look in the mirror - what went wrong? The root cause of the disaster lay in a failed O-Ring, stressed by wear, tear & record cold temps. As an Army Officer, I lived by PACE planning - always have a Primary, Alternate, Contingency & Emergency plan for everything. You cannot plan around a failed O-Ring. The metaphorical O-Ring - something so vital to the function of your organization, that if it fails, the organization fails. As I researched lessons learned from Challenger, a few takeaways for MedTech leadership: 1. Identify the Glass Balls & Rubber Balls I love this parable - if you drop a Glass Ball it shatters. If you drop a Rubber Ball it bounces back. What are the Glass Balls that, if dropped, can cause your organization long-term damage? One area - Compliance. A fictional compilation of stories I've seen over the years - a salesperson makes bad decisions. When asked about why their motivation - "I made P-Club 2 years in a row. Everyone expected me to 3-peat . . ." Another Glass Ball - Quality. Improper documentation & regulators come down hard - "I didn't have budget to complete the documentation . . . I would've had to lay people off . . . so we did the best we could . . ." What can we do as leaders? Incentives & rewards are good. Hyper-focus on results at the expense of Glass Balls is not. Remind your team of Glass Balls when establishing goals & communicating strategy. 2. Be Dynamic with Expectations Record low temperatures were a cause of Challenger's O-Ring failure. There were reports that some had suggested postponing, but the show went on despite unexpected conditions. A takeaway is to be dynamic with expectations & flexible when the unexpected happens. One positive example - MedTech industry's response to COVID. Companies shifted priorities (all hands on deck to support treating COVID Patients) & expectations. With declines in elective surgeries, most companies supported salespeople's income & invested in education to come back stronger. These decisions had potential negative short-term bottom-line impact & certainly long-term positive impact (record MedTech growth in 2023). 3. Hear AND Listen NASA engineers warned of potential impacts from wear & tear on Challenger from several missions. The show went on . . . Most of us have learned to allow everyone a voice. But are we listening to those voices or just allowing people to speak while continuing our pre-determined plan? This has been a challenge for me, and I have focused on slowing down, listening 360, and adjusting course as needed.
