IPhO News

Corporate management is much more than making the bottom line more attractive to customers and investors. It means creating an atmosphere in which employees are motivated and unified with doing their part in taking the company forward. There are endless programs out there that are designed to help companies reach this goal, but the simple truth of the matter is that if corporate management is not promoting, encouraging and fostering this kind of environment, then it will never succeed. Leadership starts at the top, and it is important that they have their act together if they hope their employees will follow suit.

Background

Being able to present in front of a group of people is a skill we begin developing from an early age. If you think back, your first experience "presenting" may have been in front of a group of elementary school classmates for "show and tell." As we grow and learn and ultimately enter the workforce, it seems that for many us our presentation skills have lagged behind other areas of growth and development. For professionals in the pharmaceutical industry, presenting information to a group of people is part of the fabric of our business. From clinical study results, to investigator meetings, to sales force training, to business plan presentations, the list goes on and on. People who embrace the art of presenting are able to leverage this strength to help move up the career ladder. In this article we'll provide some common issues that presenters face and some tips for overcoming them.

Networking isn't something you do. It's part of everything you do.

Too often we neglect our network because we view it as an independent "to-do" and as such it usually falls lower on the list of priorities. A better way to think of it is that building relationships is at the core of all business interactions and processes. You can only accomplish so much on your own without the help of others. You might get your first promotion or two because you were technically skilled at what you do, but what about promotion to leadership roles or securing responsibility for the department's key project? Approach it by asking yourself, how do you motivate someone to help you complete your projects and deliverables? At the core of this is building and proactively maintaining relationships with your colleagues. For best results, take a customer service approach to daily interactions with your colleagues. Focus on detecting your internal customer's needs, and exceed them one conversation at a time.