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This past fall, I received a call from Mike Kirsche, who told me a fascinating story about how the CEO and President of his company, Michael R.Hecomovich, along with a group of 10 executives, created and built a high performance global sales and marketing

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

organization that has close to 0% turnover every year, and where salespeople (called team members) consistently meet or surpass targets.

Hecomovich founded Global Marketing Services (GMS) in 1998, in response to a request from IBM, who was searching for

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

an outsourcing partner to handle U.S. and European sales and marketing for its printer supplies products. GMS now has 28 employees throughout North America and Europe who operate virtually, only meeting face-to-face as a global team once a year.

From the

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

beginning, Hecomovich envisioned the company would operate on the principles of teamwork, co-operation, collaboration, and servant leadership. About a year into the business, he attended a meeting where management guru Ken Blanchard spoke about his book G

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

ng Ho! The concepts in the book gave language and structure to what he and his executives were doing, and so was born the simple-to-understand-but-hard-to-sustain GMS’ formal emphasis of their Gung Ho culture.

‘Gung Ho’ is a Chinese word for working tog

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

ther. It describes boundless energy, enthusiasm, and dedication to a task to achieve results. Blanchard’s book is packed with invaluable information as well as a fascinating and compelling story.

The three Gung Ho management principles are presented as

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

n allegory: a retelling of an organizational turnaround based on three Native American lessons. In The Spirit of the Squirrel, the lesson is the power of shared values and seeing work as important and worthwhile. In The Way of the Beaver, the lesson is a

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

complishment through an extraordinary level of self-motivation, empowerment, and self-discipline. In The Gift of the Goose, the lesson is the recognition and cheering on of others.

Implementing these principles in your distribution company or manufactur

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

r’s rep firm is not a one-time event. For continued success, a company has to constantly focus on and continually renew their commitment to them. Kirsche, Executive Vice-President of Business Development and Leadership at GMS, is responsible for seeing th

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

t all GMS team members retain their passion for their extraordinary “Gung Ho” culture.

Here are some of the secrets GMS uses to pay attention to and reward success:

Implement a High-Profile Recognition Program that Focuses on Attitudes and Behaviours

G

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

S created three awards to honour individuals who exemplify one, two, or all three of the Gung Ho principles. Peers nominate team members and a review committee makes the final decisions. The awards are given at the annual January meeting and are presented

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

by the nominating Team member.

The Spirit of the Squirrel Award goes to individuals who behave in ways that show they understand how their important and worthwhile work benefits other team members, clients and channel partners.

The Way of the Beaver Awa

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

d recognizes individuals who have an incredible sense of independence and personal responsibility, and use these characteristics effectively within a team setting. Beavers don’t achieve engineering marvels because some other beaver orders them; they are

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

mpowered to use their own best judgment.

The Gift of the Goose Award is presented to an individual who exhibits exceptional compassion, humility and commitment to support the team. Members go out of their way to acknowledge, encourage and cheer others on

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

One final award, The Order Of Gung Ho, is bestowed upon team members who have received all three awards, and who have sustained their performance for the two years following their most recent award.

Have a Yearly Theme with Weekly Activities

GMS’s 200

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

theme is “Gung Ho, Friends!” GMS’ executives establish 12 monthly focus topics based on principles and concepts developed in Blanchard’s book and each week one member of the team circulates an email with his or her thoughts on the monthly topic. It migh

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

be a relevant text or quote, a book or movie recommendation, or a personal observation or experience. Some examples of monthly focus topics for 2007 are:

Values guide all decisions, plans and actions
Able but challenged
Freedom to do the wor

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

Valuing individuals as persons
Empowering others
Character, integrity and selflessness

Communicate Constantly

At GMS, team members talk daily. There are two to three regional meetings a year, and one annual meeting that includes everyone

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

in the company.

Teams also use conference calls to talk with each other, their clients and their channel partners frequently each month, and may also travel together to call on clients.

The results

Turnover at GMS is virtually 0% (and has been since th

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

company opened its doors in 1998). All team members are high performers who consistently meet or exceed expectations, and GMS executives pay close attention to how they and each team member lives the corporate values. Oh yes, they have a lot of fun, too

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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People are so numb to all the marketing that's coming to them. Let's face it, we ignore a lot of email and letters that come our way. You really must form a personal connection with your customers and prospects.

As Solo Entrepreneurs we use two basic strategies for marketing: writing and speaking. Rose Hill explains why it is important to create a list of your 10 Most Important Business Principles (MIBP) and utilize them in your marketing efforts . Without them, she claims your marketing efforts will be too diffuse to really grab the attention of your intended ideal clients.

No successful business ever existed without the anticipation of things that may happen upon the establishment of the business and as the business go on. Anticipating may also mean planning. Planning is one way of putting every possibilities and impossibilities together to set up one concrete concept into realization.

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