Actions Speak Louder Than Words At The 2014 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference
By Rob Wright, Chief Editor, Life Science Leader
Follow Me On Twitter @RfwrightLSL
At the 2014 J.P. Morgan 32nd Annual Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, plenty of writers raced to communicate the latest heard from presentations via tweets, blogs, and news recaps. When I returned from this year’s event, I opted to take some time to reflect upon some of my experiences. Rather than rehash what has already been said and written about, here are some of my exclusive insights gained from one-on-one conversations and observations.
Actions Speak Louder Than Words
At the conclusion of the Eli Lilly & Company’s J.P. Morgan Q&A session, which involved Enrique Conterno, SVP and president, Lilly Diabetes; John Lechleiter, chairman, president, and CEO; Jan Lundberg, EVP science and technology, and president Lilly Research Laboratories; and Derica Rice, EVP, global services and CFO; I observed folks flocking to get a word in with Conterno, Lechleiter, and Lundberg. Meanwhile, Rice began packing up his bag and notes, unfettered by people seeking a word. Therefore, I took the opportunity to introduce myself. Rice joined the company in 1990, becoming its CFO in 2006. He was there prior to the patent cliff and has skillfully guided the company from a financial perspective to the point where today, there is light at the end of the tunnel. I commented on how challenging it must have been with analysts and reporters constantly doubting Lilly’s leadership strategy of “Stay the course.” He told me the Lilly leadership team approach was not to get too caught up in the things they couldn’t control (i.e. the media), opting instead to let their actions speak on their behalf. With the company having one of the richest pipelines in its 137 year history, its actions are speaking well. I asked Rice about the pressure he probably experienced to cut R&D spending during this time period. He replied, “You think peer pressure stops at age 18. It doesn’t.” He and I discussed the importance of driving R&D from a CFO’s perspective, while the card exchange continued among the other members of Lilly leadership and Q&A attendees. I would estimate that I got 10 minutes of Rice’s undivided attention, with no one waiting in the wings to thrust a card in his hand. It made me wonder why. We are, after all, attending a conference focused primarily on financial performance of life science companies. Other than the CEO, the CFO is a pretty important person when it comes to corporate finance. Rice is considered one of the “Most Powerful Executives in Corporate America,” by Black Enterprise magazine. A board of directors member for Target Corporation, he has been listed as one of the top 100 under 50 executives by Diversity MBA magazine.
Be Careful What You Say
My wife always tells me, “Remember, it is not what you say, but how you say it.” To this should be added, and where you say it. Being careful what you say is a lesson I seem to learn over and over again. Sometimes, a seemingly innocent tweet can get me into trouble. But in today’s age of constant contact, people often reveal sensitive information when carrying on a private conversation on a cell phone in a public place. Perhaps some of this is deliberate, so as to leak information or feel self-important. Sometimes it reveals more about a company and its leadership than you can imagine.
During one of the company presentations, I happened to sit in the front row. As the CEO spoke from the podium I discerned that the people sitting to my right were members of his executive leadership team (ELT). Now when I was in management, our rule of thumb was to present a unified front when in public, and to disagree behind closed doors. Not the case here. As the CEO was discussing one particular slide, one ELT member leaned to the other and said, “This is so embarrassing.” I wondered what was embarrassing — the slide, the presentation, or the data. To me the most embarrassing thing was that this comment came from a supposed trusted member of the CEOs executive leadership team. Whatever the issue, it’s obvious this leader has a bigger problem than just getting a drug approved and to market. Corporate culture can drive companies to failure as fast it can lead to success. Too bad I didn’t have a copy of Good To Great I could have slipped to these two when they were busy congratulating their CEO on a fine presentation. I think they could benefit from taking the time to read it.
There were a number of other interesting experiences from this year’s J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, and I am more than happy to share. But rather than you read them in a passive manner, why don’t you pick up the phone and give me a call (814) 897-7700, ext 140.