Seek Opportunity When Faced With Adversity
By Rob Wright, Chief Editor, Life Science Leader
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By Rob Wright
Prior to attending this year’s annual PhRMA meeting, I had the opportunity to interview Bob Hugin for the April cover feature in Life Science Leader. One of Hugin’s key points both in the article and his opening remarks at the PhRMA event was to seek opportunity when facing adversity — a concept very familiar to this year’s keynote speaker.
How Do You Approach Adversity
On January 25, 2012, Chuck Pagano was named as the head football coach of the Indianapolis Colts. Fresh off a 2 – 14 season, the Colts were considered the worst team in the NFL and destined for a rebuilding year. Who could blame coach Pagano if he had taken that approach? After all, the Colts lost future Hall of Fame selection and face of the franchise, Peyton Manning, as well as seven other mainstays for a combined 70 years of NFL experience – all with the Colts. In addition, the team was looking at starting a rookie, Andrew Luck, at quarterback. Speaking to the audience of Fortune 500 pharma CEOs, he recalled being asked by a reporter during a press conference if he was going to, “lower his expectations” for defining success given all the adversity he was facing. “Is that what you do?” he asked the group. When faced with adversity do you lower the bar for your scientists in the lab? Pagano went on to draw the comparison between football and research, noting that during a game there are about 70 plays in total. Of these, perhaps five or six determine the outcome of a game. “We don’t know which one it will be,” he said. “The same thing can happen in the lab.”
The Cures Are Out There
Pagano knows the importance of medical innovation firsthand. On October 1, 2012, not even a full year into his new position, he announced being diagnosed with leukemia. Over the next three months, he underwent aggressive treatment, successfully returning to the sidelines for the last game of the season. Pagano attributes the team’s success (finishing 11 – 5 and losing in the playoffs to the eventual Super Bowl champions) to establishing high expectations, setting goals, and creating a process involving a culture of serving others. His final piece of advice to attendees on the anniversary of the discovery of the polio vaccine — “Those cures are out there. Go find them” — an inspiring end to PhRMA 2013. Now if we can just get a little help in Washington with policies which support the process we will be all set.