Necessity is the Mother of Invention, Jarrett MedTech
Born in a Pandemic
One of my favourite autobiographies is by Sir Alan Sugar, 'What You See is what you get'. Why? First of all, it’s funny, and a great example that when common sense is partnered with conviction, great things can happen. Fundamentally, understanding how a business works, gives the practitioner the skill to break down an organisation, remove the techno speak and acronyms from the problem. Sir Alan Sugar's first love in business is electronics, and mine has always been medical stuff and science, which for me became Medical Devices.
From sales, to senior leadership, it has been an interesting ride; and I am privileged to have been involved in some breakthrough technologies along the way. But the world of business is changing, and MedTech more than ever. The COVID-19 pandemic has asked many questions of the commercial world, but MedTech and pharma is the sector that had to respond in this crisis, with greater clarity than any other sector, because this is our world; health is our game.
Social distancing, furlough are terms we had not considered a year ago, but it is very much part of our present and future. Also, in MedTech with sales personnel off the road, shedding cost and people is a natural result of crisis and change. But is this panic or strategy? Going forward, will sales personnel be visiting in the flesh or making sales calls via Zoom or Microsoft Teams? On a recent webinar titled ‘Reopening Elective Surgery in the NHS’, Professor Robert Middleton, reflected on the fact that 6 weeks ago he was able to see three industry reps per month, but on the day of the Webinar, where he was a panellist, he was meeting with three industry reps on the same day via Zoom and Microsoft Teams.
During this pandemic, who are we shedding in our MedTech organisations? Sales personnel? Marketing executives? Or clinical heads? COVID-19 has shone a bright light on our industry, revealing the needs of our customers in a different way, changing the medical device landscape from the one Johnson & Johnson faced when it founded its medical division in 1959, or William A. Cook when he founded Cook Medical in 1963, or GE Electronics when they created GE Healthcare in 1994. Since the beginning of the Medical Device industry our methods of engaging with Healthcare Professionals has not really changed, but will COVID-19, be the catalyst for change?
To chart the course and future of our industry, vision and strategy has to be the core attributes of leadership, now more than ever. Do we need to visit procurement to discuss a tender, or can we use Zoom or Microsoft Teams? Will we need credentialing if we don't physically visit Healthcare Professionals in the hospital setting? What an exciting time for Jarrett MedTech to be born! In the middle of a pandemic, in the middle of the greatest shift in the way we 'do business' so far this century.
Plato said, 'Necessity is the mother of invention', new ways of engaging the Medical Device community from design concept, all the way to patient outcomes. Join us on this exciting journey to change our industry and be part of redefining what is normal and what is possible!
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