Organizational Development and Culture

Among all the days of the calendar, February 29th is the rarest of them all. That's why, back in 2008, on the 25th anniversary of the Orphan Drug ACT, EURORDIS (The European Organization for Rare Disorders) designated the last day of February as "Rare Disease Day."

In the accelerated, high-stakes world of biopharma, thinking big, thinking fast, and thinking smart, isn’t just an option — it’s a priority. Why then, are we not tapping into our most educated generation and exploring what millennials have to offer? (A rhetorical question, for sure.)

This topic of “transition” came home to me (literally and figuratively) over the Thanksgiving holiday. With our adult kids returning, my husband and I decided it was time to have them go through their “bins” and throw out, donate, or take back with them, their childhood.

For those of you following closely (thank you!), you may recall that in an earlier e-conversation — 21st Century Commercialization — More than a Point in Time! — we defined commercialization as neither a function nor a process.

At your next company lunch and learn, try this experiment: Ask ten people from different functions to take a blank piece of flip chart paper (assuming you still have flip charts!). Then ask them to draw a picture of how key decisions are made in your organization.