Here are some case studies for the projects we conducted. Every project we conduct is a blend of different methodologies, leveraging our different areas of expertise: Coaching, Facilitation, Design Thinking, and Organizational Design. A mix of powerful 1on1s, engaging workshops and educational program help raising the engagement of the participants, needed for any change project.

Pharma

Managers 1on1 Skill Development

Enhancing 1-on-1 Communication Skills in Pharmaceutical Medical Affairs

Challenge: To develop the one-on-one communication skills of the team to foster quality conversations to align individual and organizational goals.

Background: Recognizing the critical importance of effective communication in leadership and the unique challenges faced by first-line managers in a rapidly changing and complex environment, the pharmaceutical company aimed to enhance its managers' ability to engage in quality conversations. These conversations are pivotal for building trust, promoting growth, facilitating continuous feedback, and aligning individual aspirations with organizational objectives.

Implementation:

The program kicked off with an introduction session, followed by an assessment to identify the current state of participants' communication skills.
A series of online modules and coaching sessions were designed to cover essential topics such as building trust, creating a conducive environment for conversations, active listening, framing powerful questions, positive approach to feedback, and transforming experiences into learning opportunities.
Participants engaged in bi-weekly input sessions, group reflection, and coaching to practice and refine their skills.
The program concluded with a closing session to celebrate the achievements and reinforce the learning.

Outcome:

Participants demonstrated a higher awareness and application of effective communication strategies, contributing to a more robust and engaging workplace culture.
The establishment of a learning community where first-line managers shared insights, challenges, and best practices, enhancing collective growth and performance.
Enhanced managerial skills in coaching and mentoring, enabling participants to better align individual and organizational goals, foster continuous improvement, and manage change effectively.

Luxury

Building a Community of Expert Sales

Redefining how sales training is done

Challenge: How can we increase the number of top salespeople?

Background: The basic structure of luxury brands involves a central office that holds management functions, with sales staff assigned to stores to conduct negotiations with customers. While there are certainly one-time customers, the existence of "major customers" who have loved and used the brand for a long time is crucial for luxury brands. Top salespeople deal with such customers, offering a special experience of shopping in the tens of millions to billions of yen range, providing special services that only boutique staff can offer.

The company wanted to increase the number of such top salespeople. However, younger staff members often found themselves simply looking up to their seniors, struggling to take the first step. Additionally, being a top salesperson is not about uniform knowledge; it requires each staff member to recognize their strengths and sales style, to enhance their strengths, and to provide the best service that only they can offer.

We received a request to work on a project that sales skill training couldn't achieve. The project had four objectives:

Form a "Top Sales Community" from 25 disparate top salespeople.
Expand the Top Sales Community from 25 to 90 people.
Facilitate knowledge sharing within the community and intentionally create a mutually enhancing relationship.
Have participating top salespeople contribute as mentors, helping younger top salespeople to enhance self-awareness, learn from the experiences of others, and aim to become core personnel among top salespeople.

Implementation:

Open Space Technology
Proaction Café
Collective Story Harvesting

Outcome:

Experience of top salespeople was shared within the organization, the number of top sales increased from 25 to 90 experts, with a reported higher engagement from less experienced sales representatives, a community of leaders emerged, and regular mentoring was implemented, with internal study sessions following. The company took a definitive step to becoming a learning organization, and a shared understanding of the importance of sharing knowledge and experience within the company was developed.

Pharma

Omnichannel Transformation

Enhancing Collaboration for Omnichannel Implementation in Pharmaceutical Medical Affairs

Challenge: How to effectively leverage an omnichannel approach to focus the limited conversation time with physicians on important subjects only, amidst the growing importance of data analytics and personalized customer messaging.

Background: The omnichannel approach, prevalent in various industries due to the advancing power of data analytics, offers businesses the opportunity to deeply understand individual customer needs and adapt their messaging accordingly. The pharmaceutical industry, traditionally slower in adopting digital trends, is now embracing this approach. Given the time-consuming nature of the relationship between sales representatives and Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs), there was a need for a new strategy to maximize the efficiency of conversations with physicians. My client, a leader in digital transformation within the pharmaceutical sector, initiated the implementation of new digital tools for use by both office-based medical affairs and MSLs. However, the adoption rate of these tools was disappointingly low.

Implementation:

Training: Participants were educated on the importance of change, its origins, and the mindset required for contributing to the initiative.
Cross-functional Conversations: To identify the reasons for the limited use of the digital tools and to collect ideas for their better implementation, discussions were held involving office-based medical affairs, field-based MSLs, and the digital transformation team.

Outcome:

The initiative led to a heightened sense of accountability among all stakeholders, an increased awareness of the need for change, practical suggestions for the digital transformation team to report back to headquarters, and key actions identified for future implementation. This process fostered a collaborative environment, essential for the successful digital transformation and omnichannel strategy deployment in the pharmaceutical industry.