The Value of Strategic Thinking in Pharma

Have you ever stopped yourself before a key opinion leader (KOL) engagement and thought, “Is this a good use of the KOL’s time? Will this meeting have an impact?”

We often repeat the same day-to-day activities because we’ve been shown that certain processes are expected of the job. But if you’re not achieving desired outcomes, it’s likely that your activities weren’t informed by a strategic mindset.

Strategic thinking is a learned, rational, fact-based approach to decision making. For pharma leaders, medical science liaisons (MSLs), or sales reps, it aligns insights, intelligence, and performance with long-term objectives. Rather than looking through a narrow lens, a strategic pharma professional incorporates broader concerns into every decision they make.

It’s not a one-and-done activity. Strategic thinking is an ongoing process for setting and re-setting the way forward.

With a strategic approach, day-to-day activities become value-driven, enterprise-aligned outcomes that have a lasting impact.

Why Pharma Sales and Medical Field Teams Need to Think Strategically

If you are an MSL or pharma sales rep, you know that your job has changed.

Beyond simply gathering insights from KOLs, your job as MSL is to consider what kinds of questions to ask to identify treatment gaps, patient gaps, and payer issues. As an MSL, you also may have to call on a wider range of folks – from clinical practitioners to hospital executives to health insurance professionals.

On the commercial side, the same is true. If you are a sales rep, you may have noticed that healthcare professionals (HCPs) respond better when you act as their trusted advisor, not a pushy product vendor. By guiding HCPs through the myriad considerations to recommend a treatment plan, you can build much stronger relationships.

In either role, as an MSL or rep, you are the CEO of your territory, deciding where to put time and effort.

And success is no longer defined by the number of calls or meetings completed. It’s measured by impact: did your engagement advance the HCP’s understanding, shift their perception, or uncover a strategic opportunity?

How Strategic Thinking Yields Greater Impact

When you engage in strategic thinking, you turn activity into alignment. It helps you: 

• Prioritize high-value opportunities
• Anticipate change
• Collaborate across functions
• Drive enterprise outcomes

Why Strategic Thinking Is Hard to Do

Given the evident benefits of strategic thinking, why is it so rare? Based on years of experience training pharma executives in strategic thinking, here are my observations:

• Having visionary thinking is not common because it’s difficult to think that way. 
• Most people are action focused. You may be great at doing things but not necessarily planning those things comprehensively. 
• Tactical thinking is more common. And don’t get me wrong, it’s useful too! But strategic thinking helps you determine which tactics are the highest value.
• People are facing tight deadlines and time crunches. It often seems more appropriate to solve the issue of the day than to pause and ask, ‘where are we going?’  

How Strategic Thinking Transforms Outcomes

Here are a few real-world scenarios where applying a strategic framework can transform outcomes: 

Scenario 1: Preparing for a high-stakes KOL meeting with limited information

You are a sales rep scheduled to meet a top KOL in the area. The KOL is influential in shaping treatment guidelines and has been largely unresponsive to emails. You must decide how to approach the meeting. Strategic frameworks can help you identify strengths and recognize external pressures to refine messaging towards maximum impact.

Scenario 2: Prioritizing the right KOL

Due to limited time availability, postponements, or delays in communication, you have three meetings in one day.  Getting to all of them is impossible. Which to prioritize? Putting on a strategic hat helps you take important factors into consideration. A salesperson may prioritize based on the level of influence, size of practice, and other commercial considerations. If you are an MSL, accurately gauging the level of influence each KOL has within their community, hospital system, and practice is vital when determining where to focus engagement efforts.

How Can You Practice Strategic Thinking in Pharma?

Strategic thinking is a skill you can develop daily. Try this exercise tonight: 

Reflect on one field activity from your week. Ask yourself:

• What outcome was I trying to achieve?
• What external factors influenced it? 
• Did I align my activities around strategic imperatives and cross-functional goals?
• What alternative actions might have had more impact?
• How can I apply this lesson to future situations? 

As you repeat this exercise, you’ll start anticipating future challenges and opportunities, planning better, and engaging more strategically.