How Pharma can accelerate performance post-restructure. Pitfall #2: Neglecting the “Critical Few”

Why post-restructure performance is a priority in Pharma

With pricing pressures intensifying — especially in the US — pharma and biotech organisations are restructuring at pace to unlock performance. But in today’s climate, it’s not enough to adapt. Organisations must perform and transform simultaneously, and do so quickly.

At Rubica, we’ve supported numerous life sciences companies during and post restructure. In doing so, we’ve identified 6 recurring pitfalls that can slow down or dilute the post-restructure performance uplift that these transformations aim to deliver. In our last article, we explored Pitfall #1: The Tangled Red Thread — the misalignment between strategy and execution.

This article introduces Pitfall #2: Neglecting the Critical Few — a common trap where change efforts are spread too broadly, rather than focused on the roles and teams that drive the greatest near-term value.

Pitfall #2: Neglecting the critical few

Does this sound familiar?

• Every market and team feels like a priority.
• Change efforts are focused on the most visibly impacted teams, not those critical roles in transformation that can drive performance.
• Despite high activity levels, critical markets aren’t delivering results.

If so, your organisation may be falling into the trap of spreading change efforts too thinly — prioritising support based on visibility rather than value.

How misplaced priorities can stall performance

During a restructure, it’s natural to focus on the teams most affected by change. But this approach can overlook the value-critical roles — those that are both highly impacted and central to short and long term performance uplift.

In our work with a global life sciences organisation undergoing a major restructure, we found that their broad change approach wasn’t delivering the expected performance uplift. High-growth market teams were acknowledged but not prioritised. By mapping sentiment and impact across value-driving roles, we helped them refocus their efforts — accelerating results where it mattered most.

Steps to refocus change efforts for maximum performance

To avoid this pitfall and drive performance improvement quickly:

1. Untangle the “Red Thread”
   Ensure strategic intent is clearly connected to execution. (See Pitfall #1 for more.)
2. Map value-critical roles
   Identify roles that are both highly impacted and central to performance — especially in growth brands, markets, and functions.
3. Prioritise with discipline
   Focus your efforts in this order:
   • Highly impacted, value-critical roles
   • Less impacted, value-critical roles
   • Highly impacted, less value-critical roles
   • Less impacted, less value-critical roles
4. Be clear on the ‘instead’ in your change management strategy
   These roles need clarity on new ways of working — fast. They don’t have time to figure it out themselves without risking performance.

The bottom line: Simplify to amplify

Winning organisations don’t do less — they have organisational focus. By mapping the roles, teams, and functions most critical to business performance against how transformation affects their work, you can ensure that change efforts are targeted, impactful, and fast.

Bringing it together

When pharma organisations restructure for performance, success depends on focusing on the key value drivers. By avoiding the “Critical Few” pitfall, you can accelerate performance improvements and deliver real impact — quickly.