Principle 3: Common goal

When a good common goal exists there is consensus on how meaningful change and results will be achieved for the account, patients, and the organisation – establishing a more meaningful, long term and rewarding relationship.

Here are some of the most common situations that we see when ‘common goal’ setting is and isn’t working well…

Situation 1

When it isn’t working well

• Account goals are aligned to hitting commercial targets e.g. a return to growth.

When it is working well

• A goal is rooted in addressing a problem that holds real significance for the account – something that hinders the delivery of optimal care to patients, and if achieved will deliver value for the healthcare system, stakeholders, patients and the organisation.

Situation 2

When it isn’t working well

• Goals are typically established by the marketing or commercial leadership team and usually applied uniformly across all accounts, often in the form of a generic target.

When it is working well

• A meaningful goal is in place that stands to benefit everyone and which everyone can work on together.

Situation 3

When it isn’t working well

• Success metrics fail to consider stakeholder agendas and instead focus on ‘hitting numbers’. This drives particular behaviours that work against finding, establishing and working on a common goal.

When it is working well

• Goals are established through a collaborative process that includes the customer where understanding, agreement, and joint effort are key. The measures of success evidence how all parties are positively impacted (with increased product uptake being a natural outcome).

Ideas that leaders and managers can apply to improve ‘common goal’ setting in teams

1. Encourage the team to go beyond their own knowledge and gather multiple perspectives from the cross functional team so that a prime opportunity* is identified
2. Mentor the account team on the sizing and scoping of common goals. This is to ensure they are achievable and aligned to organisational resource, brand opportunity and the key account, so that all parties are compelled to move forward. Example common goal: ‘Reduce the number of patients presenting in pharmacy for repeat prescriptions on a monthly basis and increase their adherence’.

* By fully understanding the account environment, we can identify and validate the prime opportunity. This enables us to create an account plan which shows how the opportunity will support success for our organisation, the Key Account and patients.