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Last month I talked about the Skilled Facilitator principle of being curious. This month I want to talk about the complementary principle transparency. Transparency has recently become a popular topic in business as organizations seek to build

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

(or rebuild) trust with customers, shareholders, and employees. This morning as I opened the op-ed page of my Sunday New York Times, the title read, "The New Public [NY Times] Editor: Toward Greater Transparency." Whether you are a leader, co

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

sultant, facilitator or a team member, being transparent can help you build relationships and create positive results in ways you didn't think possible.

Transparency is explaining why you do, think or say things. If I say to you, "Can you tel

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

me whether you've sent out the sales report I assigned to you? I'm asking because I have some revised figures that I want to give you if it's not too late," what I said after the word "because" is being transparent. By simply sharing the reas

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

n for my question, I'm providing you with important relevant information that helps us address the subject and builds trust.

By being transparent, I get an opportunity to create shared understanding between us. If I don't explain myself, you

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

ill guess (infer) why I'm asking you about the report. Chris Argyris' research and my consulting, coaching and facilitation experience tell me that if you're feeling threatened or put on the spot, your guess will probably include negative infe

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

rences about me. You might infer that I'm asking you because I'm concerned you haven't met my deadline for sending out the report. If you inferred this, you might also incorrectly infer that I don't trust you. You can see how not being transpa

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

ent can quickly create mistrust.

So why would you not be transparent? Sometimes we're not transparent simply because we believe that the meaning behind our behavior is obvious and therefore needs no explanation. But we overlook that it's obvi

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

us to us only because we have access to our private reasoning! In these situations, it means recognizing that unless you publicly explain your private reasoning, you are taking a risk that others will misinterpret your behavior. This is a rela

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

ively easy change to make if you are willing to share what you're thinking.

But sometimes we're not transparent because we want to hide what we are thinking, including the strategy we are using to have the conversation. This usually happens b

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

cause we are trying to unilaterally control the conversation to achieve our desired outcome and/or trying to minimize the expression of negative feelings.

One of my favorite examples of this is the sandwich approach to feedback. Many managers

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

are taught to use the sandwich approach to feedback when they have some negative feedback to give. They start with and end with positive feedback, "sandwiching" the negative feedback in between. The reasoning underlying this strategy is that

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

tarting off on a positive note makes the person more comfortable and makes it easier to hear the feedback; ending on a positive note maintains their self-esteem and reduces their potential anger.

My clients, associates and I use a simple and

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

owerful thought experiment that helps us figure out if we're about to use a manipulative strategy. I call it the transparency test: Identify your strategy and imagine yourself explaining your strategy out loud to the person or people you're wo

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

king with, and asking their permission to use it.

In the feedback example, you would say, "Lee, I called you in here to give you some negative feedback and I want to let you know my strategy for doing this. First, I'm going to give you some p

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

sitive feedback to make you feel more comfortable and get you ready for the negative feedback, because I think you're going to get defensive. Then, I'll give you the negative feedback, which is why I called you in here today. Finally, I'll giv

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

e you some more positive feedback so you'll feel better about yourself and won't be as angry with me. Will that work for you, Lee?"

If you find yourself laughing at the absurdity of what you're thinking - or if you're thinking "I could never

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

hare that strategy," you've probably identified a unilateral control strategy that keeps you from being transparent. We usually keep our unilateral control strategies private because they only work when others don't know what we're doing or wh

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

n they agree to play along. The solution here is not simply being transparent; it's shifting your thinking so you begin using strategies that become more effective when you share them with others.

When we're transparent we share information t

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

at makes us more accountable to others. Accountability is another one of the five Skilled Facilitator principles - I'll discuss it next month.

What are your thoughts about transparency? I invite you to email me with them.

© 2005 Roger Schwar

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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Many people consider the nursing profession as one the noblest professions. Nurses derive tremendous satisfaction from the noble act of caring for and nursing people to good health. Nursing has also become quite a lucrative profession in this day and age. However, becoming a nurse can be quite expensive.

You can have the best products, the plushest offices, the best location, but unless you are a 'customer focused' business, all of this counts for nothing, you will never really hit the heights you deserve. So what can you do to build a business which focuses outwardly on the customer, and not inwardly on the business?

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