Even in the new normal, local stories are global
I’ve just completed my second international business trip in 18 months, a sign that we might soon be back to a “normal” way of doing business. Careful: every plan meets its own hurdles; new variants of the coronavirus could still throw a spanner in anyone’s works.
But at least it’s a start. Travel is helping me lift my gaze outside of my cellar; that’s where my desk is set up and it’s where I’ve spent most of my workdays since March 2020. Like many others who have spent the last 18 months working from home, the room wasn’t intended as my office. It’s where the family watches television together in the evenings; it’s where our sons have built and display many a Lego masterpiece. And now, it’s the base from which I keep in touch and refine perspectives on the Life Sciences industry, which itself is also re-shaping its own destiny as a result of the pandemic.
The changing industry
Pre-pandemic, the life sciences industry was happily providing tools and services for therapies helping us live longer, healthier lives. All from behind the curtain. The industry was building a network of supply and demand that virtually didn’t have borders. Manufacturing didn’t have to happen near the recipient. On the other hand, workforces were local. As a hiring manager, I looked for employees in locations that matched office spaces or work sites.
As the pandemic turned everything upside-down and brought the life sciences vocabulary to center stage (hello, mRNA, we talk about you all the time now), Cytiva started asking questions. We were, in a sense, looking at our family room in the proverbial basement and wondering: “Can this work as a future office space?” “Can we have the same long-view when our immediate surroundings are so limited?” Or more directly: How was COVID-19 changing the way industry leaders think about the way we hire, the way we provide products to customers, the way we innovate?
One report — many headlines
Cytiva created the Global Biopharma Resilience Index based on interviews with 1100 life sciences industry leaders in 20 countries. This index ranks countries by their ability to meet their biotherapeutic needs through local manufacturing.
The Global Biopharma Resilience Index showed an emerging tension between globalization and local focus. The report found five areas where the industry should focus its energy to improve, and to be ready for whatever comes next — whether that is a “new normal” or, heaven forbid, another pandemic. Briefly, those areas are:
1. Supply Chain resilience
2. Access to talent
3. Strength of the R&D ecosystem
4. Quality and agility of manufacturing process
5. Government policy.
All of these areas have undeniable global context. The local hook leads to the global story. Even if you create an “in-region, for-region” manufacturing center, you still benefit from global scale and working with teams on the other side of the world. Especially in the R&D ecosystem, there is enormous value in small teams that collaborate big — across borders.
The hooks
Granted, I’m a communicator. The Resilience Index is our piece of thought leadership. It gives us something to offer as a conversation topic with customers, partners, and media. Along the lines of global perspective, local focus, this report had to be tailored for whatever journalist was on the phone with us.
How did we make this global piece of news matter to people locally? Here are some examples:
· Our President and CEO gives the global overview
· Emmanuel talks specifically about the talent gap
· Our regional VP gives an Asia-Pacific perspective on resilience in the biopharma industry
· Our country leader in China used the Index to talk about how to move on post-pandemic
- Our Country leader in Singapore asks: is Singapore ready to become a global hub for biopharma?
- Interpreting the Index with an American perspective.
Three pieces of advice
The full Biopharma Resilience Index is hard to sum up concisely. It’s five pillars, 20 countries, 1100 opinions. From a communications perspective, here are three easy ways to help anyone sitting in their home office, that this report relates to them.
· Think brave and small — the details matter. Once you have the big picture in mind, drill down and find the gems to talk about. What would your neighbor want to hear?
· A report is only as good as its spokesperson. Train more people than you will use. The benefit? The ones you train will help you find the gems above, help you tell the story locally, and I bet you’ll find bridges to other local stories, which all add up to your global headline.
· Think multimedia — yeah, yeah, yeah. The days of long articles are over, that’s why sites like Medium are so… wait. The written word is a beautiful thing. Keep it up. Just add video. Add infographics. Make it come alive, and keep the data coming!
Great thought leadership communication strategies can reach far and wide, even from my basement in a Stockholm suburb. From my home office to yours, I hope this encourages you to pursue global stories with local relevance. Good luck!
