Dear Pharma: Thank You For Listening

Whoa! 1,000 views on my last piece?

Who knew people actually read my posts and would care enough to send the very best responses? (Or regrettably choose to believe that everything is a personal attack on just them, specifically intended to castigate their very specific soul on this planet.)

This follow up post is not an apology. It is a sincere expression of gratitude for the 1000+ people who took the time to read “Dirty Work” and come to their own respective opinions and conclusion across the spectrum, positive or negative. IMHO, this is the best possible use of social media. My intention was to spark dialogue, discussion and debate on real-life issues that impede the ability to lead and be successful.

I would like to share an especially grateful shout-out to the majority who chose to personally contact me to understand my motivation and ask, “why are you so pissed?” Because that’s a great question to ask. Why am I pissed? What could have possibly motivated me to write that piece? Wouldn’t you be the least bit curious or concerned?

I applaud those within the industry who personally reached out — either with praise, constructive critique or disdain — to broker what were extremely healthy conversations, many of which may not have ever possibly happened otherwise. It was a breath of fresh air to break down the dissonance and gain mutual understanding about pain points on both sides of the aisle.

Ultimately, it was understood that this was not about them, rather, a broader call to action to listen and not universal damnation of the human beings who work in Pharma.

For those who chose to take it personally, shut the door and unilaterally retreat into your shell, you’re now missing out on all the fun. You stand to lose the most by not understanding how much the cancer patient advocacy sector is hurting while becoming ever increasingly less effective and impactful.

You may think you know us but you don’t. And vice versa. This is supposed to be a two-way street because we need to better understand our collective and communal daily struggles fighting an uphill battle in a system that is fundamentally stacked against all of us.

I’ve been a self-admitted “strategic douchebag” in the industry for more than 10 years. I take full ownership of that and am proud of the wake it has created in propelling Stupid Cancer and young adult cancer issue to the forefront of advocacy and survivorship research.

Coming from the guy whose previous op-eds on PM360 and The Huffington Post have, by comparison, been significantly more abrasive and disruptively cantankerous, it surprised me how many people — especially those of you who have known me for more than just a handful of years — were shocked and awed as much as you were.

I’ve previously taken on nonprofits, regulatory, risk management, budgets, payers, the government and more. Is it so surprising that, this time, I went after a combination of all of them at the same time? Avengers, assemble.

After all, isn’t our end game the same — to at least try and help people not die from cancer? OR at the bare minimum, eliminate as much suffering as possible?

It is not my own opinion that, thanks largely in part to the risk management and a selective interpretation of compliance, the Pharma industry is intelligently pre-configured by design to prevent and discourage success in the nonprofit sector. Period. If you don’t understand why than please let us educate you. If you do, it may be because you called.

It’s often said that the squeaky wheel gets the oil. But the squeaky wheel can also get replaced. And just as you get more bees with honey, it’s almost too easy to get stung by doing so. Glass half full notwithstanding, I am firmly rooted in “No risk, no reward.” Our world is too complacent. Industry is too complacent. Nonprofits are too complacent.

I don’t want to believe that “If I didn’t do it, no one would.” There are plenty of highly disruptive public figures in our space who share the same sentiments and frustrations who need this dialogue to happen. They just as passionate, committed and overwhelmingly fatigued by the status quo, and demanding the awakening we deserve.

I wouldn’t be me and Stupid Cancer wouldn’t be a dominant force in healthcare without my precociousness and penchant to bite the hand that feeds it. While I don’t pretend to know the challenges you face on the industry side, please don’t pretend to know ours.

Friends in healthcare, let this be your not-so-subtle invitation to have these difficult conversations, work toward common ground and help solve each other’s challenges.

So call me, maybe?

Thank you for listening.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead