Words of Wisdom

Passion. Presence. Empathy. Relationships.

These are a few of the words that several leaders in the med/surg community gave when Repertoire reached out asking them to impart what they have learned over the course of their careers. We would like the thank the following individuals for sharing their insights:

Truth

By Rob Saron, former President and Director/SVP Global Distribution, Bovie Medical

My father always said, “tell the truth and you never need to remember what you said.” 

I tried to follow that mantra in business and in life. I still do. Truth isn’t always the easy way out, but your customers need to know what the real story is. 

I once discussed this with Richard Riley, our main contact at PSS. Richard was something like the 20th employee at PSS, and he worked there essentially his entire career. He told me a story of very early in his career when there was an order he knew he wasn’t going to be able to deliver on time, so he made up something about a warehouse fire. But he quickly realized that unless he told the truth, he was never going to keep his stories straight. He said that was the one and only time he ever lied to a customer. That was really one of the great things about Richard. You knew immediately what he thought. Candy coating a response was not how Richard explained his position. “That’s not going to fly” is an example of a typical response to a proposal. He was also the first distributor to argue with me over who was going to pay for lunch. If your customers know they can depend on you to always tell them the truth, then they will know they can always rely on you. 

During the pandemic, it was very easy to blame issues on the container mess and shipping woes. That was true and worked for a couple of years, but when I hear it now, I roll my eyes. So, understand the factors involved and don’t rely on a story – tell the TRUTH! It will simplify your life and your customers will appreciate you for it.

Presence

By Brad Connett, CEO, North America Distribution Group, Henry Schein, Inc.

Presence is vital from a leadership standpoint. There are two parts of presence: our ability to be present and our presence as leaders when we show up for others.

Leaders need to be present, and this involves proximity. We need to be in front of our teams, actively listening. One philosophy I believe wholeheartedly in is the most important person at any given time is the individual in front of you. This means attending to our teams and silencing our phones. Again, this means actively listening to what our teams are saying and paying attention to their non-verbal cues. As a leader, being present is a way to differentiate yourself and most importantly, a way to create meaningful connections with your team members.

The second part is having a presence. Having a presence requires a combination of attributes:

• Poise. A strong leader can handle stress without letting it affect others.
• Effectiveness. Successful leaders don’t stray from their objectives – they accomplish what they have set out to do.
• Stability. Leaders who are balanced and steady amid challenges will encourage others to act the same.
• Calmness. Great leaders keep a level head and have high emotional intelligence.
• Confidence. Leaders with confidence exude a belief in themselves and their team.
• Resilience. Effective leaders don’t shrink in the tough moments and can pivot when the need occurs.

Leaders with presence anchor around mutuality, respecting a common basis with teams, and demonstrate consistency. Consistency is the attribute that holds it all together.

Repertoire has been consistently present for 30 years in the industry. It was founded by Brian Taylor and Chris Kelly, who understood the importance and value of distribution. Subsequently, the next generation of leadership with Scott Adams and John Pritchard remained focused on that.

That’s why Repertoire has had 30 years of success. Repertoire stayed true to what they were focused on: distribution and the art of selling. It is an honorable profession that has changed and morphed. It’ll keep changing, but it’s not going away. We serve the oldest profession in the world.

Lastly, for those of us who’ve been in the industry for a while, we’ve been blessed and fortunate with our roles and careers. But it’s important not to take ourselves too seriously. Yes, we need to take our responsibility seriously, but in the scheme of things, if we left tomorrow, the business would be fine, and the industry would be fine.

To that end, I believe passing along generational leadership is important. And Repertoire has done that through its coverage of the industry and at its events like the Medical Distribution Hall of Fame. Repertoire has done an incredible job of honoring the industry and being present through the small and transformational changes it has undergone over the last 30 years.

Excellence

By Brad Hilton, Senior Vice President of Primary Care Sales at McKesson Medical-Surgical

Growing up, my dad would always say “a job worth doing is a job worth doing well.” He demanded Excellence, and talked about it regularly. Sometimes, I would give him a list of excuses on why things were hard or why they weren’t right, and he would simply say “our customers deserve better.” That was very a powerful message, and something that I’ve taken with me throughout my career. 

Demanding Excellence is a good thing. It fosters an “iron sharpens iron” mindset, as well as teamwork. It’s important to note that Excellence is not the same as Perfection. No one is perfect, but we should aspire and drive towards Excellence in our pursuits.  

It feels like we are less inclined these days to push for Excellence, to have courageous conversations, to disagree without being disagreeable or to accept responsibility for our individual actions when we fall short. Perhaps a rededication to the ideal of Excellence would get us back on track.

Thank you, Repertoire Magazine, for promoting Excellence in healthcare sales for the past 30 years, and for keeping our industry and its sales professionals connected.

Relationships

Bill Sparks, Founder and CEO of MedPro Associates

The consolidation that went on with healthcare distribution in the ’80s and ’90s changed our world. When I was in southern California, I probably had 20 distributors all doing physician sales. When consolidation happened, it created a different type of relationship with them. It shifted toward the relationships we have with individuals, but within a corporate structure. We didn’t have that before. I think that’s one of the big changes that happened.

Relationships are still important, they’re just not like they used to be. I don’t necessarily mean that in a negative way. The relationships we have now are a little bit deeper and stronger. The job titles and businesses we work for may change, but relationships stick. They’re difficult to build, but long lasting. I know Scott Adams believes in relationships, and that’s a big reason why we do business together.

There was a time when Brian Taylor, Chris Kelly and I talked about doing Repertoire together. After a couple months of discussions, I decided it wasn’t a fit, because I was too busy doing my own thing with MedTech and didn’t know the ins and outs of putting together a magazine. That being said, the relationship that Brian, Chris and I had continued to thrive over those years. Those were my days at MedTech. Brian and Chris helped us advertise and tell our story in Repertoire. We had our national meetings covered by Repertoire, as well as new hires and appointments highlighted.

My relationship with Repertoire continues to this day with MedPro Associates. Looking back over the years, I think it takes a special relationship to stay connected in this industry when folks move to different companies and different positions. Repertoire has helped foster those relationships. There’s a personal piece of it that can follow you, and you shouldn’t take it for granted.

Empathy

By Jon Wells, President and CEO, Midmark

When I think about the important role Midmark and our teammates play in medical, dental and animal health environments, the word I immediately think of is empathy. Midmark is more than a company that sells products and services. We are a design company that provides new ideas to enhance the quality of care and healthcare experience for staff and patients. We do this by listening to our customers with an empathetic ear.

The work we do at Midmark touches 10 million patient experiences every day, and this work is grounded by empathy. It is part of our culture. It is where design thinking begins – building a deep understanding of our customers’ work to design meaningful solutions.

One example of empathetic design is our mobile workstations. We recognize that healthcare providers experience challenges due to the differences in staff height. Bending or stretching to reach supplies and equipment or hunching over a computer dramatically impacts caregiver safety, hindering the ability to provide great care.

To address these issues, we collaborated with health systems across various disciplines to design a unique, ergonomic workstation. Midmark workstations have the longest range in surface height, allowing medical staff to easily adjust the height to adapt to their dynamic needs. Through empathy, a simple cart has become a breakthrough ergonomic solution.

Empathy and design are not just engaging words. They represent how we carry out our mission of improving the experience between the patient and the caregiver. This is at the heart of everything we do and allows Midmark to make a meaningful difference in delivering healthcare.

Adaptable

By Bill McLaughlin Jr., President & CEO, IMCO

Adaptable is an essential concept within our business, holding significant importance for us in both our interactions with our distributor and vendor partners. Every one of our independent distributor members embodies this spirit, evident in their relentless efforts to establish and maintain a customer-focused business while staying profitable. We champion the importance of collaboration and working with committed and trusted vendor partners to support our distributors on this journey.

IMCO and our Members understand there is not a one-size-fits-all formula. We believe each customer deserves the time and engagement to ensure their business is understood to make the best recommendations and provide support for their business. To be that resource and expert for customers is important to fostering long-term fruitful relationships. I believe even with technology, cost awareness, the time-sensitive nature of the healthcare landscape, personal interaction and trust is the key to continued success. IMCO and our Members are strong, collaborative, and act quickly to adapt to the needs of our customers and changing environment. Repertoire, too, has adapted to the changing marketplace, while focusing on the relationships that make this industry great.

Passion

By Cindy Juhas, Chief Strategy Officer, CME Corp.

If you’re going to be successful as a rep or leader in this industry period, you’ve got to do something to push yourself along and not just let people manage your career for you. You must manage your own career.

And to manage your career, I believe you must have passion.

One of the key moments of my career happened early on. I asked for a job that was not available at the time and that I didn’t have the background for, but that I knew I could do. I got the job and it changed my career path.

Even without the experience, I knew that I could do this job. I thought about how to do it, and I was passionate about it.

People sometimes look at their career and say, “This is what I should do.” But rarely do people think about, “This is what I want to do,” or “This is what I know that I really feel strongly about and I can do it very well.”

Anybody that has their own successful business or role within their organization knows how important passion can be. If you really love what you do and you’re passionate about the work you put in each day, you will find success in your career and your organization because of that hard work. It makes you driven. It makes you work hard. It does all those things, and ultimately you’ll succeed.

I know that in this industry, women can oftentimes be less self-confident than men. Find what you’re passionate about and your self-confidence and drive will blossom!

Specialize

By Mark Seitz, Chairman, NDC, Inc.

Independent distributors that were historically broadline, but had the courage or the conviction to specialize, have done extremely well.

Three companies come to mind when I think of independent distribution companies who have found success by pivoting away from being full-line independent distribution companies to something more focused:

• Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based Medico Mart, a second-generation independent distributor, seized upon an opportunity to be a vaccine distribution specialist. When they identified the unmet need, their business really took off.
• Nashville, Tennessee-based Metro Medical had the courage to focus on pharmaceutical distribution and ended up having a successful liquidity event with one of the nationals.
• Wixom, Michigan-based Lynn Medical, another second-generation business, decided to focus on cardiology. They have done a great job creating a national footprint in that category.

When I first arrived in the med/surg business 18-plus years ago, there were lots of broadline, alternate site distributors, and hospital focused distributors. But we are seeing more of these independent distributors find success by taking hold of a specialty they can exploit.

By specializing, you do not dilute your efforts by trying to do too many things for too many people. Instead, you’re building a moat around your ability to compete.

Yes, there is a risk involved. You hate to walk away from today’s revenue for tomorrow’s growth, but that is what it comes down to when you specialize. It is having the courage to change when you see the opportunity. I look forward to Repertoire Magazine being there to highlight the difference makers for the next 30 years.

Reflections on 30 Years

By Brian Taylor, Co-Founder and former Publisher of Repertoire Magazine

Scott Adams asked if I would contribute some thoughts on the 30-year anniversary of
Repertoire Magazine. He suggested that we share any words of wisdom with the distribution community. He gave us some direction by providing a list of words that describe successful people. We could focus on one of these attributes or come up with one of our own to paint a picture of success for the men and women in the industry:

• Brave
• Inspired
• Resilient
• Reliable
• Steady
• Challenged
• Curious
• Consistent
• Encouraging
• Engaged
• Determined

You get the idea. All of the above are admirable and at a given point in time necessary for success in virtually any business endeavor. You all can recall being all those things at one time in the course of a month or week or even a day.

I have been retired for nearly 10 years, and though I still follow the trends in the industry and the successes of friends and colleagues, I am so far removed from the rapid changes you all have experienced over those years, enduring the pandemic, shutdowns, consolidation of customers, supply chain issues, etc., that asking me for specific advice on how to do your job better, would (for those who know me) be like asking me how to make a 3-foot putt.

I recently went to a memorial service where an old friend made a wonderful tribute to our mutual friend who had passed. He listed a number of life lessons he had learned from our friend’s life. I thought that I might share some of those words of wisdom, if you will, that might serve you well in your working life and hopefully beyond. When I retired, someone said he never met anyone, looking back on their career, who ever said, “I only wish I had spent more time at the office.”

So, I share my friend’s words and hope they resonate with you like they did with me:

• Aspire to be more than you think you can be – you’ll be surprised how often you get there.
• Don’t procrastinate – what are you waiting for?
• Be carefully reckless – step out of your comfort zone.
• Have a plan and work hard on it – but don’t forget to play hard as well.
• Treat people you meet as if they are your friend, and they probably will be.
• You will be surprised how much YOU learn by being a mentor.
• You can’t tell the important people in your life that you love them too many times.
• Create wonderful memories with friends and family and you will live in their hearts forever.
• Cherish every day – tomorrow is promised to no one.

Thanks to all who have supported Repertoire for these 30 years and continued success for all of you in this wonderful industry.