Create a Crystal-Clear Mission
It’s important to have a clear company mission that marries values and financial goals, said Schmeltz, global president and general manager of Pfizer Oncology.
“Our purpose as a company is very, very clear...and that’s to bring breakthroughs that change patients’ lives,” he said.
During the pandemic, many cancer patients canceled doctor appointments and stopped taking their medicine, and drug sales fell. While this may be bad for Pfizer’s business, Schmeltz said, more importantly, it leads to bad outcomes for patients. Pfizer Oncology teamed up with cancer advocacy organizations on Get It Done, a multimedia campaign in which cancer survivors encourage fellow patients to continue their screenings. They emphasize the COVID-19 safety protocols in place at health-care institutions—pointing out that a skipped screening could lead to a worse outcome than the incremental risk of COVID exposure.
“We couldn’t have done that ourselves,” Schmeltz said. “While trust in us is growing, we recognize that partnering with others often is the better path.”
Similar to Pfizer’s approach, Braff explained the importance of collaborating with outside partners. In Gatorade’s case, they work with outside organizations to achieve their mission of supporting women in sports. She and her team have candid quarterly meetings with a women’s advisory board to discuss what the company is doing right as well as what it could be doing better. When it comes to equity in pay and representation among Gatorade’s male and female athlete endorsers, the advisors don’t mince words. Their input has changed how Gatorade manages its roster.
“There’s a lot of trying to avoid the performative,” Braff said, “trying to really create something that will have impact with our consumers, and then trying to get the right people in the room who will tell us the truth.”