"I never thought I'd end up in the pharmaceutical industry," says Philippe Szapary. "Like many of my peers in R&D, I was in academic medicine. I was on the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania in internal medicine. I was taking care of patients, teaching medical students and residents, and engaging in clinical research and epidemiology." Then, says Szapary, "One thing led to another and I ended up in R&D using many of the skills I had developed in academia, now on a much broader scale, and thus impacting a lot more lives and people."

Now that he's on the industry side of things, Szapary recognizes how much has changed over the years, and how his leadership philosophy has had to change accordingly. "I've had to focus much more on the differences between must-haves and nice-to-haves," he says. "We have a lot of work on our plates, and we're really faced with the issue of prioritization.

Also important, says Szapary, is a cohesive team. "Building and maintaining high-functioning teams and recognizing them for their effort is key to meeting our goals. You need to listen to team members and value their input and perspective while also focusing on their career development. By not doing these things, you run the risk of losing cohesion and focus, and of diffusing the mission."

Optimism in the face of adversity can be the secret to success in pharma, says Szapary. "When I was first contemplating going into medicine, physicians tried to discourage me from entering the field because it had changed so much. And if I had listened to the naysayers then, I would not be where I am today. I think there are still lots of opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry. It's a very rewarding industry on a lot of levels. You've just got to be willing to adapt."

Being responsible for all commercial operations in the US for EMD Serono's endocrinology therapeutic areas—HIV, growth deficiency, and infertility—has taught David Stern two things: 1) That failure is the first step towards success; and 2) When the success comes, it's truly worth the effort.

Despite the leaner mantra of the industry, Stern says, "This is a great time to be in pharma, because these changes present opportunities. We can't sit back and do things the way we used to. We as leaders have to be willing to let people try new things, make mistakes, and fail—because failure breeds innovation."

This may sound like a risky leadership strategy, especially when money is tight. But Stern has seen it work, from the perspective of a leader and of a rookie just getting his feet wet. "When I was a fairly junior marketer, I made a mistake. I ended up spending a significant amount of money—about a $1 million—on something that didn't work," he recalls. "And rather than yell at me, my boss at the time said, 'We just made an investment in you. A million-dollar investment. What did you do wrong, why did you make the decision you did, and what did you learn from it?'"

Once the success comes, says Stern, the rewards more than pay for the trial-and-error method that got you there. "One of our products is an infertility drug. We help people become parents. And when you get the letters from them, when you see the pictures of their successes, that just serves to energize me and my team."

The responsibility of emerging pharma leaders, says Stern, "is to change the public's perception of pharma and biotech companies. And if we make decisions based on the needs of the patient and not the needs of Wall Street, I think our industry will do a lot better."