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From Feedback to Feedforward: A Better Way Forward – Sales Management 1 I was re-re-reading Marshall Goldsmith’s ‘Principles of Feedforward’ from his book – “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There” for may be the umpteenth time. If you have to understand this book in three simple sentences –  (1) It’s often our behavioral […]

The Whisper in the Ad: A Tale of Subliminal Messages – Brand Management 65 (Visual – BING IMAGE CREATOR) I was lounging on my sofa this Sunday morning watching my favorite show “Rangoli” and the commercials. I usually watch commercials to learn what not to do in pharma advertising. Most break my heart with their

Cultivating Excellence: The Emotional and Social Landscape of High-Performing District Sales Managers – Successful Sales Management 15 Preamble – Rising IQ and Declining EQ: Goleman’s Paradox Daniel Goleman, in his ground-breaking work in his book on Emotional Intelligence, warns of a looming crisis: the paradox of rising IQ and declining EQ. While intrinsic intelligence (IQ)

Portable Skills – A Different Way of Being Smart and Head the Sales and Branding Functions – Sales Management 16 Preamble On my Kindle Device, I was revisiting the book Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman once again after the Covid ‘vacation’. Daniel Goleman discusses a term called “Portable Skills“. I had clean forgotten about it

The Power of “BRAND ME” in Pharmaceutical Branding: A Strategic Imperative for District Managers and Brand Managers – Sales Management 17 Authors – Shailaja Dwivedi Pathak and Vivek Hattangadi Introduction In the highly competitive and trust-driven pharmaceutical industry, branding goes beyond just product marketing—it is about building credibility, expertise, and emotional connections. While corporate and

We are excited to announce that on the auspicious day of Yugadi/Gudi Padva, we have begun writing “THE HISTORY OF PHARMA BRAND MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING IN INDIA – 1974 TO 2025.” This book uncovers fifty years of stories never before told. From the humble beginnings after the Patents Act to the digital revolution, we reveal

Inspiring the World: My 51-Year Journey Through Indian Pharma (Part 2) Authored by Vivek Hattangadi and Shailaja Dwivedi Pathak Copy Editor: Shailaja Dwivedi Pathak 2004 to 2014 –  India Accepts The Challenge of Product Patent: Two Robust Brands Emerge    Process patent to product patent In 2004, India introduced the “Patents (Amendment) Ordinance, 2004” which

Inspiring the World: My 51-Year Journey Through Indian Pharma (Part 1) Authored by Vivek Hattangadi and Shailaja Dwivedi Pathak, Copy Editor: Shailaja Dwivedi Pathak Preamble Imagine a story woven with numbers, a tale of transformation that spans generations. What do the figures 100, 400, and a staggering 240,000 have in common? They’re not just numbers;

The Story of the Business Story – Brand Management 67 Illustration: Courtesy Bing Image Creator Once upon a time, in the heart of the vibrant city of Ahmedabad, lived a brand manager named Nayana Pradhan. She poured her heart into Antares Biopharmaceuticals, especially into her beloved brand, Brandex. Brandex, once the shining star, had slipped.

Beating the Antes: The Purple Revolution of Brandex (Part 2) – Brand Management 61 B Visual – BING IMAGE CREATOR We read in the first part that the story of Brandex’s purple revolution reached the ears of Bashar’s mentor, Jnāna. Jnāna listened intently, and then posed a single, penetrating question: ‘But what about your distinctive