- Medical Affairs Weekly
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- The Case for Specializing
When thinking about career strategy, some people are reluctant to specialize. For those just starting their career, that makes sense. You need to find out what you enjoy and are good at. Your sweet spot.
From there, I’d argue that you’re probably best served by becoming a specialist.
On the surface, it may seem like specializing could limit future opportunities. But, for top performers like you, that’s not the case.
Oftentimes, specializing is what makes you stand out. It’s what makes people seek you out. It can eliminate the need to prospect for roles as you have opportunities coming inbound.
I like sports. I also realize that not everyone does, so I try to keep sports analogies to a minimum. Especially ones that aren’t exactly mainstream. Today is an exception.
Bill Belichick and Tom Brady teamed up to win several Super Bowl titles. Although there is no shortage of controversy surrounding Coach Belichick, it’s clear the man knows the game of football as well as anyone.
The video clip below is evidence of that fact. When asked about whether a roster spot should be devoted to a long-snapper, Belichick gives a ten-minute, unrehearsed response on the history of the position and why it makes sense.
Since most of you won’t watch the video ( 😅 ), he points out that specialists have increased importance at the highest level of competition.
Many things are implied, but suffice it to say he clearly views not having a long snapper as a competitive disadvantage. Despite being on the field for a limited number of plays each game, their absence would be noticeable. And not in a good way.
So, how do you become a long-snapper in Medical Affairs?
Become Very Good at a Few Things
You'll develop a skill monopoly if you commit to becoming very good at two or, ideally, three things.
It’s not that other people won’t also have those skills. Indeed, many of them will be better than you. But when you stack things, magic happens.
Scott Adams suggests that you don’t need to be the best at something. In fact, he argues it’s probably a waste of time. But, if you focus on being in the Top 25% of two or three skills, you’re destined for greatness.
One important caveat to his argument is that one of the skills must involve communication. Regarding Medical Affairs professionals, this seems spot on.
Since reading his blog post, I’ve given much thought to my skills and how this applies to my experiences.
My skills might look something like this:
Public Speaking - Specifically, presenting complex information in a manner that is understandable to those with less technical expertise
Managed Care Pharmacy - Specifically, how payers make decisions based on clinical and financial attributes of a product
Oncology - Specifically, how the competitive healthcare landscape and various incentives impact the care of cancer patients
This combination of skills has served me well in my Medical Affairs career. Plenty of people have more therapeutic expertise than me. And some of them are also better at public speaking. However, few have an in-depth understanding of managed care and how it impacts patient access.
The number of iterations here is limitless. And that’s the point.
So, what’s the best combination of skills related to Medical Affairs?
It depends. But, you can think of things thematically. Something like this:
Communication Skill + Therapeutic Expertise + Technical/Functional Expertise
There are other combinations, but this seems like a reasonably pragmatic way to approach things for Medical Affairs.
Maybe you excel at written communication, have extensive experience in rare genetic disorders, and have years of experience in regulatory affairs.
While opportunities matching that profile aren’t ubiquitous, you’re a no-brainer when they come along. In a sense, this concept is about minimizing your competition.
You’ve effectively become a Medical Affairs long-snapper. And every team needs at least one of those.
When it comes to my own specialization, it was not intentional to start. Over time, I realized the value and leaned into this concept.
I’d suggest you do the same. Be intentional.
Until next week,
Tyler
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