Something I Learned In A Class I Took From Stephen Covey

With all the challenges facing independent community pharmacy it’s easy to become overwhelmed, discouraged, and, dare I say, burnt-out? 

Perhaps some perspective will help you more effectively handle this challenge.  Years ago, it was my privilege to attend Brigham Young University and take a class from an impressive, but yet little know professor of Organizational Behavior, Stephen Covey.  In 1973, the idea for his blockbuster book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, was not even on his radar screen.  But, some of the concepts he taught in my class ended up in his book.

One was a concept he called, A Paradigm Change.  At the heart of this idea is to take the same facts, but look at them from a different perspective.   

In, The 7 Habits, Covey illustrates the concept by telling how he took a subway ride on a business trip to New York City.  On the ride was a man with 2 young children.   The children were behaving badly, jumping on the benches and making a nuisance of themselves.  Covey says he looked at the father with disdain wondering how it was he did not control his kids.  As he did so the father looked up and realized what had been happening.  He apologized and explained that he and the children had just come from spending the night at the hospital where their mother had just passed away. 

Instantaneously his attitude changed, even though none of the facts had. 

So, you say, what’s your point?  

The phone rings and one of your techs says she can’t come in today.  Patients give you anxious looks wondering why it is taking so long to get their prescription even though your IVR texted them that it was ready.  Workloads are up and profits are down.  

For these and numerous other reasons industry observers are often heard to say the future of retail pharmacy is bleak. 

But, is it really? When I hear predictions that independent pharmacy is dead, I think back on the first sales calls I made only months after listening to Covey’s lecture on paradigm change.  Within weeks of graduating, in August 1973, I started working for the J. B. Roerig Division of Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. My first task was selling a line of cough and cold products to independent pharmacies in North Dakota.  As I made my calls, I was shocked to hear so many owners complain about how bad the future looked for them.  The reason, the makers of Robitussin changed their policy and decided to let chain drug stores sell the line.  

For forty-nine years I have been told independent pharmacy was dying.  Yes, I know that since 1973 tens of thousands of them have closed.  And, in the past few years that same trend is occurring in chain pharmacy.  The facts can’t be denied, things are tough.  Yet, somehow, some owners take these same facts ,but by looking at them differently, they find ways to make their pharmacies profitable.  I know, because I get to talk with talk with many of them on my podcast,  www.PharmacyCrossRoads.com

Take, for example, Shahida Choudhry, PharmD, owner of The Palms Pharmacy in Tampa, Florida. She opened a brand-new, start from scratch, pharmacy six years ago and is doing so well she is already planning to open another.  Part of her secret is sourcing unique front end products and finding effective ways to network with prescribers in her community. You can check her out at: https://www.thepalmspharmacy.com/

Then there’s Kyle McCormick, PharmD, owner of Blueberry Pharmacy in the Pittsburg, Pennsylvania area.  He has gone to an all generics, all-cash, membership model. That’s right, no PBM hassles. McCormick is meeting with so much success he is now helping others emulate his model.  Check him out at: https://blueberrypharmacy.com/

These owners, and hundreds of others, all have the same challenges but they have found a way to undergo a paradigm change by finding new, more and better ways to move forward.  Maybe you do something new and unique in your community.