2023 in Review: Collective Success – the key to creating lasting growth

As I fully unplug for the holidays starting today, I take a moment to share my reflections in the last installment of 'Monthly Leadership Learnings' for 2023, along with a vision for 2024 and beyond—centered around three key areas I found to have been crucial for our collective success.

In sharing this, I hope that they provide not just insights but kernels of learning, inspiring reflection on your year as you shape a visionary path for the future.?

A Year of Advancements in Serving Real Needs

Fundamental to achieving business success is the ability to deliver high-quality products that meet customers’ needs. When it comes to healthcare, being able to generate, collect, and analyze the data that provide insights about the real needs of real people in our healthcare system is vital. This year we worked hard to advance a sustainable, data-driven healthcare system that will ensure patients receive the care they need, when they need it, and where they need it.?

One example I am proud of is the work we are doing in the area of ophthalmology. As populations age, we know that it is becoming increasingly important that we do all we can to curb rates of blindness. Data will play a crucial role in this. We’re teaming up with hospitals to invest in the infrastructure and capabilities needed to make the data that are already available more usable.

The benefits will be manifold. Hospitals will be able to optimize their resources, patients will receive improved care, and Roche will gain a deeper understanding of how we can better support patients at each stage of their treatment pathway.

Creating a Growth Environment, Externally

Lasting success also hinges on creating an external environment that will support growth and access to innovation.? We need environments that are receptive, attractive, and conducive to business, and we must work with stakeholders from across the ecosystem to protect and promote its health so that we all might benefit.

This means taking steps such as ensuring the right legal frameworks and regulations are in place. This is fundamental for generating trust, hope, and solidarity amongst all those who need to work together to achieve the best results for patients and people working in the healthcare sector.

At Roche we will continue to do our part by taking an active and leading role in the transition towards data-driven healthcare systems, the adoption of healthcare reform, and the delivery of innovative medicines and diagnostics that can make a tangible difference to people’s lives.?

A prime example of our dedication is the continued support for the healthcare ecosystem project initiated in 2023. This initiative has already yielded significant results, enabling the right conversations and initial actions in the healthcare reform for a data-driven sustainable healthcare system. Moving forward, we remain dedicated to this agenda, leveraging our expertise and resources to drive positive change.

New World, New skills

Business resilience and performance are entwined with the individuals who comprise its workforce.?

We are all aware of the generational and technological shifts that are happening all around us. AI is just one example of the kinds of changes we must train ourselves for so that we can manage and use it effectively.?

Just as we concentrate on generating financial returns over the next two to three years so must we assign equal importance to the diverse skill sets that our workforce must now build.

This is why we are supporting academic institutions, like the IEDC - Bled School of Management . With the Roche Slovenija co-founding Bled Institute for Leadership in Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence (BILDAI), we aim to tackle the leadership gap in digital and AI skills. This new academic institution will develop the core leadership skills and expertise needed for the digital transformation of healthcare.?

I am confident that this partnership sets the foundation for a groundbreaking model that has the potential to be replicated nationally and internationally. As global healthcare systems strive to fortify the expertise required for effective leadership amidst the changes we face and as they seek to implement e-health strategies for improved outcomes, this collaborative initiative serves as a blueprint for success.

Looking forward to 2024: Hope, Responsibility, and Confidence

As ever, I am looking forward to the potential a new year holds. I am looking forward with hope, a sense of my duty of responsibility as a leader, and with confidence. It will be an honor and privilege to collaborate with my team, peers, and partners across the healthcare system in Slovenia, as well as in the international community. Together we will continue to work on our collective success as we lay the foundations for lasting growth and positive change in 2024 and beyond.

Whatever 2024 may bring, 2023 made it clear to me that change is possible. I firmly believe we can make anything happen through collaborative efforts and I look forward to meeting you all in January to continue our work together.

Wishing all a joyful and peaceful holiday.?

-Eva