Insights from my first three months at Sanofi

As my first 100 days at the helm of Sanofi ends this week, we have unveiled a new strategy. Though there is nothing particularly magical about 100 days, it is a good moment to look back on my first three months, and share some of the most important things that I have learned.

Contextual insights

This has been an incredibly enriching period during which I met and learned from so many of my colleagues around the world. I asked thousands of questions, which produced at least that many insights in response.

It has been important for me to understand Sanofi’s context, and that has required that I “unlearn” a few things from my previous roles and “relearn” with the support of my new colleagues. Asking questions, always with good intent and out of curiosity, may seem like an obvious thing to do when one is new on the job, but I can’t overemphasize how useful questioning has been for me during this period. As I move into a new phase, I’ll make sure I keep this learning mindset.

The power of small observations

I never underestimate the power of seemingly small things, including brief interactions, and how they can impact my thinking or perspective on a given topic. It was in part through the gathering of many small insights that I was able to develop a clear sense of where we need to take Sanofi. Let me illustrate this.

Last week as I was preparing for my presentation to investors, I had a brief conversation with Ryan Fucella, a colleague who had reached out to me mid-September to ask a few questions on leadership for an academic assignment. Ryan surely didn’t realize that he was helping shape my thinking about how I would eventually communicate our strategic direction when he put these questions to me: “How do you define success for the organization you lead? What inspiration or process do you follow when creating your vision for the company?”

The “vision” thing

To answer Ryan’s question, I have to first confess that I find the idea of “vision” to be somewhat overrated. As a pharma company, we already have a great purpose, one that companies in most other industries cannot compete with: to improve the lives of millions of people with the products that we make. So the vision I have flows naturally from this purpose: we will leverage great science to discover and bring innovative therapies to change the practice of medicine to the benefit of patients everywhere.

My primary role is to set direction for the company and create the environment that allows people to bring the best version of themselves. This direction, and its related goals, have to be crystal clear for the people I lead, but also leave them room to take ownership and find their purpose. And when goals become “too” reachable and not ambitious enough, then it’s my job to get us back to the drawing board, to iterate again and set our sights higher.

Making tough choices

I recently said that there has never been a better time to be a CEO. Technology can help us leapfrog in innovation and reinvent how we work. Our scientific knowledge expands every day. But pursuing new possibilities and winning with the world-class assets we have requires trade-offs.

We can only deliver for patients in a meaningful way if we prioritize and make (sometimes) tough choices. In an ever more uncertain and fast-paced environment, a relentless focus on fewer things coupled with a drive to be best-in-class in our selected areas will be critical to our success.