Sweet Dreams Are Made of This (who am I to disagree?)

Mabibi na Mabwana (ladies and gentlemen)

Famous lines from the Eurythmics 1983 song from duo Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart.

Why do I have sweet dreams at this time? Let me explain.

That photo above is my farewell photo from my time as AstraZeneca Territory Director Africa, a role I held for seven years, spanning over 20 years at the Premier League giant AstraZeneca.

That is the Kenyan team, with my one rep in Ethiopia seated on the far right (Teklu Alemayhu) in the blue shirt and blazer. He flew down to say farewell over my two-day visit to Nairobi. I was there to say farewell to staff, distributors and the many professional colleagues and friends I met during my time.

How many of these folks are on LinkedIn, and can you recollect those times?

How many remember the hard reality I drummed into you early on during my stewardship that we need to change how we do things, realign the business on the numbers, create targeted focus, set metrics to assess performance on a dashboard, and then track them to delivery?

You all felt that pain initially. I had to be the tough (bad) guy in the beginning because I knew change was needed. We could not continue as you had been doing before my arrival on the scene.

With those numerous changes in hearts and minds, the company was transformed and took off. This Mohindi (Swahili for' Indian') created a new path and destiny. I could relax the reins steadily as the results and success pulled through.

In the words of management guru Peter Drucker:

There is only one way to predict the future. Create it!

And create it, we did!

AstraZeneca was the fastest-growing pharmaceutical company across SSA during my time. There was no stopping us. My seniors stretched us each year, and we still delivered the numbers. Many of you said it could not be done. But it was.

Why?

Because I knew what was possible (at a stretch) and what was not possible. I was not in the habit of agreeing to targets that were not possible. And I proved it year-on-year.

Distributors had to place re-orders for stock to keep pace with demand.

We certainly created that future together.

Personally, according to feedback from staff and distributors, it was no longer fun, and the numbers were no longer delivered under a new regime. My seven-year stint was replaced by several (seven at the last count) successors who came and went within three years (some in less than two years) for a whole host of reasons.

I knew from the outset that a deep-dive exercise through a Big Five consulting firm commissioned by the South African affiliate would never be delivered. I nearly fell off my chair at seeing the numbers forecasted.

I just didn't tell anybody why the numbers would never be delivered. What was the point?

The South African affiliate believed they could take the business to greater heights with more bodies behind it than just me sitting in England. I was going to leave, so why should I pass a comment on those numbers?

Anyone who knows SSA understands that throwing more bodies at it does not bring better results. But remarkably, very few people understand SSA—and certainly not like how I understand it. In fact, this holds true for many emerging markets where premium-priced innovator R&D products are concerned.

C'est la vie, guys.

I was not responsible for what happened after I left.

Companies make decisions; we are powerless to fight them.

The senior man who dreamt up the cock-and-bull meaningless slogan "In Africa for Africa" was probably high on some hallucinogenic drug when the idea came to him. The decision was made - the business should be run from South Africa, believing it could be run to new heights.

No amount of explanation by me would change his thinking. I didn't waste my breath other than to say what would happen to the business within my first two years of leaving.

He knew nothing about Africa. The South African teams grabbing for SSA knew as little as he about SSA countries north of the Limpopo River. We parted company (amicably).

My compensation package more than gave me working capital to get my business off the ground within six months.

I set up Samkoman Consulting and very quickly established a successful consulting practice focused on the issues of global multinational companies in Africa.

I saw so many cock-ups, blunders, and the mess people had gotten themselves into that I instinctively knew where I could help them and put things right if they adopted and implemented my findings and recommendations.

My track record and the AstraZeneca pedigree were my license to consult.

I never looked back. After more than a decade of consulting, I wrote my first book. It was published a month ago, in late May 2024:

Those sweet dreams and experiences laid the foundation for the book. What companies paid in consulting fees and what I learned about the abundance of mistakes they had made from those assignments are captured in my book at a fraction of what those companies paid in consulting fees to bring my intellectual capital, know-how, and skills to the table.

I was quickly established as THE expert on distributor models, emerging markets, and SSA. Many say I still am.

Hell, some would remark (and still do):

"What he doesn't know about distributor and go-to-market models isn't worth knowing."

Please consider the book if you still need to purchase it and are involved with emerging markets, distributors, or partner markets. It will not disappoint. Many companies have a significant gap in cognitive bandwidth regarding understanding distributor business and distributor models. This book aims to close that gap.

When I reflect on the journey, I want to highlight to today's seniors that we faced the same set of difficulties these seniors and companies face today in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA):

• How can we shift to high-priced/low-volume oncology and similar products in a predominantly poor population? My team said oncology would not sell. I proved them wrong. With my plans and rigorous execution, we moved oncology from around 1% of total sales to over 15%. I kept all the margin; I never entered into any private-public partnerships, deeming them a waste of time and money because the public guys don't step in when I walk away. Companies are now fumbling in the dark trying to figure out how to expand high/price low volume products in the portfolio - oncology and immunologics. They post about donor funding, NGOs and Government funding. However, I am still waiting to hear from anyone who has created a sustainable access solution for these therapeutics. They should talk to me. I know how the channels and buyers work.
• How to improve access with their primary care portfolios? This is often the brainchild of someone in Corporate Affairs trying to justify an expensive headcount who has never run a profit-and-loss business. We managed all the access issues across SSA. Clients ask me how to manage these aspects of the SSA business. Why? Because their seniors may be leaning on them to come up with proposals, but they often need help knowing where to start.
• Do we have the best-fit distributor frameworks?
• Do the staff understand distributors as well as we need them to?
• We sorted those. The staff were never involved in distributor selection or negotiations. Only I carried those out, including terminations and new distributors. Be realistic. Delegate those roles that are appropriate, not inappropriate, and don't delegate roles and tasks that require significant matrix work internationally. Remember, YOU, not they, carry the can for failings in distributor performance and management.
• The greatest challenge of them all? The one failed challenge that has led to so many seniors' careers being derailed?
• Which is that you ask?
• It is that they fail to deliver the critical mass numbers they promised their seniors year-on-year over five years. Many are moved out voluntarily or forcibly within three years, some in as short as two years.
• Ask me how to do it. I delivered and exceeded the critical mass agreed upon with my senior team, hitting a critical mass within five years. That know-how is captured in my book.

The challenges companies face in Africa are the same today as during my time.

What is different is that many of today's guys, like yesterday's guys, lack the bandwidth and know-how to address these pain points. I built a consulting practice on my ability to alleviate clients' pain. If you are in this situation and feeling pain, I'm the best analgesic for your pain.

Stand back and immerse yourself in those memories, for sweet dreams are made of this:

Wherever you all are today since our time together, I hope all is well, and you are happy and enjoying life. One month after the launch of my book, which was founded on that phenomenal transformation across SSA, sweet dreams are made of these photos.

And if you want to buy "The Old Mohindi's Book," it is available on your local Amazon site and all good booksellers. The opening chapter will bring back memories of how I inherited the business, the challenges my senior executive team demanded back in England, what we needed to do, and how we made that phenomenal transformation.

https://www.amazon.com/Right-Way-practical-distributor-models/dp/1803817828/ref