Generation Veeva | Meet Agustina: CDP: What I’ve Learned

The video offers a candid look into the initial experience of a new consultant within the Veeva Consulting Development Program (CDP), specifically featuring Agustina, who joined the Barcelona team in April 2020. Her reflection, spanning her first five months, centers on the rapid pace of learning, the foundational support system, and the unique cultural expectations placed upon new hires within the organization. The presentation serves as an internal testimonial, emphasizing the value of Veeva’s culture in accelerating both professional and personal development for early-career consultants.

The core message revolves around the concept of accelerated growth fostered by the Veeva environment. Agustina emphasizes that the significant amount of knowledge gained in a short timeframe is directly attributable to the highly supportive team structure and a corporate culture that prioritizes continuous development—addressing growth "not only the professional way but also in your personal way." A critical lesson highlighted for new consultants is the acceptance that it is "okay not to know everything" and "not to have the answer all the time." This shifts the focus from having immediate domain expertise to possessing the willingness and ability to learn quickly and effectively.

A concrete example shared illustrates the practical application of this supportive culture: the preparation for her first presentation to a client. Despite feeling "super nervous," Agustina details how the structure of the team provided a safety net, including the opportunity to practice the presentation extensively with her manager beforehand. This preparation instilled sufficient confidence for the meeting. Furthermore, the trust demonstrated by the team—assigning significant responsibility early in her tenure—served as a powerful motivator and confidence builder, reinforcing the expectation of high performance coupled with strong support.

The narrative ultimately underscores Veeva's commitment to a "culture of constant development" and the imperative to "never settle." This environment encourages consultants to actively push themselves outside of their comfort zones, embracing the state of "being comfortable with being uncomfortable." This philosophy suggests a high-pressure, high-growth environment where mutual support is essential for managing the steep learning curve inherent in specialized life sciences technology consulting, providing valuable insight into the training and mindset of Veeva's consulting workforce.

Key Takeaways:

• Accelerated Learning Model: Veeva’s Consulting Development Program (CDP) is designed for rapid immersion, enabling new consultants to acquire substantial knowledge and skills within a very short timeframe (e.g., five months), suggesting a highly structured and intensive initial training phase.
• Prioritization of Learning Aptitude: The consulting culture explicitly de-emphasizes the need for new hires to possess comprehensive knowledge immediately, instead placing a higher value on the capacity and willingness to learn quickly and adapt to new challenges.
• Embracing Discomfort as Growth: A core cultural tenet is the necessity of "being comfortable with being uncomfortable," which serves as a mechanism to push consultants outside their current skill boundaries and accelerate competence development.
• Dual-Track Development: The firm focuses equally on professional skill acquisition (e.g., client presentation skills, technical platform knowledge) and personal growth (e.g., confidence, resilience, and managing uncertainty).
• Structured Managerial Support for High Stakes: For critical activities like first client presentations, effective managerial support—specifically through dedicated practice sessions—is utilized as a core risk mitigation strategy and a crucial tool for building consultant confidence.
• Early Responsibility as a Confidence Driver: Assigning significant client-facing responsibility early in a consultant's tenure signals high trust from the team, which the speaker identifies as a powerful factor in motivating performance and building self-assurance.
• Culture of Constant Development: The internal philosophy of "never settle" defines the long-term expectation for Veeva consultants, indicating a commitment to continuous upskilling necessary to maintain expertise in the rapidly evolving pharmaceutical and life sciences technology landscape.
• Team-Centric Safety Net: Veeva leverages strong team support as the primary mechanism for managing the stress associated with a steep learning curve and high client expectations, emphasizing collaboration and mutual backing over purely individual performance metrics.
• Proactivity in Education: Success within the consulting arm requires consultants to be proactive and self-driven in their education, aligning with the cultural expectation to "push yourself into learning" rather than waiting for knowledge to be delivered passively.

Tools/Resources Mentioned:

• Veeva Consulting Development Program (CDP)

Key Concepts:

• Consulting Development Program (CDP): A structured training and mentorship program designed to rapidly onboard and develop early-career professionals into specialized consultants within the Veeva ecosystem.
• Culture of Constant Development: A corporate philosophy emphasizing continuous learning, skill acquisition, and the pursuit of improvement in both professional and personal capacities, discouraging complacency.