Veeva Business Consulting | Be Different

This video provides an exploration of the core philosophy and operational approach of the Veeva Business Consulting team, centered around their value of "Be Different." The presentation highlights how this principle drives their talent acquisition strategy, client engagement model, and overall impact within the highly specialized life sciences industry. The speakers emphasize that being different is fundamentally about the team they are building—one that actively seeks individuals from diverse backgrounds, experiences, and skill sets to foster unique perspectives and innovative solutions.

The consulting methodology is deeply customer-centric, prioritizing proximity and tailored support. Consultants operate under the belief that "No customer or business problem is the same," which pushes the team to constantly innovate and avoid standardized, one-size-fits-all approaches. This is reinforced by the inclusion of former Veeva customers on the consulting team, who bring firsthand knowledge of how clients wish to be supported. This unique blend of internal expertise and external perspective allows the team to provide strategic guidance that is both operationally sound and deeply empathetic to the client's needs.

A key aspect of the team culture is the immediate empowerment of new hires. Regardless of their background, previous employer, or years of experience (including those hired directly out of school with no prior consulting experience), every person is given an immediate voice. Their perspectives, suggestions, and recommendations are fully evaluated, and many are subsequently put into practice. This commitment to leveraging diverse viewpoints ensures that the team is constantly challenging conventional wisdom and finding unique ways to solve complex problems for their clients in strategy and operations. The consultant’s role is uniquely positioned to not only advise on strategy but also to witness the implementation of their recommendations, thereby realizing and demonstrating the tangible value of their work as customers leverage Veeva’s full life cycle of innovative products for the life sciences industry. The team is also built to be cross-functional and collaborative, operating effectively in a flexible, virtual environment while maintaining strong relationships with customers.

Key Takeaways: • Emphasis on Diversity for Innovation: The core consulting strategy is built upon actively recruiting individuals from vastly different backgrounds and skill sets, recognizing that this diversity is the foundation for generating unique perspectives and innovative solutions to complex life sciences business problems. • Empowerment of New Talent: Veeva's consulting culture ensures that every new hire, including those fresh out of school with no prior consulting experience, is immediately given a voice; their suggestions and recommendations are fully evaluated and often integrated into practice, fostering a dynamic and idea-driven environment. • Customer-Centric Tailored Support: The consulting approach is driven by the recognition that "No customer or business problem is the same," necessitating a close relationship with clients to provide highly customized support and strategic guidance rather than relying on standardized templates. • Leveraging Former Customer Experience: Hiring former Veeva customers provides the consulting team with an invaluable internal perspective on client needs and expectations, ensuring that the support model is designed to maximize client satisfaction and operational efficiency. • Full Life Cycle Strategic Partnership: Consultants are positioned as strategic partners who help clients with both high-level strategy and day-to-day operations, specifically within the context of optimizing the utilization of Veeva’s full suite of innovative products for the life sciences sector. • Focus on Value Realization: A critical measure of success for the consultants is the ability to witness their recommendations being brought to life by customers, thereby realizing and demonstrating the tangible, measurable value of their strategic and operational advice. • Cross-Functional Collaboration: The team structure is intentionally cross-functional and collaborative, ensuring that different ideas and perspectives are constantly merged to solve problems in a unique and holistic manner. • Flexible Work Model: The consulting team successfully maintains strong, productive relationships with customers and achieves goals while operating in a flexible, virtual environment, demonstrating that geographical flexibility does not impede high-quality service delivery.

Tools/Resources Mentioned:

• Veeva's full life cycle of innovative products (Implied platform suite for the life sciences industry).

Key Concepts:

• Be Different: A core organizational value emphasizing the importance of diverse backgrounds, unique skill sets, and non-conventional thinking to solve client challenges.
• Full Life Cycle: Refers to the comprehensive range of products and services offered by Veeva that support pharmaceutical and life sciences companies across their entire value chain, from R&D through commercialization.