Strategy vs. Plan: A Medical Affairs Dilemma

Think of strategy like a game of chess, every move, every tactic is made to achieve a clear end objective. 

Understanding the Distinction Between a Medical Strategy and a Medical Plan

So many in Medical Affairs that I speak to, don’t know the difference.  Why?  Because it is never explained. The terms get used interchangeably.  

While I can tell the difference now, it didn't start that way. I started my career in Medical Affairs midway through the year, straight into planning season. The advice I received was put  in an Advisory Board, 2 medical education meetings, look at global tactics, figure out your budget and worry about the details later.

This approach worked for creating a medical plan. So the following year, and the year after that, I used the same approach. 

Yes there were subtle variations depending on therapy area or team I was in but by and large I created tactics, had a reasonable idea what would be of use and I went with that and it worked. 

The issue was that while this approach was plugging gaps, it wasn’t building foundations.  Eventually this approach wasn’t working well enough.  

The Challenge

What I struggled with articulating was the “Why”, the underlying reason we were doing that tactic. The question - “how does it align with strategy?” made me freeze. Why? Because the difference between the two was never explained.

The Difference between a Strategy and a Plan

So what is the difference between a Medical strategy and a Medical plan? They are terms that are so often used interchangeably and yet there is a significant difference.

In planning you often have a set of tactics, you tick the box and you move on to the next one.  With a strategy it’s different. You start with the end goal in mind, then you need to carefully look at your stakeholders and the gaps between where you are and your end goal or objective.  With your strategy you make sure every tactic addresses the gaps, bring you closer to your objective.  I like to describe it as the tactics in your strategy being stepping stones, each one should bring you a step closer to achieving your objective.  If you don’t have that clear objective there is a good chance you will end up ploughing time, effort and energy into the wrong activities, not actually gaining any momentum.  

Having a Medical strategy, rather than just a plan - and they aren't mutually exclusive, means that for each tactic

- It's linked to your overall objective - where you want to get to

- You know how and where you are adding value

- You can prioritise more effectively

- You can plan more effectively

When strategy finally clicked for me, it was a light bulb moment.  I could see where everything fit and clearly explain my rationale for each and every step.  I see the same light bulbs with Medical Affairs leads clicking every time I deliver a strategy training workshop.

The Biggest Change

The biggest change with taking a strategic approach is the clarity and the impact.  The clarity are around what you are doing and why, the clarity on your prioritisation and goals.  The impact can be clearly seen by colleagues internally and the external impact is clear because you are taking the right actions building on what went before.

The Biggest Challenge

I speak to so many Medical Leads who say that they don’t have the clarity or that they don’t  know how to explain the why clearly.  In McKinseys 2018 vision for Medical Affairs published in 2025, and their subsequent publication in 2023 where they shared the updated vision for 2030 they called out medical affairs strategy as a critical pillar for Medical Affairs.  Yet despite the message that Medical Affairs needs to be a strategic cross-functional lead - there is a gap around training.  Yes, you may eventually grasp this on the job however it wasn’t until my 5th year of doing Medical planning that it really clicked for me.  I’m not alone, I hear this time and time again from those I speak to in Medical Affairs. Training a team of regional Medical Strategy leads I was told that this was the first time many, if not all, had ever received this kind of training.  Indeed one of the attendees asked if the training could be repeated with the global team.  

If Medical is to be more strategic and teams to be more effective then companies need to empower their Medical Leads by training them as early as possible to embed the right mindset.   While on the job learning is essential to embed key skills, providing teams with the foundations is critical.

This mindset needs to be embedded through your Medical Affairs career journey. After running a strategy training workshop for Regional Medical Leads across Europe a participant asked if we could run it for the global team as well. Why? Because in their many years of working in Medical Affairs none of the team had ever attended a similar training.

The Impact

Imagine if your teams focused only on the critical work, the work that really contributes to improving outcomes for patients.  The projects and activities that consistently build on the work that went before. Imagine that at the end of Q4 there was no scramble to spend budget or fight to retain it for the following year.   Imagine the impact that your Medical Affairs team delivered was clear to all.   This is possible provided you lay the foundations, you provide your teams with the core skill set to approach every plan, every tactic strategically.  

The Foundations for Successful Strategy

It is surprisingly simple when you step back.  There are core steps you need to address to move from planning to being strategic.  Those steps are the basis of our Wolf Medical Strategy framework.  

The Wolf Medical Strategy Framework outlines the key steps to create a successful strategy that delivers impact. 

At Wolf Medical we’ve trained Medical Leads on our Wolf Medical Strategy Framework in our interactive Strategy Workshops resulting in clarity in the approach they take.  A fundamental skill set that they can apply time and time again in any situation.  We’ve seen the ripple effect when they implement it the moment they go back.  It results in clarity not only for the Medical Team but for their cross functional colleagues.  Recent feedback for a Medical Strategy Lead on presenting the Medical Strategy from a commercial colleague

“Excellent ….. I like your structured approach (with measurements!) and how you are building on existing initiatives & content and focusing on adding value.”

The impact of having a clear strategy is visible not only to Medical Affairs but also to cross-functional colleagues.

Level up your Strategy!

Do you want to demonstrate impact? Do you want to elevate your strategy to the next level? We have the solution for you. Our certificate course in Medical Strategy for Impact will be starting in January 2024. Click here to register your interest and to get more details.