27 Apr Ep 25 “Be Obsessed with the Journey not the Outcome” – Joe Mullings
As any leader knows, your business is only as good as your team. Nowhere is that truer than in medical technology’s intersection of science, engineering, manufacturing, and compliance. Hiring the right people will set your business on a course for success — finding those people when you need them is the challenge.
That’s why Fortune 500 and startups alike turn to The Mullings Group. For over three decades, TMG has provided recruiting services to the medtech, healthtech, and biotech industries.
But TMG goes beyond recruiting. The company has an educational mission to serve industry professionals through LinkedIn and other learning platforms. TMG’s media production arm covers industry news, showcases innovative employers, and guides professionals through the recruiting process.
In Episode 25, Andy Rogers of Key Tech talks with Joe Mullings — Founder, Chairman, and CEO of The Mullings Group — about building teams and Joe’s perspective on the medical technology industry.
Need to know
Be obsessed with the journey, not the outcome — Planting flags focuses your team on temporary milestones rather than where your company should be going next.
Digital health success is not about the patient — Patients can’t benefit from your product if hospitals can’t justify the purchase. You need to provide hospitals the direct evidence they need to get reimbursed.
Keep the platform simple — Get the highest fidelity data that delivers what the surgeon really wants at the lowest cost.
Bring in the service providers — They’ve seen the train wrecks and all the things that you don’t know can go wrong. Even if you don’t want to hear it, they can tell you what you’ve missed.
The nitty-gritty
Companies entering new markets or developing new technologies rely on TMG to find the people they need. That places TMG at the forefront of emerging trends in the medical technology industry. As a result, Joe brought a unique perspective to the podcast.
In particular, he sees a clear difference between established “analog” firms and a new generation of “digital native” growth companies. These new players are not defending existing business lines, so they are free to challenge assumptions and adopt innovative technologies. This fresh mindset makes digital natives more effective than their larger competitors.
For example, digital natives better understand the nature of modern research and development. In the past, Joe explains, most of a company’s R&D spend went into product development, validation, and FDA approvals. Today, getting to approval accounts for as little as one-fourth of the product’s total R&D spend. Like Tesla pushing updates to its customers’ cars, successful medical technology companies must constantly improve the performance and capabilities of products they’ve already sold.
Joe sees opportunities for established firms, especially the large strategics, to take advantage of this digital native mindset. Cultural differences block internal efforts. But by becoming aggregators of smaller firms, they can foster agile, talented digital native startups and get to market faster.
For more of Joe Mullings’ insights about the industry, his approach to team building, and TMG’s innovative use of media, check out the full video here:
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