Success as a Marketing Head or Sales Head does not automatically prepare someone to run a pharmaceutical Business Unit. What is needed is successful transition from Functional Excellence to Business Unit Leadership
A BU Head must simultaneously think about strategy, business models, customers, brands, sales execution, technology, people, investments and cross-functional collaboration. The role demands a shift from managing a function to managing an integrated business.
BU NEXT is NextPlan's integrated business leadership development program designed specifically for the pharmaceutical industry.
The Six Dimensions of BU Leadership
1. Strategic Compass
Looking beyond the annual plan
2. Evolving Business Models
Is today's successful model ready for tomorrow?
3. Digital, Social & AI
From appreciation to business application
4. Marketing Excellence
Building stronger brands through deeper customer understanding
5. Sales Excellence
Building capabilities that convert strategy into marketplace performance
6. Business Partnership & Enablers
Breaking silos to unlock organizational capability
- PROGRAM BENEFIT
- WHO WILL BENEFIT
- PROGRAM METHODOLOGY
BU NEXT is designed for:
- Existing Business Unit / Division Heads seeking to strengthen their overall business leadership capability.
- High-Potential Marketing Leaders being considered for future BU leadership responsibilities.
- High-Potential Sales Leaders preparing to transition from sales leadership to complete business responsibility.
Ideally, organizations nominate a carefully selected cohort so that the program becomes part of their BU leadership and succession-development architecture, rather than another open training program.
At the end of BU NEXT, leaders should be better equipped to:
Think medium term — move beyond annual operating plans towards strategic business choices over 3-5 years.
Challenge the existing business model — identify where future growth may require doing things differently.
Build stronger brands — through deeper doctor, patient and caregiver insights.
Integrate Digital, Social and AI — into mainstream business and brand thinking.
Build future-ready sales capabilities — identify and systematically close capability gaps across the sales hierarchy.
Lead across organizational boundaries — leverage Finance, Medical, HR, Digital and other capabilities more effectively.
Most importantly, the program aims to enable the transition from:
“I lead Sales.” / “I lead Marketing.”
to
“I lead a Business.”
BU NEXT is designed as an application-led development journey, not a conventional classroom training program. The program is for 5 days duration which is generally split between first bucket of 2 days and second bucket of 3 days.
The methodology combines:
Concepts & Frameworks
Practical frameworks that provide structure without making the program academic.
Pharmaceutical Business Cases
Realistic situations requiring participants to make choices similar to those faced by BU Heads.
Contemporary Global Cases
Examples from pharmaceuticals, healthcare and other industries that challenge existing assumptions and expose participants to emerging business models.
Experiential Group Work
Participants analyse, debate, decide and defend their recommendations rather than passively listen.
Business Assessments
Structured assessments help participants evaluate areas such as Marketing Excellence, collaboration and sales capabilities.
Digital & AI Hands-on Applications
Participants experience how emerging technologies can support real managerial work—not merely learn about them.
Application to Own Business
Where appropriate, participants apply the frameworks to their own BU, brands, customers and teams.
Action Orientation
Each module concludes by asking:
“What does this mean for my business—and what will I do differently?”
