Anderson Credits "Nuance and Intuition" for NACDS' Success on Pharmacy, Front-End Issues

PRESS RELEASE

April 27, 2014, Scottsdale, Ariz. — National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) President and CEO Steven C. Anderson, IOM, CAE, today credited the engagement of NACDS chain and associate members for the Association’s ability to manage complex issues with “nuanced and intuitive” leadership.

Anderson delivered his remarks during today’s NACDS Annual Meeting Business Program.

“I’m asked many times, ‘What makes an association successful?’” Anderson said. “My answer is nuance and intuition. And it’s the people of NACDS — the Board, the chain and associate members and the staff – who help to create the nuance and intuition of NACDS.”

Anderson described the characteristics of “intuitive leadership,” including experience, wisdom, efficient execution, collaboration among individuals and situational awareness. He said that these traits help effective associations identify emerging trends, opportunities and threats, and “see them five years into the future.”

He described ways in which NACDS has leveraged pharmacy’s emergence as a “disruptive innovator” — improving the accessibility, quality and affordability of healthcare delivery. He described pharmacy’s role in assisting patients during the transition to exchange-based insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as an example of the justified trust the industry has earned among patients and government officials.

Anderson also noted the ever-growing attention to the benefits of retail clinics, the introduction of legislation to establish pharmacists as healthcare providers under Medicare Part B, and the campaign to position pharmacy appropriately as “the face of neighborhood healthcare.”

“Pharmacy should have bipartisan appeal,” he said. “You provide market-based solutions for healthcare — and for health and wellness. There isn’t anybody closer to the patient than the pharmacist.”

After describing an array of current and potential future issues that demand NACDS’ focus, Anderson described the importance of applying the characteristics of nuanced and intuitive leadership to the complex business, political and policy environments.

“Looking back over the past several years, we see many examples of why we do what we do — why industry leaders come together within NACDS, to advance a common cause; why we engage with our government; why you collaborate on business objectives; in short, why you care, and why you pursue the value that NACDS adds to your company,” Anderson said.

He emphasized the importance of engagement in NACDS by diverse companies. “The reality is that the line between ‘patient’ and ‘consumer’ is non-existent,” Anderson said. “The same person who needs a healthcare solution through a pharmaceutical product or an over-the-counter product might also need to solve ‘What’s for dinner?’ They may need a birthday card for a loved one, and they may want the countless other consumer goods that you provide. The to-do lists and the shopping lists on every refrigerator and on every smartphone in America symbolize the pharmacy and front-end opportunities presented by our response to the major health policy issues of the day.”

Anderson also took the opportunity to recognize the highly successful term of Bob Narveson, president and CEO of Thrifty White Pharmacy, as chairman of the Board of NACDS.

“I want to congratulate and celebrate Bob Narveson,” Anderson said. “His remarks this morning were truly ‘Narvesonian.’ Let’s define ‘Narvesonian’ this way: ideal servant leadership, humble confidence, and compassionate strength. And that style makes him an amazing and effective leader.”

Today’s Business Program also featured remarks by Narveson; keynote speaker Peter H. Diamandis, chairman and CEO, X PRIZE Foundation; and Jack Bailey, senior vice president, policy, payers, and vaccines, GlaxoSmithKline, which supported this morning’s NACDS Annual Meeting Business Program. Similarly, Caitlin Pappas, vice president, U.S. consumer sales, Johnson & Johnson Family of Consumer Companies, is supporting and will speak at Tuesday morning’s NACDS Annual Meeting Business Program.