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Earlier this week, I met with a client in Boston -- Waltham to be more geographically specific. It was a short meeting—just 45 minutes between other obligations. As we settled in to a huddle room, I asked him a standard question: “What do you need from us right now?”
His answer was both simple and pointed: “A point of view.”
In an industry that thrives on data—clinical, commercial, behavioral—it’s tempting to believe that presenting findings is sufficient. Increasingly, it’s not. This client, like many others in today’s pharma world, is stretched thin. Time is at a premium. To paraphrase, he told me, “We’re drowning in data. What I need is someone who can look at it and tell me what it means—and what I should do with it.”
Shorter PowerPoint decks. Crisper conclusions. More synthesis. Yes. But above all: come back to me armed with a point of view.
As AI continues to accelerate the way we in pharma insights analyze and interpret vast datasets, the differentiator is no longer access to insights—it’s interpretation. AI can summarize patterns. It can recognize anomalies. But it can’t replace the human ability to interpret those patterns within a commercial, strategic context—at least not yet.
That’s where the consultant earns their keep and remains relevant. A point of view isn’t a guess; it’s a judgment. It’s shaped by experience, informed by precedent and a historical perspective (on the therapeutic category, on whether this tactic has worked in the past, etc.), and guided by a commercial compass. It says: “Here’s what I see. Here’s what I think it means. And here’s how I believe you should move forward.”
When I hear the acronym “POV,” my mind immediately jumps to GoPro videos—those immersive first-person perspectives that make the viewer feel like they’re on the mountain bike, or surfing the wave. In a way, that’s what our clients are asking of us. They want to see the terrain through our eyes. They want our angle, our vantage point. Not just a list of findings, but an interpretation through the lens of business relevance.
In pharma, biotech, medtech...this matters more than ever. Whether it’s evaluating market access risks, understanding HCP behavior, or anticipating a competitive response, clients need more than raw insights—they demand perspective. A strong POV doesn’t just interpret the data. It frames it. It brings context. It invites discussion. It proposes a path forward.
As AI democratizes access to information, the premium will be on wisdom—not just intelligence. It's almost like "negative space" -- what did doctors not say in this marketing research study that was relevant? The strategic POV is what separates a vendor from a partner. It’s what transforms a service provider into a trusted advisor.
So I’ll ask the question I’ve been asking myself all week: What is your point of view? What do you believe based on what you’ve seen, what you know, and what you’ve lived?
Because it's not just what you see in the data—it’s what you make of it that drives impact.
