These national vaccine meetings in recent years have turned more and more into what feels like cult like indoctrination sessions that you would see in Scientology. If I start seeing DCO's, CTL's and former S3's dressed like Navy Officers ready to "process the sales reps during breakout sessions" I am fleeing for the airport. Let the koolaid chugging, nonstop hand clapping like we are in a North Korean political rally and the overblown fake enthusiasm for Merck begin in Anaheim, CA!
What are you going to bitch about when you must go to the Gardasil 13 meeting? Man just go and enjoy the food and beverages and the night at the park.
If you approach these meetings with a positive mindset they can be fun. Enjoy the change of pace and chance to connect with colleagues face-to-face. From a business perspective I do wonder if large meetings have outlived their usefulness. The cost and lost productivity would seem to be a concern during our current climate of cost containment. Could these resources be better utilized elsewhere? Oh well, the decision has been made so lets enjoy the trip.
I've despised every Merck meeting I've ever attended. Fake smiles, fake people and a company that doesn't give a crap about you.
We do not care about you that is correct. You have exactly one more chance to sell this vaccine, fail and you are history!
Me too....some things never change so it's up to you to effect the change...how much is this time of your life worth?
great post…After recently watching the HBO documentary on Scientology, I couldn't help see the many similarities in the tactics of fear that are used by Merck and those used by the Dianetics folks…The only difference is that one organization wants you to stay, and one wants you to leave. (Merck) The brainwashing and fear is all the same though…The many controlled by the few…The Groupthink mentality…(which is so prevalent at Merck.) Merck is a very scary place to work unless you are in the click and enjoy playing the politics…If you are an outsider, you will not last long at the current Merck… FU MERCK!
For the most part, the meeting has been ok. The HPV stories from survivors, family members who lost someone to HPV and doctors was compelling. However, the nutcase DCO's and CTL's pressuring reps to come up with the perfect compelling story for our providers in the workshops was ridiculous.
When it came to the selling workshops, TL was about as palatable at mouth cancer. He complained that the reps didn't do a good enough job of putting together a perfect selling detail so he forced his districts to work on their details some more during the district breakouts on the last day of the meeting. He's such a petty control freak who can't practice what he preaches because he certainly doesn't detail very well during customer visits.
Listening to those songs live with a band was nauseating. It was at that point the meeting turned into some female empowerment rally. I saw a lot of management trying to force reps to stand up and dance during that end of the meeting jam session. I was waiting for the hotel staff to pass out massive quantities of koolaid next. So embarrassing.