Recent SA& BioPharma Portfolio Management Study Results


"While at Genentech, I selected Sides & Associates for two major organizational change projects. Their situation assessments and best practices research helped the executive team to fully understand the root causes and business implications of issues and to chose a path forward. They designed complex solutions for large, matrixed organizations and successfully facilitated the required organizational change. I found them to be highly skilled, intelligent, and easy to work with and have recommended them multiple times since."
- Amy Burroughs Nader, Head of Commercial and Business Development, APT Pharmaceuticals (former Genentech Director)

How We Work
S&A does not stop after conducting an assessment and making recommendations or even after solution design. We typically support change efforts, playing a decreasing role, through implementation and the establishment of a measurement and continuous improvement system.
Typical Project Phases


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S&A is focused on the challenges and issues related to rapid growth and organizational change. We offer the following Services:

Setting the direction for growth

  • Identify and assess new market opportunities
  • Prioritize product and project portfolios
  • Develop strategies and plans to pursue growth and new businesses
  • Conduct customer, competitive, and product value research and analysis
  • Define go-to-market strategy and positioning
  • Perform due-diligence on investment opportunities

Managing Growth

  • Increase effectiveness and efficiency of governance, decision-making, and planning/budgeting systems
  • Design scalable organization and team structures
  • Establish new capabilities
  • Improve performance of critical or problematic functions and processes
  • Create infrastructure for attracting and developing a strong talent and leadership pipeline

We're highly flexible in our delivery, and can accomodate short, single-consultant projects as well as major multi-year initiatives, carefully customizing our approach and solutioins to our clients size, culture, priorities and budgets. A list of example projects follows.

Research & Assessments have included:

  • Best practices studies in Management Decision Making, Online Marketing, and DNA Collection
  • Market assessments conducted in Venture Capital, Enterprise Software, Media and Online Gaming
  • Organizational assessments using the Pyramid of Organizational Excellence including R&D, Medical Directors, Clinical Operations, Marketing Services, and Engineering groups
  • Customer or partner value analysis conducted for Media, Technology, Retail, and Enterprise Software companies
  • Lessons learned or root cause analysis sessions conducted
    after major drug launches, tech product launches, process
    breakdowns,
    and organizational change initiatives.

Large Organizational Change Initiatives have included:

  • Design of a complete cross-functional team system (including structures, deliverables, roles, processes, training and performance management) for a 1,200-person Clinical Drug Development organization, a Pre-Clinical Drug Development group, a Technology Hardware provider, and an Internet / Media company
  • Organizational excellence initiative (including an assessment, offsites, group identity, roles, career paths, recruiting practices, performance management, onboarding, training and
    communications) to transform a critical, bottleneck function into a high-performing, model organization
  • Post-acquisition integration of a Website Analytics company
    with a Marketing Software company
  • Enable DNA banking for all Drug Development projects
  • Establish a leader development system

Smaller Scale Organizational Development Initiatives have included:

  • Process improvement in Clinical Drug Supply
  • Defined business processes for key Global Drug Development activities
  • Integration and education of Health Economics with other Drug Development departments
  • Recruiting and career path improvements for a Technology
    company
  • Provided outsourced project management services for multiple organizational change initiatives

Outsourced Marketing Services provided:

  • Filled the interim VP, Marketing position or provided a complete outsourced marketing department for companies including a Venture Capital firm, a late stage Enterprise Software company, a Professional Services firm, and an Internet / Media company
  • Developed positioning, messaging and a marketing plans based upon market research
  • Managed creation of websites, sales lead, customer relationship management sytems
  • Developed and executed programs including events, direct mail, PR, channel partner programs, sales tools, technical materials and white papers
  • Conducted ROI assessments and developed dashboards for
    tracking and management

Training Programs delivered include:

  • Management Decision Making
  • Product Development Team Systems
  • Drug Development Process & Deliverables
  • The Consulting Process
  • Project & Meeting Management
  • Interviewing