BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a medical technology company with a strong commitment to global health and shared value, had achieved considerable success at scale through its healthcare worker safety and global health initiatives. While the spirit of shared value had been core to BD’s culture for decades, management did not have a common, collective understanding of how the company created shared value, and the practice was not widespread beyond champions of these practices within the company. In 2012, as BD sought to embed shared value more broadly and deeply across its global enterprise, its leaders identified executive education as an important enabler to building greater capacity for shared value leadership across BD’s executive and management teams.
Gary Cohen, Executive Vice President and President, Global Health and Development, Becton, Dickinson and Company
BD engaged FSG to co-develop and deliver a shared value executive education curriculum that created a stimulating and pertinent learning environment and reflected the company’s internal culture, operations, and practices.
FSG began its work with BD by exploring the state of shared value and key learning objectives. FSG consultants interviewed the company’s management committee (the equivalent of an executive committee), business leaders, and partners. They also reviewed internal documents and processes, and conducted collaborative design sessions with a cross-functional steering committee. Early findings revealed that managers needed to better understand how to plan and implement shared value initiatives and how these initiatives could contribute to BD’s future success at the enterprise level. BD’s CEO Vince Forlenza and the company’s management committee were committed to support this effort and create an environment that supported shared value creation and innovation.
As the curriculum was developed, the following 3 key questions became the basis of the course objectives:
- What is shared value at BD?
- How does BD design successful shared value initiatives?
- How could BD be even more successful as a company by applying shared value concepts?
Working closely with the client team, FSG and BD prepared a robust set of teaching and facilitation tools, including the following:
- Case narratives and simulations using BD’s initiatives and relevant examples from other companies.
- A diagnostic briefing on key elements that affected shared value opportunities at the enterprise level, which were used to inform a real-time strategy session as part of the training.
- Compelling presentations and interactive discussions led by external experts, including Professor Michael E. Porter of Harvard Business School, Professor Jane Nelson of the Kennedy School of Government, and peer practitioners from Novartis, Nestlé, and the World Health Organization, as well as others.
- Shared Value at BD diagnostic and strategic planning frameworks and templates.
- A detailed playbook for delivering the curriculum, permitting future trainings to be led in-house.
The executive education program was launched via 2 shared value training sessions within BD University, the company’s executive education facility. Attendees included BD’s senior-most executives as well as early-career associates, who were invited deliberately to stimulate multi-generational diversity in these sessions. FSG faculty delivered facilitation and content along with the BD executives who were most experienced in shared value creation. The BD leaders who attended were committed to pursuing shared value in specific areas of BD’s businesses, geographic markets, and business functions, as well as across the full enterprise.
About BD
BD is a leading medical technology company that partners with customers and stakeholders to address many of the world’s most pressing and evolving health needs. Their innovative solutions are focused on improving medication management and patient safety; supporting infection prevention practices; equipping surgical and interventional procedures; improving drug delivery; aiding anesthesiology and respiratory care; advancing cellular research and applications; enhancing the diagnosis of infectious diseases and cancers; and supporting the management of diabetes. The company has more than 45,000 associates in 50 countries who strive to fulfill their purpose of “Helping all people live healthy lives” by advancing the quality, accessibility, safety, and affordability of healthcare around the world. In 2015, BD welcomed CareFusion and its products into the BD family of solutions.
