The Thrill of Defeat

LaMattina, the chief of worldwide R&D, believes the task force has already helped R&D leaders to rebalance the company's portfolio between high-risk efforts like the antidiabetes program and safer bets, such as a next-generation Lipitor. But he warns that it will take another five years to determine whether there's a major, sustained difference in the survivability of Pfizer's compounds. And even then, Pfizer and the rest of Big Pharma will still be stuck with the same brutal model, since they're at a loss to come up with a better way. "We just love spending hundreds of millions of dollars on every new medicine we develop," Hutson says with a heavy dose of sarcasm. "Don't you think that if we knew how to produce drugs cheaper and faster, we'd do it?"

Of course, there is an alternative model: that of the smaller, nimbler biotechnology companies, which focus narrowly on a few promising areas of research. But John Niblack, for one, rejects that approach. "If the biotech formula is so successful, why has it produced so few innovations?" he asks. The one way to improve your chances of a breakthrough, he suggests, is Big Pharma's equivalent of a human-wave attack, in which hundreds of project teams operate simultaneously in multiple therapeutic areas. Only very few giants like Pfizer can absorb the losses of such an effort--and still continue to invest in the program year after year.

And so how does one judge the diabetes effort? With no marketable drug after decades of trying, is it time to call the program a failure? Niblack is unsparing. "We've learned a lot about diabetes complications and about how to run complex clinical trials, and perhaps that knowledge will serve us well in other areas," he says. "But the pharmaceutical industry is not in the business of publishing white papers. Our job is to invent important new medications that are needed by patients and that pay off for us and our shareholders. Judged by that standard, the program is a failure."

Oates doesn't see it that way, and neither does Hutson. In those inevitable dark moments, when all of the hard work seems futile, Oates recalls a remark that's been attributed to another irrepressible warrior, Winston Churchill: "Success consists of moving from failure to failure without losing heart." The program is progressing and so is the science--and that, in itself, constitutes a victory. Just as time and crushing pressure can transform carbon into diamond, the weight of vast amounts of money and the passage of decades at Pfizer's Groton Labs have turned what most of us might see as failure into something much brighter.

Sidebar: Forged in Failure: How Nancy Hutson helps her team succeed

How does Hutson keep the troops going when they're fighting unbelievable odds? Here, in the words of Richard Leider, Hutson's executive coach, is her plan for leading a high-stakes, big-risk enterprise.

Offer support
Nancy's personal mission statement--"To help others succeed"-- is the summation of her deepest talents, passions, and values. She established an active commitment to mentoring, and changed performance reviews to focus on strengths. When people are realizing their full potential, they are far better able to persist through setbacks and defeats.

Put people first
She had many of the interior walls painted in pastels; she put a Starbucks in the main building; she moved her leadership team into open and accessible quarters. She was signaling, even in small ways, that people come first at Groton.

Celebrate small victories
When a researcher publishes a paper, it's communicated throughout the organization. When a lab gets some positive results on a new therapy, the news is announced in a sitewide forum.

Instill leadership
She's spreading her leadership philosophy of bringing out people's full potential. Her message: "Despite the inevitable setbacks, we are doing important work. We are engaged in a common purpose; if we pull together, we will succeed."

Bill Breen is Fast Company's Northeast bureau chief.