Edition 59: You can't win a race that never ends.

You're running a race. You don't know how far it is. There are no mile markers. No finish line in sight. Do you:

A) Sprint full speed and hope for the best
B) Slow down because why bother
C) Stop at mile 3, sit on the curb, and question all your life choices
D) All of the above, depending on the day

If you picked D, congratulations. You work in Medical Affairs.

This past Monday was the Boston Marathon. 26.2 miles. Over 30,000 runners. And every single one of them knew exactly how far they had to go.

That's kind of the whole point.

You train differently for a 5K than a marathon. You pace differently. You fuel differently. You mentally prepare differently.

Now imagine someone said: "Just start running. We'll tell you when to stop. Maybe."

You'd look at them like they lost their mind.

But that is exactly what happens in Medical Affairs more often than anyone wants to admit.

The Certification Problem No One Talks About

Sarah was working with a new MSL this week. Smart. Motivated. Doing everything asked of her.

She asked one question:

"What does 'passing' look like for your new MSL certification?"

Silence.

Not because the MSL didn't care. Because no one had ever told her.

No "here's what you need to know, here's how we'll assess it, and here's when you're certified."

Just… keep going. Keep studying. Keep presenting. And hope someone eventually says you're ready.

That's like telling a marathon runner: "Just keep running until we feel like you've gone far enough."

 → No pace strategy
 → No mile markers
 → No finish line

And we wonder why people burn out or disengage.

This is a systems problem. And it's fixable.

If your team doesn't have a clear, structured certification process for new MSLs, that's the gap to close. Your MSLs aren't unmotivated. They just don't know where the finish line is.

We wrote about this exact issue and what a strong certification process actually looks like:

 What Is MSL Field Certification?

Crucial Conversations: Relationships Are a Marathon Too

We just wrapped up a team training on crucial conversations. And this theme kept showing up there too.

When you don't know where the conversation is going, or what the goal even is, things go sideways. Fast.

Think about it like this:

 → You wouldn't run a marathon without knowing the route
 → You wouldn't skip your water stations
 → You definitely wouldn't sprint Heartbreak Hill without a plan

But that's what happens when MSLs walk into tough KOL conversations, cross-functional disagreements, or internal alignment discussions without clarity on the outcome they're driving toward.

The runners who finish Boston strong? They know when to push, when to hold back, and when to save energy for the hills.

Same thing with crucial conversations.

→ Know your goal before you start talking 

→ Pace yourself. Don't dump everything at once 

→ Save energy for the hard parts (because they're coming)

Pace. Yourself.

If your team could use training on navigating these kinds of conversations, we have a Crucial Conversations Workshop designed specifically for Medical Affairs teams.

Reply CRUCIAL and we'll send you the details.

New MSLs: RISE Was Built for Your First Miles

If you're a new MSL, the first year can feel like someone dropped you at the starting line of a marathon you didn't train for.

Everyone around you looks like they know what they're doing. You're Googling acronyms during meetings. And nobody handed you a training plan.

That's exactly why RISE exists.

RISE is our community for new MSLs who are finding their confidence, their voice, and their rhythm. Think of it as your running crew for the first miles of your MSL career.

 → You don't have to figure it out alone
 → You don't have to pretend you know things you don't
 → You just need people who've run this route before

 Learn more about RISE

Mira Prompt: Find Your Finish Line

One of the biggest problems we see? People working hard without knowing what "done" looks like. Whether it's a certification, a territory goal, a KOL engagement plan, or a tough conversation, clarity on the endpoint changes everything.

Head to Mira and try this:

"Act as a strategic Medical Affairs coach. I'm working on [INSERT: certification for a new product / building a KOL engagement plan / preparing for a difficult conversation / other goal]. Help me define what 'done' looks like by answering: What are the 3-5 specific, measurable milestones I should hit? What does success look like at each stage? And what's the clearest way to know I've crossed the finish line? Keep it practical and specific to Medical Affairs."

Because you can't pace yourself if you don't know the distance.

And you can't celebrate the finish if no one ever drew the line.

TL;DR

 
→ You can't run the race if you don't know the distance
 → MSL certification needs a clear finish line (most teams don't have one)
 → Crucial conversations need a destination too, not just good intentions
 → New MSLs: join RISE so you're not running alone
 → Use this week's Mira prompt to define what "done" actually looks like

Every runner in Boston on Monday knew their distance. Your MSLs deserve the same clarity.

Now lace up. You've got this.

In your corner always,
Patrina, Sarah, Ralph, & Jess

P.S. The top runners in the US 1/2 Marathon Championships in March accidentally took a wrong turn. They were the fastest but because they cross the RIGHT finish line, it didn't count. Has that happened to you in your career?

• On-Demand Workshop | From Nerves to Narrative: Build a Scientific Presentation That Wins the MSL Interview (For Aspiring MSLs who want a clear, step-by-step system to create a compelling scientific presentation that stands out) with Sarah & Patrina
• On-Demand Workshop | 3 Ways to Build Executive Presence When Presenting Data (For MSLs who want to present data with confidence, avoid over-explaining, and drive more impactful conversations) with Sarah & Patrina