The Healthy Enterprise

In this episode of The Healthy Enterprise, Heath talks with Kimberly Cremers, pharmacist, executive coach, and Founder & CEO of Petrichor Medical Affairs Consulting, about her journey in the pharmaceutical industry and the evolving role of Medical Affairs. Kim shares insights on AI in drug development, her transition to consultancy, and the importance of effective communication, listening, and continuous learning in leadership. They explore the transformative power of coaching—recognizing when it’s needed, building trust, overcoming self-doubt, and embracing discomfort for growth—while also reflecting on entrepreneurship, career development, and the impact of a growth mindset on personal and professional success.

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to Kim Cremers and Her Journey
02:59 The Role of Medical Affairs in Pharma
06:00 Challenges in the Pharmaceutical Industry
09:04 The Impact of AI on Drug Development
12:00 Transitioning to Consultancy and Coaching
15:01 Executive Coaching: Challenges and Insights
17:57 Navigating Imposter Syndrome and Communication
20:58 The Importance of Listening in Leadership
22:20 The Importance of Coaching Relationships
25:01 Recognizing the Need for a Coach
26:30 Aha Moments in Personal Development
28:25 Signs It's Time for Career Coaching
30:01 Overcoming Self-Doubt in Career Changes
31:12 Embracing Discomfort for Growth
34:07 Navigating Entrepreneurial Challenges
37:43 Core Values in Coaching
41:06 The Power of a Growth Mindset

Guest Information:
  • Guest's Name: Kimberly Cremers
  • Guest's Title/Position:  Founder and CEO
  • Guest's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-cremers-petrichor/ 
  • Company / Affiliation: Petrichor Medical Affairs Consulting https://www.petrichormaconsulting.com/
  • Guest's Bio: Kimberly Cremers is the Founder and CEO of Petrichor Medical Affairs Consulting, a licensed pharmacist, Certified Executive Coach, and Medical Affairs leader with over 25 years in pharma and biotech. She helps organizations build, optimize, and scale high-performing Medical Science Liaison teams—providing strategic guidance, tactical planning, onboarding, coaching, scientific exchange materials, and support for key initiatives like advisory boards and congresses.

Takeaways:
  • Kim Cremers has over 25 years of experience in medical affairs.
  • Medical Affairs plays a crucial role in contextualizing clinical data for healthcare professionals.
  • Pharmacy students often lack awareness of career opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry.
  • The pharmaceutical industry faces challenges from geopolitical changes and regulatory environments.
  • AI has the potential to streamline drug development processes.
  • Consultancy allows Kim to focus on her passions, including teaching and coaching.
  • Executive coaching helps leaders navigate their challenges and optimize their impact.
  • Imposter syndrome affects executives, highlighting the need for supportive environments.
  • Effective listening is essential for leadership and understanding team dynamics.
  • Navigating the complexities of tech and pharma requires open-mindedness and collaboration. 
  • Coaching relationships are essential for achieving personal and professional goals.
  • Recognizing the need for a coach often comes after a period of self-reflection or feedback.
  • Aha moments can empower individuals to take action and make significant changes in their careers.
  • Signs that it's time for career coaching include feelings of dread about work or a lack of motivation.
  • Self-doubt can hinder career advancement, especially among women.
  • Embracing discomfort is crucial for personal growth and development.
  • Navigating entrepreneurial challenges requires flexibility and a willingness to learn.
  • Core values such as authenticity and integrity are vital in coaching.
  • A growth mindset allows individuals to see challenges as opportunities for growth.
  • Investing in personal development, such as reading impactful books, can lead to significant insights.


Creators and Guests

Host
Heath Fletcher
With over 30 years in creative marketing and visual storytelling, I’ve built a career on turning ideas into impact. From brand transformation to media production, podcast development, and outreach strategies, I craft compelling narratives that don’t just capture attention—they accelerate growth and drive measurable results.
Guest
Kimberly Cremers
Kimberly Cremers is a licensed pharmacist, Certified Executive Coach, and seasoned Medical Affairs leader with over 25 years in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. She has led teams across six companies and therapeutic areas, specializing in compliant, impactful scientific exchange with healthcare professionals. Kimberly brings a unique blend of strategic leadership, coaching, and humanitarian focus to every conversation.
Producer
Meghna Deshraj
Meghna Deshraj is the CEO and Founder of Bullzeye Growth Partners, a strategic consultancy that helps businesses scale sustainably and profitably. With a background spanning corporate strategy, IT, finance, and process optimization, she combines analytical rigor with creative execution to drive measurable results. Under her leadership, Bullzeye has generated over $580M in annual growth and more than $1B in client revenue, guiding organizations through large-scale integrations, business transformations, and organizational change initiatives. A Certified Six Sigma Black Belt, Meghna’s superpower lies in strategic marketing and growth consulting, helping businesses grow through innovation, efficiency, and strong, trusted partnerships.

What is The Healthy Enterprise?

Join host Heath Fletcher on The Healthy Enterprise as he explores how healthcare leaders and innovators are transforming the industry from the inside out. Whether you’re a provider, tech entrepreneur, marketing strategist, or industry executive, these conversations deliver actionable strategies, innovative solutions, and human-centered insights to help you grow, lead, and make a lasting impact.

Created and Produced by Bullzeye Global Growth Partners — Let’s build it together!

Heath Fletcher:

Hello, everyone. Welcome to the healthy enterprise podcast. Thank you for joining me again today. If this is a return visit for you and if it's your first time, then welcome. I hope you enjoy today's episode.

Heath Fletcher:

I'm gonna be talking to Kim Cremers. She's a licensed pharmacist, executive coach, facilitator, trainer, and mentor in the pharma and biotech space. With over twenty five years of experience in medical affairs, she has led teams and worked across a wide range of therapeutic areas. Kim is all about creating meaningful conversations between industry and health care professionals. And as founder and CEO at Petricor Medical Affairs Consulting, she brings a real passion for coaching and making a difference.

Heath Fletcher:

So, let's start our conversation with Kim. Hello, Kim. How are you today? Thank you for joining me for this episode. I really appreciate you being here.

Kimberly Cremers:

Thanks, Heath. I appreciate the invitation.

Heath Fletcher:

For starters, why don't you tell us a bit about yourself and your current role right now and the area of expertise that you have?

Kimberly Cremers:

Yeah. So I'm a pharmacist by training, and I've spent the bulk of my career in the pharmaceutical industry with a left turn to do some work with Doctors Without Borders in the middle of that. As a pharmacist in the pharmaceutical industry, I've spent my time on the medical side. So if you think about research and development and you focus on the development side, between development and sales, there's a very thick line. There's a group called medical affairs at the end of development that contextualizes the data from the clinical development process, and we contextualize that to make it meaningful to speak to health care professionals about our products and our diseases.

Kimberly Cremers:

That's where I spent the bulk of my career. A few years back, I decided to go out on my own and consult back into the business and work with people who are interested in careers in the industry and optimizing the impact they have through their work in the industry.

Heath Fletcher:

Okay. So your company is called PetraCore, correct?

Kimberly Cremers:

It is.

Heath Fletcher:

Tell me about that name.

Kimberly Cremers:

So I picked PetraCore because PetraCore is a smell in the forest after it rains. And when I think about that I'm an outdoors person. I love to hike. I love to be outdoors. And when I think about rain in the forest, I think about growth, fresh growth, fresh thinking.

Kimberly Cremers:

And that's what I wanted to pull into my business is no matter what the what kind of work I'm doing, it's really about reassessing, maybe taking some different approaches to things through a fresh look, a fresh lens into the way the work is being done or the the way that you're approaching your work or the work that you're doing fundamentally.

Heath Fletcher:

I didn't know that's what that was called. I didn't even know that had a name. The smell after rain in the forest is called Petricor. I did not know that.

Kimberly Cremers:

Yeah. Maybe it was risky to name my business that, but I do spend a lot of time describing what Petricor is. So thanks for the question.

Heath Fletcher:

Actually, that's a really good thing because that gives you an opportunity to they'll never forget. I'll never forget your business name now. So and every time I walk through the forest and the rain, I will think of your business. So there you go.

Kimberly Cremers:

Mission accomplished.

Heath Fletcher:

There you go. So okay. So excellent. And now who are your clients? Like, who do you work with on a on a daily basis?

Kimberly Cremers:

The great thing about being a consultant is there are a variety of clients that I work with. So right now, I'm teaching and facilitating conversations and coaching with pharmaceutical leaders taking a Harvard Medical School executive education course. So that's been a lot of fun facilitating the content that's developed by Harvard and having great discussions with these leaders about how indeed they can apply that information, challenges that they're facing within the organization related to that information, and certainly in the geopolitical environment that we're in, it's a complex time.

Heath Fletcher:

Yeah. No kidding.

Kimberly Cremers:

Yeah. I also like to work with pharmacy students. You know, a lot of when you think of a pharmacist, you think of the retail setting, you think of maybe being in the hospital and talking to a pharmacist at that point of your health care. But there's a lot of work that is done to bring medications to to the market through the pharmaceutical industry. And what I find is that students in graduate school aren't aware of the various career opportunities that are in the pharmaceutical industry.

Kimberly Cremers:

So I really like talking to students about this opportunity. And even if they're not interested in in working in the pharmaceutical industry, the classes that I have over the semester, they learn where drugs come from. And I think as a pharmacist, it's really important to have good solid confidence in the the medications, the way they were developed, the data that's generated, and then to better understand how we can help our patients.

Heath Fletcher:

Is that a big question? Where do drugs come from?

Kimberly Cremers:

It can be a bit of a question. It's really I've interesting to

Heath Fletcher:

never actually thought of that question. Where do drugs come from?

Kimberly Cremers:

It is a complex process. And what I find is that because perhaps the media picks up on the negative things that happen in the industry, that people lose confidence in the amount of work and energy that's put into bringing a drug to market, tend to focus on the cost of a drug Yeah. Perhaps more so than the value that a drug can bring to our patients, and value is a much bigger question and point than just the cost of that drug. So it's fun to debunk any myths that perhaps the pharmacy students have regarding the industry and that we're the big bad big bad wolf, if you will. And they leave the class better understanding, again, where drugs come from, the complexity of bringing it to market, the how we work with the FDA throughout the process.

Kimberly Cremers:

So it's a lot of fun to see them have moments about the process and then gain more confidence again as a pharmacist if that's what they chose to do is to go into a practice to work with those medications and and be able to describe the safety and the efficacy trials that brought that drug to market.

Heath Fletcher:

Yeah. That's important. So that's I mean, pharmacists are typically, they face the patients, and they speak their frontline. They speak to the patients. They they speak to the end user and often have to field a lot of questions, I would imagine.

Heath Fletcher:

So and you actually spent some time in that role too early on in your career.

Kimberly Cremers:

I did. I worked as a clinical pharmacist in a hospital, so a pharmacist that would round with doctors, discussing therapies, side effects, ways to manage side effects. I say that the pharmacists that are working frontline retail are really the warriors of our industry. They get so many questions. They work with such a large volume.

Kimberly Cremers:

I've never I've never had that job as as a practicing pharmacist, and I think they have a lot of courage, and I really respect that part of the profession because they are at the front lines.

Heath Fletcher:

What are you finding to be some of the biggest challenges right now in your industry?

Kimberly Cremers:

That's a good question. I think there are sort of big ones and there are small ones. The geopolitical environment, a lot of changes at the CDC and the FDA and research dollars, I think those are really impacting not only academia, but the industry, as well as just our environment in general. I think on a smaller scale, you know, things some simple things like working remotely. How do you engage your team?

Kimberly Cremers:

How do you lead your team on a remote environment? Spent about half my career working remotely prior to the pandemic because I had a territory or I was managing a territory or a region of the country with a lot of individuals. And so I think really digging deeper on our leadership skills, recognizing maybe where we need to optimize our work. I don't wanna say improve. I just wanna say optimize our our teamwork and our leadership skills.

Kimberly Cremers:

I think that is a a pretty big challenge right now.

Heath Fletcher:

Yeah. That I imagine that would be. What other areas are you seeing that need more improvement? And how can you do that, do you think?

Kimberly Cremers:

Yeah. So I think one of the challenges that we have is efficiency. It takes a lot of time to bring a drug to market. So how can we use AI? And that's a big question mark.

Kimberly Cremers:

Right? How can we bring our drugs to market faster with using AI and optimizing the use with and, again, humans are not going away. I think humans oversight and critical thinking is really important to any work that we do with AI. But, you know, how can we get medications identified or molecules or assets that are valuable identified sooner? That will decrease cost, and that will help our health care environment environment in general, the health care ecosystem.

Kimberly Cremers:

You know, how can we get information out accurate, readable, understandable information out to our physicians, our health care providers, our nurses, our pharmacists, and our patients in a meaningful way that provides them enough of what they need to know without overwhelming them and using a language that's meaningful to those various audiences. And I think AI can help us with that.

Heath Fletcher:

Is there AI happening in that at that phase yet in regulatory or FDA?

Kimberly Cremers:

I think we're Are they putting

Heath Fletcher:

actually utilizing AI right now?

Kimberly Cremers:

Yeah. I think we're putting our toe in the water in that. I think when I talk to the executive leaders through the program that I work with with Harvard, they're each in a different place. We don't have strong regulations around it yet. Patient data and patient confidentiality is so important, that confidence, that trust that they have with us.

Kimberly Cremers:

So and true informed consent. We need to make sure that patients know how their data is gonna be used. And so with that said, AI can be managed in a small way, I think, right now, and I see companies and people using it different ways. But the couple examples I gave are ways that we are definitely focusing on in the industry.

Heath Fletcher:

You at at some point in your career, you chose to go independent, start your own consultancy. At what point did you do that? And did you what what was the motivation? What what kind of inspired you to do that? Did you always think you had this entrepreneurial spirit in you?

Kimberly Cremers:

Absolutely not. I never thought I'd be an entrepreneur. Not at all.

Heath Fletcher:

Thanks for being honest.

Kimberly Cremers:

Oh, I'm honest to a fault, I think. No. So I never thought I'd be out on my own, but I did take a deep breath and decided that I wanted to spend time doing the things that I love to do. One of them is volunteering, helping others. And so I was able to, take a deep breath, spend some time traveling, which is really important to me.

Kimberly Cremers:

All of those travel experiences, living abroad, working with Doctors Without Borders, working in the pharmaceutical industry with lots of different types of individuals and lots of different settings has has really made me appreciate sort of the humanness that we each have. And so being out on my own as a consultant, it's allowed me to do things that I really like to do. I get to teach at a couple different universities. I get to teach with Harvard. I get to I'm a coach now, an executive coach, which is really invigorating to see people have their moment, have a conversation, reflect on what they're most interested in doing, how they're gonna approach a conversation.

Kimberly Cremers:

And then on the other side of that conversation, seeing the success based on the discussion that we had or the approach that the individual came up with after me asking them some provocative questions. So I really I just I have the opportunity to do what I like to do, and and I'm enjoying that a lot.

Heath Fletcher:

Alright. Let's talk about the executive coach thing too because it's it's fun to actually get close to an executive and and give them an opportunity to open up, isn't it? And and because, you know, they don't always have those opportunities or maybe feel like they're in a safe space to do that. Is that right?

Kimberly Cremers:

Yeah. No. That's it's so important to to build that trust and have a safe space. It's really interesting. Mentoring that we often think about is when you're working with somebody who has experience in your space and can Right.

Kimberly Cremers:

Can say, oh, I ran into that problem. Let me help you through it, or this is how I handle it.

Heath Fletcher:

There's a relatability Yes. Thing. Right? Yeah.

Kimberly Cremers:

Yeah. So you really need someone who's in your space. What's different with a coach, and almost better if the coach isn't in your space, is that they're not coming in as an expert. They don't know how to end the story. Right.

Kimberly Cremers:

They're asking provocative questions that helps you reflect on the context because, of course, as as an individual, you know so much more about the context than the coach ever would. So asking provocative questions, setting goals, making strides towards those goals, holding you accountable for those goals, But we're not as a coach, we're not setting those goals. We're providing a framework for you to consider what good looks like and how you could get there.

Heath Fletcher:

And give me an idea of some of the some of the challenges that executives are facing right now. And are you are you mainly speaking with executives in health care and pharmacy?

Kimberly Cremers:

Yeah. So I would say that's true. The people that are that I'm working with as coaches are at all different levels within the pharmaceutical industry. I think my favorite individuals are those that either want to become a leader. So often you hear, well, you've never managed before.

Kimberly Cremers:

You can't manage. Okay. Well, let's work on that. How how do I solve that problem? Right?

Kimberly Cremers:

So people that want to be leaders and manage people and perhaps how they can use their current role as an influencer across and negotiating across with other teams, we all have leadership responsibilities in all of our roles for sure. And then leaders that are new in their role, I think those individuals are so passionate about what they want. They're willing to invest the time and the energy and the reflection to determine maybe how they can optimize or how they should approach situation or could approach a situation, and with a coach helping them gain clarity and confidence about the approach that they've determined. I think the we're in a time when people are expecting different things out of work now than maybe they were five years ago, maybe ten years ago. And so as a leader, I think it's more challenging to meet everyone's expectations and to deliver in a meaningful way to each individual and not in just a this is the approach I'm gonna take, hope you like it kind of a situation.

Kimberly Cremers:

I think a coach can help you get to that individualized approach.

Heath Fletcher:

Yeah. Rather than a blanket approach. Yeah. More more specific. So what kinds of things give a little insight on doing what kind of what kind of major challenges do some executives approach you about and how and and how do you dive into that?

Heath Fletcher:

How do you kind of open that up?

Kimberly Cremers:

Yeah, so I've talked to a couple of people recently that were looking at career changes and considering

Heath Fletcher:

That would be a big one, yeah.

Kimberly Cremers:

Yeah, right? What do I want to really do? Do I want to go out on my own? As we just discussed, I did. How can I make the biggest impact in a meaningful way?

Kimberly Cremers:

I think I like to think that people get to work in the morning and really wanna have an impact, and they really wanna make a difference. I work with individuals that are have a responsibility to make a difference for patients. And so sometimes you get bogged down in the red tape or the process and don't feel that direct impact of your work. And so often people are at a crossroads. Do I continue to go where I'm going?

Kimberly Cremers:

Do I need to switch functions perhaps? Or do I wanna take a leadership role where I can feel like I have a more broad impact on patients? Or do I just wanna take all the experiences that I gained over the years that I've worked in the pharmaceutical industry and take them out on my own and really focus like I have on the things that I enjoy doing.

Heath Fletcher:

That's great. That's really good. And that component is part of PetraCore, that business coaching?

Kimberly Cremers:

It is. Business coaching? Yeah. Yeah. PetraCore kind of has a a broad umbrella, but all of it ties into mentoring and coaching, whether that's, again, the students, executive leaders.

Kimberly Cremers:

I also work with a group that I'm their medical consultant in a in a tech company. They have great tools, but it's also interesting to understand the difference between sort of the regulations within pharma and other industries. And so I kinda bring them back to reality as to what we can and can't do and how we can and can approach that work.

Heath Fletcher:

Oh, so you know how to speak tech.

Kimberly Cremers:

Well, I'm learning, isn't it? Oh, isn't it evolution, right? And the tech changes so quickly, I've got to be on my So they're great. They're patient with me and use small words when they're outlining the technology that they're doing.

Heath Fletcher:

Well, I bet you have your own big words that you can throw on the table too that they can't even pronounce probably.

Kimberly Cremers:

And we all have our own acronyms and sometimes the same acronym means something very different in a different space. That's always So a need have

Heath Fletcher:

in medicine? Yeah. Oh, that's interesting.

Kimberly Cremers:

Yeah, absolutely.

Heath Fletcher:

What's your favorite part of that? The tech? Is it just sort of getting to know what kind of innovation is happening out there?

Kimberly Cremers:

I think it's really humbling. I don't know what I don't know. And I think over the years, I've learned that, I might know a lot about what I know, but there are there are so many layers to this world that I really don't know anything about. I go to a tax guy for my taxes. I go to a financial guy for my finances, leaving it in the hands of professionals.

Kimberly Cremers:

Right? So asking the right questions, understanding what their end goal is, and then navigating there together, respecting that we each have a different expertise that we're bringing to the table has been a lot of fun.

Heath Fletcher:

So is that this was that something you went out and looked for, or is that something that someone came to you and said, hey, Kim, would you be interested in doing this?

Kimberly Cremers:

Yeah. I would say I found it. I think I think I'm really just trying to be super open minded to where my skills can provide value. And so I think I applied to an opportunity that I saw on LinkedIn, and somehow they hired me. Even though I'm not a tech person, then perhaps that's the value I bring is I am so far away from tech that they thought that would make the end user experience better.

Heath Fletcher:

Well, I think that's what you mean even going back to your talking about your coaching with executives is that sometimes we just need a contrasting perspective. Right? From our, you know, we have an issue or a problem to solve, and we need a solution. And and and having someone with the similar the similar insight may not give us an a a much of a varied response or a varied opinion about it. So having somebody who has completely removed can come in and objectively objectively ask a question, that maybe they've never even thought of.

Kimberly Cremers:

I think what you're describing is sort of seeing the forest through the trees. Right? You're so in it. Your head is so far down into this problem. And everybody you're talking to's head is into the problem, too.

Kimberly Cremers:

Whereas when you're talking to a coach, we don't know the dynamics. We only know what you've told us. And even that's it's really about you contemplating and working through and reflecting on questions. Because as an outsider, we may ask what we think to be a basic question that unlocks the key to the moment that helps you determine the path forward. So it's actually quite interesting.

Heath Fletcher:

Mhmm. Yeah. That would be. And I love that you used the forest analogy again, helping them see the forest for the trees. And then at the end, they get to experience the lovely smell of rain after the cleanse of a forest in the forest.

Kimberly Cremers:

And see the growth that occurs once that happens.

Heath Fletcher:

There you go. Well thought through brand brand expression there.

Kimberly Cremers:

I love it. I love it. You know, one of the other things I'm gonna just say that I find I find executives struggling with right now is really even executives struggle with the impostor syndrome a bit Oh. As well as being dismissed in meetings. Like and I'm not gonna even say it's women versus men.

Kimberly Cremers:

It's just it seems to be that people have ideas. And so often, we're moving so fast, and people don't acknowledge or consider the idea. And one of the things I'm trying to do personally is just slow down a bit because I make more mistakes, whatever that looks like, when I move fast. Whereas when I slow down and really take a time to listen to what someone said, to consider why they said it. It's it's just very interesting.

Kimberly Cremers:

So as I'm navigating with executives, it surprises me that they struggle being heard and feeling like they're bringing an outcome to the table and that they're performing at the level they want to perform at. Very interesting.

Heath Fletcher:

Do you think that in that world and sometimes there's a lot there's well, most times, there's a lot of pressure at some of those tables. There's a lot of there's a lot of expectations and demands. And so living kind of in a state of alert kind of removes our ability to kind of re view things in that, like you just said, that quiet, thoughtful moment where you can you feel like you have the time to actually hear what someone is saying. And like you said, consider why they're saying it or why they're asking that. Like, I that's a really good point.

Heath Fletcher:

I don't know if a lot of people really take that beat, you know, to say, why is that person asking me this question?

Kimberly Cremers:

What's the question the question, right?

Heath Fletcher:

Yeah, exactly.

Kimberly Cremers:

Yeah. I work with a great executive coach who I've known for many years. And he talks about weight. Like, why am I talking? You know, these two ears, one mouth, right?

Kimberly Cremers:

Like, why listening. And that's one of the great values of having a coach is they're dedicated. They're very present during that conversation, and allows you to slow down and have the conversation and sort of investigate whatever this issue or this challenge or whatever's bugging you, if you will, in a in a devoted amount of time. That time could be thirty minutes. That time for some coaches an hour and a half, but it's this routine engagement that lets you develop this trusting relationship and bring whether that's a big lofty goal of I wanna be CEO in a year, how am I working towards that?

Kimberly Cremers:

Or I've got this really big meeting tomorrow, and I need to pinch hit and and address the issues that whatever the issue is. Can you help me prepare for that? So it can be a short term short term goal or a longer term goal, but it's that trusted relationship that helps you get to where you wanna be.

Heath Fletcher:

That's interesting. Glad you said that because, yeah, I was gonna ask you, when does a person know, you know, they're they need a coach? Like, when does that what is the moment that says to them, I'm not doing I can't do this. I need some help, and I gotta go ask somebody. Do you have you had any sort of insight as to when that moment actually occurs, or is it at a moment of crisis?

Heath Fletcher:

Is it the 911 call, or what is it?

Kimberly Cremers:

Yeah. It's a very interesting question. I want to say you know when you know, but I think you probably know after you needed the coach. I think it's an investment to have a coach, and maybe your company is willing to make that investment for you. But it's a small investment when it comes to your salary and the importance of making an impact in the work that you do, or potentially losing your position because of maybe taking a misstep, right?

Kimberly Cremers:

So when do they know? I would say maybe it's a suggestion by some. Sometimes a three sixty, you know, evaluation with your peers, your management, and the p and your subordinates identify that maybe you're sort of missing the mark. Maybe performance evaluation that indicates that maybe you're not delivering the results that are needed. And maybe it's just a self reflection, which I don't know that we do enough.

Kimberly Cremers:

Just take a step back instead of saying, oh, it's because of the environment I'm in, or how am I contributing to that? Because I think we can all optimize optimize our approach, and we can to our friends and our spouses. But we tend to lean to the people who think the way we think. So maybe a coach, when you start to do that and you see you're not getting the results that you want, that's when to talk to a coach and make that that time available.

Heath Fletcher:

Maybe there's a little bit of hesitant too in the sense that it might come with some stigma or, like, I can't handle this role or, you know, reveals a weakness.

Kimberly Cremers:

Nobody needs to know. You can just have this trusted relationship with Confidence. Your

Heath Fletcher:

Confidence between the two. Right?

Kimberly Cremers:

Yeah. And I I would just, also wanna clarify that coaching isn't therapy. You know, there's a place and time for that. And those are professionals that have different training and can provide amazing value. And I might even argue everybody should have a therapist.

Kimberly Cremers:

But, you know, that's perhaps another conversation, not my expertise by any stretch. But having a mentor and networking and having a coach is so important to Mhmm. Your career trajectory. You never know who you're gonna talk to on a plane or through a LinkedIn connection or through a friend of a friend that has the perfect job that you didn't even know existed.

Heath Fletcher:

Mhmm. Oh, good point. That's a really good point. Because that particularly for somebody who is actually thinking of a career change. Mhmm.

Kimberly Cremers:

Well, and when I look at what your goal is, you want to deliver actionable strategies, innovative solutions, and human centered insights to help you grow, lead, and make a lasting impact. And what better defines that than understanding what your value is, where you can have an impact, what is the right environment for you to thrive, and just not survive. We spend way too much work at or much time at work to just survive. We we should be thriving. That should be our goal.

Heath Fletcher:

Yeah. Unfortunately, we all spend way too much time in survival mode.

Kimberly Cremers:

Yeah. And I don't

Heath Fletcher:

think that's enough. More of a state therapist.

Kimberly Cremers:

If our health care system could accommodate that, wouldn't that be ideal?

Heath Fletcher:

Yeah. No kidding. Alright. That's interesting. I don't know why I get I get am very interested in the coaching aspect.

Heath Fletcher:

It's very interesting. So what other what other areas of your work do you like to spend a lot of time on?

Kimberly Cremers:

That's a good question. I I think it's the moments. Right? And helping people find that moment or can and making those connections. So I can give examples of where, you know, one coaching session, somebody's like, I just I never thought of it that way.

Kimberly Cremers:

I am I am so empowered to go into work tomorrow to have that conversation. You know, personal development, when you're, you know, in pharma, I'm not gonna say we force people to do personal development, but it's a very much a big expectation for each individual. And it's so fun to work with an individual who wants maybe that next role or wants two roles past that, wants your job, wants your boss's boss's job, whatever that is. But to see them develop a plan, move towards that plan, and see the success of their actions and their work and the investment. It's also very valuable to find out when someone doesn't want the job that they thought they wanted because of reflection conversations, coffees with individuals that work in that role and then see that, oh, that wasn't what I thought it was.

Kimberly Cremers:

Maybe I should go a different direction. And that's that's just as valuable.

Heath Fletcher:

Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. Are there the what are the I mean, are there certain signs that some people should or could be aware of where they're maybe it's time to start considering, you know, when you're talking about coaching, but you're also talking about career coaching Yeah. As well.

Heath Fletcher:

Right? Because you can kinda define your coaching into different categories. But when someone's got is there signs or symptoms when it should be well, maybe you need to start looking at another career. Because sometimes we kind of are blinded by our own. Well, I can't I can't get another job.

Heath Fletcher:

This is where I'm at. I've I've capped out, but I'm gonna stick that out because I've only got, you know, eight years left, and I'm gonna retire. But, you know, is there a point where it's like, yeah, there's any time. You can make it a change anytime, but is there a sign or symptoms where maybe, you know, a person should be looking at some career coaching?

Kimberly Cremers:

That's interesting. I was talking to a leader this morning who was talking about when he would look at his phone at night and see the phone ring or see a text message come in, and he was like, ugh, I don't want to answer that. And then he was talking about when he would get ready for work in the morning and go, ugh, I don't want to go to work today. This isn't going to be fun.

Heath Fletcher:

Science.

Kimberly Cremers:

And that was his sign that maybe he had he had stayed in the job too long, and it was time to reassess where he was and where he wanted to be.

Heath Fletcher:

And at that stage, you were able to kinda help them help that person make the right decisions and give them a bit of a process as to how to make that exit happen and move on to the next thing, that's that's cool. That'd be great, very valuable for some people.

Kimberly Cremers:

And I think it's that confidence that we talked about. Right? Can I find a new job? Can I find a job at the level I want? Do I have the skills to stretch?

Kimberly Cremers:

I think there's studies out there that say men are more willing to apply to a job that they could stretch to, whereas women doubt themselves in applying to jobs that may not they might not meet they only meet nine out the 10 criteria, and they're not willing or not able to see how they could evolve in the other criteria for the job. Lack of self confidence. So I do think that plays a part into career changes as well. But I think being open minded and just understanding that we're bringing value in our own special way. I can give an example.

Kimberly Cremers:

I really like to volunteer. It's been something I've done all my life. And I was working at a pharmaceutical company and decide and because of my volunteering, I decided to volunteer as a pharmacist into Doctors Without Borders. I didn't know how to be a pharmacist for Doctors Without Borders. I certainly got some training.

Kimberly Cremers:

I, you know, I was predicting medication needs for six months from now or nine months from now when there would be a monsoon. And now we're in a drought, so what medications might look different when there's a monsoon versus a drought. So you think malaria, you think stagnant water, you think of respiratory tract infections. Right. And all of those things that you're thinking about for a country you've never been to.

Kimberly Cremers:

So taking that leap and taking that risk and having confidence that it's gonna work out and that you've got the skills to navigate and the critical thinking that it's gonna take to navigate a completely new environment, we can all do it. Mhmm. We're just getting a little uncomfortable is where you thrive and where you grow the most.

Heath Fletcher:

Yeah. That discomfort area. That's where, you know, we don't wanna go, but it's really where we grow.

Kimberly Cremers:

Absolutely.

Heath Fletcher:

And we fire new neurons. We we create new experiences, and we have and and we see more about ourselves than we possibly imagined.

Kimberly Cremers:

Sounds like you're speaking from experience.

Heath Fletcher:

Yes. You you never know what you're capable of until you're presented with the challenge that forces you to find things about yourself that you've never you've never seen and and put it into action. So

Kimberly Cremers:

Whether you wanted to or not.

Heath Fletcher:

Yeah. Exactly. You said something earlier about it was connected to that. It was like being able to recognize or see something when it's apparent to you, but it's not obvious. And you know it exists, but it's not obvious.

Heath Fletcher:

And it takes somebody to come along and go, but what about this? And as soon as someone actually points it out, you're it's kind of like, wow. Yeah. You're right. I've been thinking about that, and I've seen that, but I I I needed a bit of a push.

Kimberly Cremers:

I can give a great example of that. One of the students in the pharmacy grad school class I was teaching talked about dropping out of pharmacy school. He had said, I'm not really moved to work clinically, either in retail or a hospital setting. I really like big data. And I was like, fantastic.

Kimberly Cremers:

Big data, pharma. And he works at the FDA now. He graduated successfully with his, his doctor of pharmacy degree. And he works at the FDA. Who's better suited to handle big data than a pharmacist who loves big data?

Kimberly Cremers:

Now would that be my skill? Probably not. Leave it in the hands of the professionals. Right? But, you know, it's when someone says someone is vulnerable enough to say, I don't know where I fit and have those conversations, network, talk to friends, talk to friends' friends, You know, use your network.

Kimberly Cremers:

Risk a conversation. Risk reaching out to someone on LinkedIn. Mhmm. And then folks on LinkedIn, risk the answering those questions. Thirty minutes of your day, you probably can do that.

Kimberly Cremers:

But ask the questions, and you'd be surprised how great those answers are and that you just might find something that really helps you thrive in your career again rather than surviving. And what a mistake it would have been for that individual to leave pharmacy school after a couple years when you know, where would he go? He didn't know what to do next. So Right.

Heath Fletcher:

I think

Kimberly Cremers:

it was a great conversation. I appreciated his vulnerability with bringing his concerns forward.

Heath Fletcher:

Yeah. Absolutely. So you help executives coach them through their through their challenges. How about you? You're a freelancer now, and you're on your own you're on your own company.

Heath Fletcher:

It comes with its own challenges. What have you what have you been presented with as far as challenges, and how did you overcome those?

Kimberly Cremers:

That's a a great question. So I've never started a business before, and I am all about using resources that are available to me. Listening, I I really list worked on my listening. Right? So when somebody gives me a piece of advice, use this type of system for, I don't know, bills or or invoices, use use these resources like SCORE is great for starting new businesses.

Kimberly Cremers:

You know, being open minded about, well, I don't know. I don't know much about tech, but let me see. I I know a lot about medical. Let me see if I can provide them advice. So sort of saying yes.

Kimberly Cremers:

I know that's probably a cliche at this point, but just, you know what? I can learn new things. And and this coaching, formally getting certified to do this is a new adventure for me, an investment, in myself and something I've really, really enjoyed, and it just makes so much sense. So I think leaning on my resources, saying yes, taking risks, and just being okay that some things aren't gonna work and other things well. And one of the, I think, most important things about my entire career, whether it's Doctors Without Borders or starting a new business, is about being flexible.

Kimberly Cremers:

You don't know what's around the corner. And if I had written down what I thought I'd be doing on June in June 2025, it probably wouldn't be what I'm doing today. But at the end of the day, I'm really enjoying what I'm doing. And I'm taking advantage of the time I have off to enjoy the things I enjoy doing in my free time, like being outside or other volunteer activities.

Heath Fletcher:

That's great. It's and is there someone that you turn to when you kinda hit a wall and go, what do I what do I do about this? Is there do you have a mentor that you work with?

Kimberly Cremers:

I do. I do have an executive coach mentor that I've known for more than twenty years. And he's a great friend, but a great confidant and a coach. And he he seems to know me really well. And he's offered a lot of ideas on things that he thinks I would thrive in.

Kimberly Cremers:

And and in one case, it didn't work. In another case, it's been great. So, it's, you know, after a little investment of time, it's it's just really fun to navigate somewhere that you never thought you'd be before, which for me is being an entrepreneur. So I really like it. I really like it.

Kimberly Cremers:

It affords me the opportunity, again, to do some volunteering that I do. I do respite care for kiddos, and that allows me working part time allows me to leave space in my world to help the little ones when they need a few days of a safe home.

Heath Fletcher:

Oh, wow. That's nice. Yeah. That's great. Did what what was it about coaching specifically that attracted you?

Heath Fletcher:

What was it about the the about you and your values and and your character that drew you to that?

Kimberly Cremers:

I think it was very unnatural progression. So I've done a lot of training over the years in the pharmaceutical industry. I've led teams. I've mentored people. And when it was recommended by my friend to look into coaching, it just fell into place.

Kimberly Cremers:

It just made so much sense. It feels like it was always there, but learn formally learning the framework and the process and how to help individuals meet their goals, have an impact or a bigger impact in their work or their life, their personal or their professional life. It's just been a lot of fun. I would say it's not something I would have designed again, but it fell into place very naturally.

Heath Fletcher:

You said this earlier that one of your values is, you know, making the world a better place. Right? And, you know, I think you even said it's a bit of a cliche, but that is kind of a the core of your belief is that you wanna do things to help people and ultimately make their world a better place. And and in in a reflection, it'll make the entire world a better place. So do you you kind of that is a really strong value for you, isn't it?

Kimberly Cremers:

It is. It's one of my core values, authenticity, integrity, communication, even the tough stuff has to be communicated. But there's nothing more fulfilling to me than seeing someone having a conversation with someone and them having the moment that I am enough, that I can do this, that I know exactly how I'm going to approach this. It was all in my head. You just, you know, help me with those provocative questions, find the path forward.

Kimberly Cremers:

That that there's nothing better than that. You know, that's energizing for days to come. And it's just had some of those conversations over the last few days. And I can't tell you I just fly high when when I hear that somebody has learned something about themselves through a conversation just by listening and really being present to what they're sharing.

Heath Fletcher:

Well, I can see it. I'm already inspired myself. So I think I need to hire you as my coach.

Kimberly Cremers:

Very good, Heath. Let's sign up.

Heath Fletcher:

Okay.

Kimberly Cremers:

But you know, when you name your company, PetraCore, and you're talking about growth and fresh thinking, you sort of have to grow and think freshly, right? Yeah, absolutely. So holding myself to that standard.

Heath Fletcher:

Yeah, that's no, that's really good. Did you and you came up with the name on your own the brand and everything?

Kimberly Cremers:

I did. I think it was a Facebook meme where I saw what Petracore meant. And I was like, that means so much to me. And when you're naming a business, you spend a lot of time contemplating. I'm gonna use my name.

Kimberly Cremers:

Am I gonna use my space?

Heath Fletcher:

Oh, you can get obsessed about that for sure.

Kimberly Cremers:

It can be. I came up with a couple ideas, but I kept coming back to back to Petracor. Even though long a long word and hard to spell and people aren't familiar with it. It does start conversation, but it also fits well with me, my personality and where I wanted go with my business and and help the world.

Heath Fletcher:

Now, you do a bit of speaking too. I

Kimberly Cremers:

do. I enjoy sharing what I know with others. And I like the smaller environment, sort of a classroom when they have to be there. Right? Right.

Kimberly Cremers:

Or but yeah, I do and I enjoy speaking as well.

Heath Fletcher:

That's great. That's really great. And how do people find you if they're looking to find a coach or get you to do some speaking or even take on any of your other services that you offer? How are they supposed to reach you?

Kimberly Cremers:

The easiest way to find me is Petricor MA, which is medicalaffairsconsulting.com. So Petricor MA Consulting. There's a contact form there. I think my phone number is there too, if anybody wants to reach out.

Heath Fletcher:

And of course, on LinkedIn.

Kimberly Cremers:

Of course on LinkedIn.

Heath Fletcher:

Well, is there anything else you want to leave us with? Any final thoughts? Any resources to share? Anything we haven't covered that you want to chat about?

Kimberly Cremers:

Yeah. You know what I'm going say is coaching can be expensive, and maybe it's not an investment that people are ready to make right now. Or perhaps if their company isn't able to sponsor them. One of the books I read in the last year that I thought was really meaningful was Growth Mindset by Carol Dweck. I don't make commission on it, so I'm not trying to sell her book.

Kimberly Cremers:

But it's really I've

Heath Fletcher:

read it.

Kimberly Cremers:

Have you read it?

Heath Fletcher:

I've read it.

Kimberly Cremers:

Loved it.

Heath Fletcher:

It's brilliant.

Kimberly Cremers:

It's and it's so simple. And your sentences with yet. You know, I'm never gonna play in the NBA, I'm okay with that. Like, perhaps that's a fixed mindset that I have. So the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset.

Kimberly Cremers:

But, I'm not good. I'm not an optimal coach yet. Right? Like, I can be better at this. I need to practice, and I'm not good at something yet.

Kimberly Cremers:

And Right. Adding that to the end of a sentence is so freeing and liberating to try anything new. I just I was really moved by that book last year and I think that's some of the reasons I've had the success that I have over the past year with my work.

Heath Fletcher:

Yeah. I read it earlier this year, I think too. And it was just for me, it was like taking that not not containing myself within the structures of the words I say, you know, and kind of busting that box open and going, yeah. Why would I limit myself by saying this phrase or this sentence just like you said, adding adding adding yet. I forgot about that one, but that's what my takeaway was, like, I I can I I would contain myself in my with my words, which are basically rooted in our beliefs?

Heath Fletcher:

So amazing. Yeah. It was a great book. That's cool. You wrote read that too.

Kimberly Cremers:

Yeah. It's great that you feel the same way about it. When I look at the examples of the people who she demonstrates has a fixed mindset versus a growth mindset, think, which group do I wanna play with? Like, which group do I wanna be in? And this is the Michael Jordan, Oprah Winfrey group that, you know, finds obstacles.

Kimberly Cremers:

Like, you know, again, I think the best success story is Michael Jordan. He didn't make his team. Right? And so he went back out and practiced more. And then we all we all know who that story ended.

Kimberly Cremers:

And, you know, amazing basketball player. And so when I look at demonstrated behavior, the person the people I wanna play with have a growth mindset. So I'm glad you were moved by that book too.

Heath Fletcher:

Yeah. Me too. I like playing with those people too. Well It's a fun sandbox.

Kimberly Cremers:

It is a fun sandbox to play in, isn't it?

Heath Fletcher:

Well, awesome. Thank you so much Kim for joining me today on this episode. I think you provided a lot of value to people who hopefully are looking to get some coaching done, and I think you're gonna give them a lot of insight. So thank you for joining me today. I really appreciate your time.

Kimberly Cremers:

Great. Thank you so much for the invitation and the conversation.

Heath Fletcher:

Okay. So from Kim's journey as a pharmacist to coach and consultant, she shared the power of fresh thinking and how embracing that growth mindset can really lead to transformation, whether it's navigating impostor syndrome, which we're all too familiar with, adapting to change, or finding those moments. Her insight reminded me of that personal growth and professional success really go hand in hand. Maybe it's your time for coaching. Maybe it's my time for coaching.

Heath Fletcher:

We'll see. Thank you for joining me today, and, please stay healthy, and we'll see you next time.