why does this company even have its own board?

[Anonymous]

I wonder how long before they crap themselves, realizing they wont even sniff the back-half $13M that's been promised to the Board?

Maybe THEN we'll finally get some changes?!?!

 

[Anonymous]

Medical Policies are starting to happen, negative policies are being turned around , you might want to rethink your negative posts. By the end of the year there will be several policies covering TIF - then what will you post on here?

Can you mention one medical policy out West? How about one national policy?

 

[Anonymous]

I can't name a policy....but did stay at a holiday inn last night.

 

[Anonymous]

I no longer where panties to the Redmond office

 

[Anonymous]

I think that MK is wising up. The honeymoon may be over for DS.

 

[Anonymous]

Some businesses are just destined to fail no matter what, and EGS is shaping up to be one of them. The problem continues to be the Board and Senior Management making horrible decisions one after the other; not the sales force which they love to blame everything on! They will continue to hemorrhage the good people they have and alienate at every opportunity, and retain the ones that are just looking for the free-ride guarantee on quarterly commissions.

It's funny, I remember management patting themselves on the back and bragging a few short months ago about how EGS was listed in the WSJ Top 30 Venture Capital-backed companies. If you were to poll all of the employees, however, EGS would also probably rank in the Top 5 of Worst Companies to Work For!

How much did they pay to get on the WSJ list?

 

[Anonymous]

An ex-EGS sales rep here: after 20 yrs in sales, 15 in device...reimbursement is the main issue. It can't even be coded as a tool used in a nissen fundo (hybrid c'mon). getting a procedure code takes years and the company should of started the process years ago. The doc from Pitt ran from TT and the doc in Colorado never did the study...........insurance companies own healthcare and pay out the monies. Hope my buddy in FLA is still doing well, he's put his heart into the company

 

[Anonymous]

An ex-EGS sales rep here: after 20 yrs in sales, 15 in device...reimbursement is the main issue. It can't even be coded as a tool used in a nissen fundo (hybrid c'mon). getting a procedure code takes years and the company should of started the process years ago. The doc from Pitt ran from TT and the doc in Colorado never did the study...........insurance companies own healthcare and pay out the monies. Hope my buddy in FLA is still doing well, he's put his heart into the company

While getting a code is important, it's not as important as getting coverage...and those are two different actions. In the end, you have to have coverage - the code is simply a mechanism that makes payment easier. The medical device grave yard is full of companies that got their product included in a code, but the carriers and\or CMS still didn't cover it.

There's no mystery as to what needs to be done. DS and his team need to develop an effective value proposition for CMS and sell it to their contracted carriers. Get positive local carrier determinations first, then worry about getting national coverage. Commercial carriers are going to do whatever CMS does. You may get a few commercial policies w\o CMS but not enough to stem the cash burn. I don't think DS has any experience in obtaining LCDs and my guess is very few on his team do. Supportive position papers from professional organizations are nice...but they're no substitute for the ROI battle with CMS. Same with anecdotal 'evidence' from surgeons or patients. In fact, CMS doesn't really even care that much about outcomes if the price is right. They WILL kill you on outcomes if they think it will cost them too much, though.

And if there isn't a real savings in doing TIF? Put your ego aside and lower the price until it's impossible for CMS to say no.

 

[Anonymous]

I think that MK is wising up. The honeymoon may be over for DS.

Yeah, let's hope so. July 2011 sales were even worse than in 2010. Stop blaming the sales force. There are regions that are doing really well, over quota. Why don't the brains in Senior managment figure out what these guys are doing right? Then, take it nationwide.

BTW DS is not included in the any of the references to brains.

 

[Anonymous]

You can't blame the Marketing department for non-performance when you learn that the VP of Marketing got all of his experience working as an analyst on Wall Street covering medical device companies, not actually running a marketing function at companies.

 

[Anonymous]

You can't blame the Marketing department for non-performance when you learn that the VP of Marketing got all of his experience working as an analyst on Wall Street covering medical device companies, not actually running a marketing function at companies.

Exactly. It is evident now that DS has no marketing knowledge, let alone experience in managing a business or people. Do we need to list once again all the ways he has let EGS down? We are all sick and tired of hearing DS sing his own praises, tell us how busy he is, and how hard he is working all while he accomplishes exactly nothing. We have all seen through his glib talk and self promotion, none of which he would need if he only produced results.

 

[Anonymous]

Beware sales reps.
TT is on the loose again. Doesn't quite get it that he was fired. He has contacted sales reps to see if he can "help" them with sales calls with their Docs. If he calls you, call MK right away to let him know. MK has already told TT in no uncertain terms that EGS wants no part of him and that he is causing damage to the company. He already had to change the locks on the RWC office so TT couldn't get in. Don't let TT talk you into letting him interfere with your job or EGS.

 

[Anonymous]

How tall is M.D. in regulatory?

 

[Anonymous]

Beware sales reps.
TT is on the loose again. Doesn't quite get it that he was fired. He has contacted sales reps to see if he can "help" them with sales calls with their Docs. If he calls you, call MK right away to let him know. MK has already told TT in no uncertain terms that EGS wants no part of him and that he is causing damage to the company. He already had to change the locks on the RWC office so TT couldn't get in. Don't let TT talk you into letting him interfere with your job or EGS.

"helping" No. Thierry has never helped anybody. He only does anything after he has figured out how it will be to his advantage. I wonder what is the reason he wants to see EGS Docs. Clearly he's up to something. I'm curious as to what he's trying to get for himself out of this. Any ideas?

 

[Anonymous]

Beware sales reps.
TT is on the loose again. Doesn't quite get it that he was fired. He has contacted sales reps to see if he can "help" them with sales calls with their Docs. If he calls you, call MK right away to let him know. MK has already told TT in no uncertain terms that EGS wants no part of him and that he is causing damage to the company. He already had to change the locks on the RWC office so TT couldn't get in. Don't let TT talk you into letting him interfere with your job or EGS.

Maybe TT is doing some scouting for his new position as a board member for Mauna Kea Technologies.

 

[Anonymous]

Funny. Honestly does anyone believe TT is the issue? 4 posts earlier it's pointed out that sales in July '11 are lower than July '10. Then it's pointed out that sales in some regions are increasing. The issue at EGS is not reimbursement- it's Sr Sales Management. Our man in marketing is obviously out-gunned. Its true he does not have the experience to lead a reimbursement team, that is a separate issue. The real problem is that Sr Sales Management is not leading through the successes of regional performances. Sr Sales Management has put on it's Intuitive blinders and only listening to selective RM's. It's time
for Sr Marketing and Sr Sales to separate from Intuitive and Kyphon and build a business at EGS.

 

[Anonymous]

Funny. Honestly does anyone believe TT is the issue? 4 posts earlier it's pointed out that sales in July '11 are lower than July '10. Then it's pointed out that sales in some regions are increasing. The issue at EGS is not reimbursement- it's Sr Sales Management. Our man in marketing is obviously out-gunned. Its true he does not have the experience to lead a reimbursement team, that is a separate issue. The real problem is that Sr Sales Management is not leading through the successes of regional performances. Sr Sales Management has put on it's Intuitive blinders and only listening to selective RM's. It's time
for Sr Marketing and Sr Sales to separate from Intuitive and Kyphon and build a business at EGS.

Thierry always thought David S was so bright because DS just parroted what Thierry wanted to hear. DS told Thierry that the intuitive model was brilliant and that EgS should follow it. TT is gone and the model he developed doesn't work. How much longer is Mike going to give DS to hang himself? Our livelihoods are on the line, sales are slow, and we get no effective support from Sr. Sales. All the while, Corporate whistles in the wind.

 

[Anonymous]

TT loved DS because he brought "magic" to EGS. If only "magic" translated into revenues or some sort of success. Time to switch out Marketing, Mike.

 

[Anonymous]

Funny. Honestly does anyone believe TT is the issue? 4 posts earlier it's pointed out that sales in July '11 are lower than July '10. Then it's pointed out that sales in some regions are increasing. The issue at EGS is not reimbursement- it's Sr Sales Management. Our man in marketing is obviously out-gunned. Its true he does not have the experience to lead a reimbursement team, that is a separate issue. The real problem is that Sr Sales Management is not leading through the successes of regional performances. Sr Sales Management has put on it's Intuitive blinders and only listening to selective RM's. It's time
for Sr Marketing and Sr Sales to separate from Intuitive and Kyphon and build a business at EGS.

Celebrate! Celebrate!!
CM is out!
DS has been completely demoted!!
There is finally, something being done!

Thank you MK. But, we would like to see DS completely out.

 

[Anonymous]

Poor CM. He had a good run at Intuitive when he was given a structure to work in. Creating a structure from scratch that was right for EGS was a whole nother thing. He was floundering, and turned to DS to be told what to do. We all know how relying on DS's brilliance worked out - revenues are lower now than when CM joined.

It will be interesting to see how DS does running Marketing now that he is not distracted by spending all of his time running the rest of the company. With any luck, he will quickly find another company to destroy.