Walking the Walk - A retrospective
Part of what often gets lost in the business and human rights debate is that there are corporations where the firm is actually keen to be responsible for preventing human rights abuses when they can. These companies usually start with strong leadership at the top that sets the tone for what is acceptable and what isn’t.
I remember as a little girl watching the Tylenol murder incident (where people were poisoned with cyanide placed into Tylenol). I specifically remembered the CEO, James Burke, speaking on television and accepting full responsibility for what happened. Thirty years later this still sticks with me.
The interview below (with Spanish subtitles for anyone who prefers that) is with Burke. In it, Burke discusses the qualities of Johnson and Johnson’s culture and how it led to the action they took when the Tylenol incident occurred. For people like me, who look to business for leadership on human rights issues, Burke’s comments are encouraging.
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Although the world was a different place in 1982, the comments made by Burke regarding ethics and his opinion that business is like a relationship with a significant other, it is built on trust and once that trust is broken the relationship is also broken. I also believe that you cannot separate individual behavior from corporate behavior, they go hand in hand.
Burke’s trust in the media is a unique thing among senior leadership. He trusted that with the public safety in question that the media would do “behave extremely well”, which in the case of Johnson & Johnson, they did. Media has also changed in the last 30 years, with those changes we are seeing a much more proactive approach to all events. I wonder if the decisions made by Burke and J&J in 1982 would have been possible with all of the social media and constant live coverage of today’s world? Would there have been more pressure to act quickly and with cautious regard? Could that have caused a misstep by Burke or other leaders?
The Credo challenge absolutely instilled the words and beliefs into the culture. By ensuring that the managers were an active part in providing input and guidance for recommended changes, Burke forced them to challenge their own values. I imagine that the cascaded message to employees from these managers was passionate because they were now a part of the thread which the credo was created.
By taking (3) measures for safety following the poisonings in Chicago, Tylenol proved to their customers and stakeholders that they were serious about protecting everyone who purchased Tylenol. One safety measure would have not portrayed the same image and would have appeared to be an act to cover the mistake, instead of a heartfelt action to prevent it from ever happening again.
The second act that showed the conviction of Burke was the statement that they were not going to pass the cost of the safety measures to consumers, but to bear it internally because it was the right thing to do.
Leaders of organizations large and small should study the actions and words of Mr. Burke to take these same principles and values to their own companies.
I remember this incident and thought it was the end of Tylenol. Being young at the time all I could think of is how was I going to go through life with headaches and fevers without this medicine! James Burke summed up why they’re still around: “We didn’t make any bad decisions”. That can only be said in hindsight which turned out well for them. I’m not sure how sincere or strategic their efforts were, but their emphasis on their Credo and that their relationships are built on trust and through those beliefs and directives they act ethically definitely created a culture that has worked well for their organization.
What a lesson we can learn from Burke’s reactions with challenging the Credo and how he handled the Tylenol incident. First, looking at the Credo for Johnson & Johnson. What president is concerned enough with a vision of a company to actually challenge it. That takes a major initiative to gather all of your CEO’s together to come up with a better vision for the company to live by or rip it off the walls. CEO’s are supposed to abide by the mission or code of ethics of a company, but none seem to take the time to go through theirs line by line and make it better; and then to continue to challenge it with all of their employees. I think this showed great pride in the company to make it better and make it something that all current and future employees could really be vested in.
Looking at the Tylenol incident in 1982. Burke again took matters into his own hands and immediately called for the entire product to be removed from the shelves. Not only from Chicago, but globally. He did this not knowing if the bad Tylenol was a one-time incident or a plant malfunction. His primary concern was for the consumer. This showed the consumers that Tylenol was concerned their customer’s well-being. The company immediately redesigned all of the product bottles so that it had 3 tamper resistant protections for the consumer’s safety. They did this without raising prices or trying to recover any financial loss from the consumer. I think these successful moves is what saved Tylenol from financial ruin. If they had left the product on the shelves and another person was injured or died because of the product, they would have gone out of business instantly. Because Burke made sure that he kept the trust of the consumer as a #1 priority, he won them back when he made the right decisions and business moves that impacted their needs.
I remember the Tylenol incident; I don’t remember the interviews done by Burke. After listening to the interviews, I was very impressed. Burke seems very sincere in reflecting that the company was honest and wanted to do what was right. Burke stepped up to the plate and did not hold anything back. He was not afraid to let the media tell his story and he relied upon them to get the word out to the public, he said they did a good job and got it all right. He was guided by his childhood teaching and Johnson & Johnson ethics. He took it serious to uphold the Credo of the company, he challenged the values, and he challenged the credo. He wanted to do what was best for the business and felt they needed to arrive at was important to the world and what were the most important human right issues. He saw the Credo as the great map to success. When the Tylenol incident took place, immediate action was taken, no more capsules, and two separate seals were on the cap of the bottle made the medicine more secure. Johnson & Johnson and Burke acted responsibility. The public was served first as he wanted. More companies need to act with responsibility and honesty.
The Credo – code of ethics – were believed and lived by the people managing Johnson and Johnson.
This made it easy to continue to serve the needs of the company and the people. It allows business people to do thing better and for the future security of the business.
It was the “Greatest map” towards success Burke could think of. It helped him to manage the crisis of the 1982 Tylenol deaths. He acted for the betterment of his customers at the cost of profits and possible legal actions.
I particularly agree with the management team challenging their credo. Management needs to challenge each and every day what is the best course of action for the customers and the business. A code of ethics helps everyone to live and speak the same language. It allows for appropriate and consistent behaviors across departments and locations.
Great video. Aspiring managers should watch and learn from this example.
Hats off to Johnson & Johnson’s CEO James Burke and managers to believe in their company’s ethical values, so that when confronted with an ethical dilemma (to pull contaminated Tylenol and withdrawing the drug from the market would cost the company millions of dollars). They consistently followed the credo’s rules when making business decisions. It has happened almost 31 years and it is very good ethical lesson for everyone (especially for business leaders). I think that is the reason why J&J regained its status as leader in the painkiller market and has increased market share and regarded as being a highly ethical company.
As a customer I personally feel safe and confident to shop JJ’s products as knowing that they care of about customers and not just making money.
The process of globalization and other global developments over the past decades have seen non-state actors such as transnational corporations and other business play an increasingly important role both internationally, but also at the national and local levels. The growing reach and impact of business enterprises have given rise to a debate about the roles and responsibilities of such actors with regard to human rights.
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The process of globalization and other global developments over the past decades have seen non-state actors such as transnational corporations and other business play an increasingly important role both internationally, but also at the national and local levels. The growing reach and impact of business enterprises have given rise to a debate about the roles and responsibilities of such actors with regard to human rights.
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