J&J’s Drug Recall Checklist

Nobody in America is more thankful for the BP oil spill than Johnson & Johnson CEO William Weldon. BP’s oil crisis deflects some of the popular media attention off J&J’s massive drug recall and the company’s ongoing manufacturing problems. The recall of over 40 J&J products in earlier this month is the 5th major recall of J&J products since the company was notified of significant contamination of its products back to late 2008.

So, far, J&J’s approach to the recalls have been typical for the company – slow and insufficient. But that’s J&J’s approach (they call it “Slow Cooking” – taking your sweet time).

J&J’s approach to this recall has been formulaic:
  • Issue a press release late on Friday and hope nobody notices (Check)
  • After massive media criticism, post an anemic defense of your company on your corporate blog (Check)
  • Give confused parents a website that doesn’t really provide any answers (Check)
  • Give confused parents a phone number to call with questions, where they get a pre-recorded message that reads them the press release or a representative that can’t answer any questions (Check)
  • Ignore media’s phone calls (Check)
  • Issue a passive letter from your CEO that doesn’t accept any accountability and says, “I have been assured that the chance of a serious medical event from the recalled products is remote.” (Check)
  • Let your CEO do a video interview on a financial website to try and restore investor confidence and thwart shareholder lawsuits (Check)
Here is what’s next for J&J:
  • Now that J&J has received it’s “invitation” to have Bill Weldon testify before Congress, it needs to give Weldon a personality transplant (or at least coaching). Ditch the confused and arrogant CEO who won’t accept any responsibility, and find one who has some empathy for the children and parents.
  • Your much-discussed “You Can Trust Us Again” advertising campaign seems insincere and misguided. J&J needs credibility, and this isn’t going to do that. Ditto for the idea of having celebrities come forward and say, “I trust McNeil products for my child.”
  • When your CEO Bill Weldon testifies before Congress on May 27, he better have real answers to the questions and he needs to be believable.

My expectations for Johnson & Johnson are low. They’ve known about their manufacturing problems for two years and done nothing. They’ve known about their credibility problem for several years and done nothing. I know J&J is “Slow Cooking,” but it shouldn’t take years for the company to behave responsibly. The company’s infamous credo which guided it through the infamous Tylenol Tampering of 1982 is nothing more than distant history.