Name: Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky on Leading Through the Next Decade
Uploaded: 2019-11-18
Duration: 12 min 13 s
Description: What does it take to lead a company as the complex forces of automation, globalization, and climate change upend the traditional business landscape?

[ APPLAUSE ] Thank you. There you are. Alex, thank you so much for being with us. I know there was a death in your family that prevented you from being here in person. And we're all very sorry about that but glad you went to the extra effort to join us by video. Well, Alan, thank you very much. First of all for having me there this morning. As you just pointed out, I really wish I could have been there in person. But due to an unexpected death in the family and the services this weekend, combined actually with the recent passing of Bernard Tyson, it just reminds us of the importance of the work that we're doing at Johnson To help people live longer and healthier and happier lives, but I appreciate you allowing me to Skype in like that. So look for the conversation. Yeah, it's great to have you here. There's been some conversation here in Paris today about the Business Round table statement of purpose and I'd like to start there because you really drove that. Process at the Business Roundtable as head of the Governance Committee, and I think the question that someone was asking earlier today is, what were you what was the goal there? What were you trying to accomplish? Well, look, I'm I'm very proud of the work is this roundtable did together to come out with the revised statement of some corporations in the United States. And look at the high level. Alan. I think as we were going the strategic planning process at the Business Roundtable and with the executive committee, one of the notice was that the statement of purpose was utilized by the business, frankly, which we were sometime probably fairly criticized on Had not been [ INAUDIBLE ] Since the late 1990s. And it had a particular focus on ensuring the primacy of the share holder and as we were thinking more broadly about the overall agenda for the BRT We felt that while in many ways in the past, we had thought that there was an implicit statement about other stakeholders on statement that appear on our website, that in fact, words do count and they matter and that it was more important to make it very explicit. And frankly be more representative of how CEOs today think about decision making and running their companies. But were you trying to send a message to business that they really need to step up, act differently, think differently about impact on society in order to meet the pressures from employees, etc .? Well, I think one thing we are trying to, again be more explicit how we fell. Many companies were in fact running their businesses today thinking about other stakeholders, such as employees, about communities about the environment, as well as, ultimately that our shareholders as well. But we also felt that by making this kind of a statement hopefully, it would also inform many others that in fact, that truly was the purpose of business and help raise the bar. So overall we think it's a real move in a positive direction. Alex Johnson and Johnson has a history of caring about customers. It's in your credo there's the famous Tylenol case where the first sign of have a problem you pulled everything off the shelves. But lately you guys have really been getting pummeled with some. Some jury judgments against you both for opioids and also for baby powder. Can you talk about why that happened and what you've learned from it? Sure. What I would say is first of all, we do have over 130 year history of helping people live longer and healthier and happier lives and We've got a strong commitment about safety and quality and everything that we do, you know, guided by our credo which in many ways is one of the first statements of Corporate Social Responsibility done more than 75 years ago by the son of our founder. And what I can tell you is it's as live today is is or as it was 75 years ago. We do love an environment. I believe where large companies in particular, and especially those in healthcare, I think, clearly have got a transparency that's required. And look what we're proud of the track record been able to establish by making sure take care of patients. If they're ever incident, our best to resolve that in a manner that's good for all stakeholders. At the same time, we know that it's important that when frankly some of the headlines aren't consistent with what we feel the underlying data of sciences, some circumstances, but it's important to take a stand. Allen, we ensured that we do on ultimately helping our patients but even last week, while [ UNKNOWN ] some of the issues that you mentioned, we're launching a poll of vaccine into the ERC as well as a trial for an HIV vaccine. Africa as well. So again, I think ultimately those are the most important things we can do to ensure everything we do has high quality. I say the same time innovating, keep bringing about important changes for pace. I think the part of the problem as you well know is the businesses operating in an environment of heightened cynicism. Distrust. And so things like those jury judgments get grabbed onto and used to undercut what you were trying to do in the Business Roundtable statement. I mean, how do you advise your colleagues, many of whom are sitting here in this room to deal with the level of mistrust that business faces? Just today .>> Well, you're right. And I think that's why it's so incumbent upon us as business leaders to first ensure that we are absolutely transparent that to a great extent possible can be. Even in this these situations, Johnson, Johnson, one of the things we tried to do is make sure that we're providing information 24 seven. To the people can get access to and, frankly come to their own conclusions, again versus what, you may experience in India and I think that that's important for all business leaders to be doing. Next. It's important to be engaging. It's important to be make sure you're telling your story and, and by the way, I think that can only be in situations in response. But there's got to be an ongoing dialogue that you have with all of your stakeholders to ensure they're aware of what you're doing, particularly in some of these other areas such as job creation of just the environment, where they may not have like, same understanding Yep. Let's talk a little bit about technology and what it's doing at Johnson and Johnson. We have the CEO of Novartis on the stage a little bit earlier, talking about some of the changes that machine learning AI gene editing, promise for the future. What are you looking at that seems most promising these days? Look, I think technology as we know it today, particularly some of the areas that you just mentioned, Alan, areas such as AI machine learning, cloud sensing, frankly data science. I think it's touching every area of health care. And over the next several years, over the next several decades I think its impact will be equites and significant. So let me give you a few examples. Yeah, I think please some of those you just mentioned that I'm sure we're been talking about earlier at the conference about, you know, how we're understanding fundamental biology, pathophysiology of disease in a very different way. Now, it bringing things like new cell base there We're actually ramming your body cells able to either in some cases up regulate your system down regulate it, to bring about cures, treatment. Other areas for us digital surgery, many of the same technologies just in your car today that help guide you not to stay in your lane versus the one next to you. Help tell you where to go BS system are being used today. And we're certainly building that into the next generation for surgical procedure. In one area that we're really I think excited about the future is how do we get to some of these disease states much earlier in the process we know for example, but Chance or on call, Alzheimer's disease or cardio vascular, that all too often disease is way too late [ INAUDIBLE ] and we note to detect them earlier. Sometimes even a clinical manifestation of a symptom, That our probability of success is much higher than being able to make a significant difference for that patient. So, and I think again that whether there it's amassing the data to bring out these kind of predictive analytics, whether it's robotics or digital are actually giving us capabilities to implement something Those are just so if I think the fundamental change the foot right now in health care that we're only going to see Excel expected. And how quickly should we expect those kinds of changes? I mean, what do you think the speed of change speed of improvement in healthcare over the next decade will be like compared to the last decade. Well, I think some are coming actually, as we speak today, for example, cell based therapies. We're working on our own party, as I know other companies are and will see that going. There are others though, you're going to see more of an incremental approach and I think it's important particularly in healthcare, to make sure that we're learning And we're building those improvements into these systems on an ongoing basis. But again, I think the overall shape of that over the next decade, it's only going to accelerate one. Yeah, let me we've got a lot of people interested in health care here in the audience. Let me just ask if there's anybody who has a question for Mr. Gorski Or a comment I can't see that well, but any other questions? Alex, I thank you for for taking the time here. I wonder if there's one last bit of wisdom you'd like to share with the the your fellow CEOs Here in Paris .>> Sure, Alan, again, thank you for being enabling me to Skype in like this, given the circumstances, but look what I would tell them. I truly believe this is an incredibly exciting time. Regarding all the potential changes that connect technology can bring to our business at the same time. I think is so important for us to always remember and never forget is the human element. Whether it's how we apply AI to privacy, how we apply this kind of AI to healthcare. Let's never forget that ultimately there's some there's a patient in the middle of this, sometimes be our family members. And that we ensure that we build these new capabilities in a way that remembers the human element in everything that we do. Yeah, we were talking about that a little earlier, I mean it is the irony of the current situation that the promise of technology is so great but some of the perils are fairly great as well. And walking that line isn't an easy thing to do. Exactly and I think that look, this next generation will be watching. The expectations will be high and if we truly want to be able to harness this for what's best for you might say, humankind, We've got to do it with a lot of empathy and with people with patients at the center. Yeah. Well, thank you so much for joining us today. We're sorry you couldn't be here in person, but we appreciate the time with you by video. Thank you. Thank you for understanding Alan. Have a great day, everybody. [ APPLAUSE ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ]

Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky on Leading Through the Next Decade

Leadership

What does it take to lead a company as the complex forces of automation, globalization, and climate change upend the traditional business landscape?