James E. Burke as a Leader

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Leadership is inferred to mean a person who influences the decisions and tasks that a certain group of people undertake. He or she uses skills they possess to change the way a group of individuals act or think (Maxwell, 2006, 2). This means that the people are able to look up to such an individual and derive inspiration and direction from the same. This is the kind of person James E. Burke was and continues to be.

James was born in 1925 in Rutland, Vermont and had a classical American, small town childhood (Shames, 2002, 166). His father was a well to do insurance salesman who taught him his business ethics that formed the base of his career path. His sister, Phyllis Davis in an interview, revealed that their mother was creative and the father was strict (Prokesch, 1986). However, despite having a strict parenthood, James lived a carefree life hardly made it into and through his college life.

However, during his college stay at the Holy Cross College, he was exposed to religious philosophy and ethic that deepened his moral foundation. After his college life, he joined the navy during the Second World War and thereafter went on to Harvard business school.

After business school, he started out as a soap salesman at Procter and Gamble transferring later to Johnson & Johnson in 1953 (Prokesch, 1986). His creativity and astute business mind saw him rise through the ranks to finally end up at the helm of the organization from 1976-1986 (Shames, 2002, 167). He saw the company through two major crises and on retirement became the president of the Partnership of a Drug-Free America (Harvard Alumni, 2009).

The life of this great CEO has many lessons to offer. The first of the lessons that comes overwhelmingly is his commitment to ethics, even in the course of business. The many business trends today seem to assert that the pursuit of ethics compromises the financial well being of the company. James however states, “To me, the old saw is correct, that doing good is good business.” Through his responsible handling of the two Tylenol capsule poisoning crises the profitability of the company was restored and in fact the respect of the company was greatly improved (Harvard, 2009). His decision was not easy as it involved great financial implications.

The cost of a recall meant that the company was not only going to suffer bad image as a result of the poisoning, but it was also going to suffer financial strain as a result of the same. Despite the costs, he did the moral thing. Even in his junior years as a salesman at P&G, he established that ethics still was profitable and was able to convince the management to change their sales tactics as a result (Shames, 2002, 168). At the end of the day, he teaches us that good and transparent business practices still reflect positively on the balance sheets. In his own words, “A company credo that put customers first and shareholders last ultimately benefited both groups.”

However, he also shows that being ethical does not mean being uncreative and static in business. In his own life, he showed that his ethics did not prevent him from venturing into new and innovative products. On the contrary, he ended up being the Product Director. His drive to see the innovation and continual progression of Johnson and Johnson, not as only an ethical brand, but also as a productive business enterprise almost caused him to quit. His commitment to excellence saw him hand in his resignation in 1954, only to be taken back to take up the position of Product Director (Shames, 2002, 168).

It was at his suggestion that the controversial drug, Tylenol, became an over-the-counter drug, ending up dominating the market and showing that this was a financially viable project. In fact, he oversaw the development of the capsule into a more convenient to swallow shape (Prokesch, 1986). Furthermore, he positioned the company to take advantage of new products such as wrinkle skin products and disposable contact lenses (Guzzardi, 1990). He therefore showed that innovation and aggressive business expansions can still be kept within the check of ethics.

Most great leaders endure periods of failure and difficulty. Burke was no exception. In his drive to expand Johnson & Johnson’s product base, he failed in making some of the over the counter children’s drugs viable in the 1950’s. General Johnson, Burke’s boss and mentor at the time told him that, “business is all about making decisions, and you don’t make decisions without making mistakes. Don’t make that mistake again, but please be sure you make others.” (Harvard, 2009)

His big test was the drug poisoning scandal which he handled with honesty and decisiveness. During this period of difficulty and imminent failure, the CEO took bold and decisive steps to ensure he got the best out of the situation. Another profitability failure was cited by Prokesch (1986) when he attempted to move into sophisticated medical equipment after the acquisition of Technicare. This move was reported by Wall Street analysts as financially disastrous. He later on sold it for a loss (Guzzardi, 1990). He therefore taught that in spite of failure, we need to move on beyond it and make a better future, something that his mentor taught him well.

In conclusion, it is important to note that business ethics and morality are the underlying premise of the trust that, when created with the customer, will in the end reflect positively on the profitability of the firm. Burke also taught that failure does not mean we quit but instead presents an opportunity to start again. He indeed is a great leader.

References

Guzzardi Walter (1990) The National Business Hall of Fame, Fortune Magazine. Web.

Havard Alumni (2009) James E. Burke, MBA 1949. Web.

Maxwell John C. (2006) The 360-degree leader: developing your influence from anywhere in the organization, Thomas Nelson Inc.

Prokesch Steven (1986) The Man in the News; A leader in a Crisis: James Edward Burke. Web.

Shames Laurence (2002) The Big Time: The Harvard Business School’s Most Successful Class and How It Shaped America, iUniverse.

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James E. Burke as a Leader

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