When?

In Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, less than a mile from J&J’s shuttered McNeil plant, there’s a blue house that used to have a big sign on it that said, 'McNeil Has Ruined Our Lives.'  McNeil employees know the house - hundreds of them used to drive right by this house...or at least they did when the facility was operating and before the FDA's Consent Decree.  That sign has gone away and been replaced with a smaller one, black letters on a blood red background, that says simply, “When?”

And it’s a good question – When?  When will J&J’s senior leaders right the troubled ship?  When will J&J’s senior leaders start cleaning the middle management house – including problematic managers enthroned in the Weldon-era who have made multiple bad decisions, yet somehow linger to self-inflict more damage on the once-trusted company?  When will J&J’s Board realize the problems went far deeper than just William Weldon?  When?  Big questions.

Frankly, I’m surprised we’re still asking them.  If I were a betting man, I would have thought many of these issues would have been resolved.  Yes, J&J's share price is up (a little).  Yes, Weldon got spanked and sent packing at the last Shareholder meeting (with an embarassingly large parachute).  But the company is a mere shadow of its former glory - from the most trusted healthcare brand to the most tarnished.

It's a serious question for J&J's new CEO Alex Gorsky - when?