Some time during the middle of my career I worked for a wonderful man named Tom L. He was smart, a great communicator, and one of the most principled men I would meet. Two events stand out for me.

The first was in 1995 when I was a District Sales Manager in Chicago and was invited to spend some time at headquarters in RTP, NC to help the team put together a big launch meeting for Imitrex Tablets. Imitrex is an amazing medicine that was the first of a new class called ‘triptans’, developed specifically to treat migraine headaches. Tom recently had been promoted to the Director of Migraine Marketing role because the previous Director was tapped to lead a new Sales division called NeuroHealth. Everyone knew he was the right choice. Not only was Tom smart but he always challenged the status quo and came at problems in unique and offbeat ways. And, truth be told, he was a bit quirky his own self. Anyway, we were all very busy putting together this launch meeting for Imitrex Tablets. Imitrex Injection was already on the market and it is still the single best product to stop a migraine. But IT WAS AN INJECTION, and that was a limiting factor for many. Imitrex in a tablet didn’t work as fast or as well, but it would make it accessible to millions who would not tolerate an injection. So, a few weeks before the meeting Tom closed his office door and disappeared inside for 3 straight days. He emerged with his general session presentation and directions for our Ad Agency to build several large models and secure video rights to a certain cartoon. He wouldn’t let us in on his plan, so it was that we got to see it along with about 3,000 other sales team members at the general session. It is still the single most brilliant presentation I have ever seen.  He did not talk about the marketing plan for GSK and Imitrex Tablets. Instead, we became the Acme Corporation launching Rocket-Powered Roller Skates into a market where we already dominated with the full-size strap-on Rocket. Of course, the Legal team did not like it at all, but they were a few years away from their power and ability to stop it.

Tom’s opening cartoon showed Wiley E. Coyote ordering Rocket-Powered Skates from Acme and everything flowed from there. Of course, Imitrex Injection was represented by the full-size Rocket. He talked for almost an hour defining the respective markets for each product, positioning, pricing dynamics, demand, production, effectiveness, even pharmacodynamics, and dosing. 

It was incredible how he communicated the basic marketing plan through the entertaining metaphor of Rockets and Rocket Skates. He closed with yet another cartoon showing Wile E. using the Rocket Skates. It was funny and engaging and altogether brilliant, and everyone came away with at least a preview of the market dynamics and our plans. And I came away with a new perspective on the dynamics of a presentation that I have since tried to infuse in my talks.

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Following the launch of Imitrex Tablets I was asked to stay on and become a full member of the Marketing team, so the family moved to Cary, NC.  As the Product Manager charged with Promotion, I was honored to create the first GSK direct-to-consumer print add. It was great fun and we relied upon our Ad Agency to recommend the ‘Ad Buy’ or placement in magazines (books). The list was dominated by “Women’s service books” such as Good Housekeeping, Better Homes & Gardens, and Southern Cooking. The list also included Red Book and Cosmopolitan magazines. When I reviewed the ad and presented the media buy for approval to Tom, he immediately rejected the Cosmo and Red Book buys. Following a long discussion on demographics, he said simply that the magazines were disgusting, and we should not contribute to their success, or affiliate our brand with them. He said, “If we are not part of the solution, then we are part of the problem.”

Then, as now, I am conflicted by this decision. A part of me thought that, as stewards of the brand, it is our charge to appropriately maximize market penetration, and those magazines had the highest concentration of our target market: Women from 20 to 40. Should one man’s perspective, infused by a religious or political viewpoint, be the arbiter of morality? Still; then, as now, I admire and respect those with the backbone to reject decisions they feel are ethically questionable, and I know that the world would be a better place if more executives would surface morality and responsibility in their business decisions.

Tom was a great role model for me, and I took a lot away from that man, including the phrase that titles this blog entry. At the end of each meeting, Tom would touch on multiple miscellaneous topics and he always called them Cats and Dogs which I found amusing.  Anyone who has been in one of my meetings knows that since that experience I do the same thing. So, this blog was meant to be a mixed bag of topics; miscellaneous things I need to provide an update. But my musings about Tom have gone a bit long so I will hit the Cats & Dogs on next week’s blog. They will include:

UBER

IKEA

BELLA

By the way, Tom was eventually promoted to a Regional Sales Vice President in the Midwest. Truth be told, he was only moderately successful in that role, which leaned heavily on leadership skills and the ability to execute through others. Tom’s forte was strategy, creativity and innovation, so he left GSK to become an integral member of one of the most respected Pharma Consulting companies in the US.

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