Profits at what price? Pfizer had two choices when it discovered that each vial of its vaccine held six rather than five doses. One was to push the FDA to declare a vial contains six doses. With this decision, Pfizer would make more money. Because it gets paid for each dose, each vial could now be priced twenty-percent above the agreed-to purchase price. The premium would all drop to Pfizer’s bottom line. The alternative was to remember the original price met or beat Pfizer’s expected return rate, which would be huge given the quantity of vaccinations involved. Producing a vaccine for an unpredicted global pandemic is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a pharma company. The extra dose could be a contribution, helping nations vaccinate more people than they had planned. Pfizer’s leadership team decided on the FDA route, choosing higher profits over societal benefits….
Be careful in deciding what to incentivize
Ohio State football coach Ryan Day earned a $250,000 bonus when his team beat Clemson in the Sugar Bowl. His quarterback, Justin Fields (who received no compensation), was unfortunately injured during that game. If you were Coach Day, would you have asked Fields to play in the upcoming national championship game against Alabama? A similar situation confronted Fields’ high school coach, who kept Fields out of his final game as a high school senior. The coach did not want a broken finger to damage his star player’s long-term career prospects. The high school coach placed player well-being over other measures, as coaches should. But was this true for Ohio State? I doubt it, owing to this indicator: Coach Day would earn another $350,000 bonus should Ohio State beat Alabama. But the bonus he receives for coaching his players to maintain 3.0-grade averages is…
What is the opposite of leadership?
After the final episode of The West Wing aired, my brother in Texas called me asking, “Are you crying?” “Yes.” “Me, too,” he added. We had both enjoyed the TV show about an imaginary President of the United States of America fighting for righteous causes. It says a lot about our nation that the next TV series about a President — Scandal — showcased an administration characterized by deceit and trickery. My heroes have always been the men and women who shaped our nation from its birth. They are the courageous individuals, who, despite the odds, helped turn the nation’s arc in the right direction. John Lewis, Lincoln, Dr. King, and the Suffragettes are just a few. Heroes are leaders in my book – recognizing what needs to be done and stepping into the fray to get it done. Some lead from behind,…