Ideagen Intersection
And so that's another concept that I've found to be very, very important.
George:
And as we look at the future, how are you and your leadership team and your employees at Johnson & Johnson looking at the future to address the world's most vexing issues?
Alex:
Well, it does start with collaboration. Because in today's world it's so fast-moving, that if you're not constantly collaborating internally, externally with the broader healthcare space, with other partners in the industry, you just can't be successful. And so let me just give you a couple of examples. Externally, in the way that we innovate. In fact, over the last six years, we've created something called Innovation Centers. And rather than having a singular focus of our internal employees ... I mean, think of it literally as lab coats and a large brick and mortar building ... What we've created is our connections with a much broader ecosystem. So whether it's in San Francisco, San Diego, London, Boston, Texas, Toronto, China. Other places around the world. We pull together scientists, businesspeople, legal experts that create strong networks with academic centers, with venture community, all with the single objective of trying to identify early science and technology that ultimately can make a huge difference for patients and consumers.
Alex:
And these relationships that we develop can take many different forms and formats. For example, it may mean a small investment, a partnership. In some cases, we actually house young startups in something we call JLABS, where it just be a few people who have an idea that want to collaborate and share ideas so that they can actually build a new venture. And by working in this way, along with having strong internal insights and capabilities across all of our different sectors, we find that it helps us get to the very best science. And frankly, we're agnostic about the source. We're most focused on getting the best science, the best technology that'll ultimately is going to help us better serve customers and patients.
George:
Alex:
Well, look, leadership is critical for us, whether it's as a country, as a company, as a community, to come together and frankly accomplish many of the important things that need to be done. And I'm more convinced than ever in today's environment, it's so fast-moving, where you can just be overloaded with social media, with the news of the day, where our contacts ... And there's so many ways to be distracted. To have a sense of purpose, to feel a sense of responsibility as a leader in getting an organization aligned by common goals, common objectives ... And again, this higher purpose is more important than ever. There's a difference between managers and leaders. Leaders tend to inspire. They give people an aspiration. Again, so they do things that they probably didn't think they were capable of doing, versus just managing a scorecard or day-to-day activities.
Alex:
And while both can be important, in my mind there's no doubt that great leadership, with great people, that's absolutely essential.
You know, whether it for ... Again, for businesses or for our country to be successful.
George:
Incredible. Why is cross-sector collaboration, which we touched upon earlier, and innovation, which we discussed a bit, so vital to helping to solve many of the world's most vexing issues? And to go further, how do you infuse collaboration into your daily mission to achieve your goals?
Ideagen Intersection
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Interview with Alex Gorsky, cont.
"The more all of us know about our health and healthcare, the better it is for everyone's future."