In December 2000, when Dr. Tadataka Yamada became the new chairman of research and development at Glaxo SmithKline, he was horrified to learn that his company was a complainant in a lawsuit over access to drug therapies for HIV/AIDS patients. GSK was one of 39 pharmaceutical companies charging Nelson Mandela and the government of South Africa with violating price protections and intellectual property rights in their efforts to access lower priced antiretroviral drugs. Close to 25 percent of black South Africans were living with HIV/AIDS and at the time, antiretroviral therapies cost approximately $1000 per month—more than a third of the average South African’s annual salary, putting treatment out of reach for most patients.
How One Person Can Change the Conscience of an Organization
These four mindsets can help you transform the culture.
December 27, 2019
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Summary.
While corporate transformations are almost universally assumed to be top-down processes, in reality, middle managers, and first-line supervisors can make significant change when they have the right mindset. Dr. Tadataka Yamada was one of dozens of executives the authors spoke to over the last several years to learn how one can succeed in making positive change in large organizations. His story shows many of traits the authors observed in interviews. He had a clarity of conscience and was willing to speak up. He took every chance, even small ones, to hone his skills of challenging the status quo for the greater good. He didn’t let tough challenges gradually slip from focus because they were “too big” to tackle in the moment. Finally, he centered his purpose on helping those with less privilege.