Tylenol Redux — Institutional Amnesia
in 1982 a crazy person put cyanide laced capsules in several bottles of Tylenol painkiller and put them back on the shelves of drugstores for sale. Several people died or became ill as a result. I’ve often talked about this case primarily to highlight the wisdom of dealing with crises proactively to minimize the potential damage. In 1982, we had not yet had a case where toxic chemicals were placed into over-the-counter bottles with such dramatic effect. There was no precedent; no one knew what to do. But the McNeil company, makers of Tylenol (now subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson) didn’t let that stop them from mounting what in retrospect still appears to be one of the most adroit crisis response efforts ever mounted by a company in response to a crisis that threatened its very existence. Read more…