Читать книгу A Thin Place - Jack Peterson - Страница 11

June 6, 1927

Indianapolis, Indiana

It was high noon. At Josiah’s age, the heat was always a welcome friend to his sixty-six year old frame. He sat quietly on the smaller of two ornate sun-warmed benches next to the family mausoleum. Today marked the twenty-ninth anniversary of his father’s burial, a day he always set aside to visit. One of the first lessons he received from his father was the importance of learning from the past. Reflection and projection, he repeated to himself, as if the Colonel could hear. Today would be all about business. New ideas and strategies frequently came to him during these one-sided reflections. He had no reason to believe this day would be any different.

Leaning back, Josiah closed his eyes. The sun warmed his face as his mind wandered. He knew the majority of the company’s recent successes could be traced to what he considered to be the two most important decisions he had made since the Colonel’s death. The first was eight years earlier when he decided to hire a director of biochemical research to explore new opportunities in pharmaceuticals. The second was hiring his son, Eli. Being careful to ensure that being the son of the president and grandson of the company’s founder did not grease Eli’s slide, Eli was treated the same as any non-professional hire. He started in the warehouse. An eager student, Eli soon justified his movement up the corporate ladder. His progress had always been rewarded based on merit, not his birthright.

Josiah flashed back to 1922, when two scientists from the University of Toronto developed a new experimental pancreatic extract and gave it to a diabetic teenager who became the first person ever to receive an injection of insulin. The extract quickly induced dramatic curing effects on the lad, and other diabetic patients were soon treated with similar results. The news about insulin spread throughout the country like an untamed wildfire. While the scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their efforts, their contribution was not perfect. Insulin could only be produced in small quantities, a problematic opportunity he quickly turned over to Eli.

Because of Eli’s keen insight, he was able to convince management to allow him to establish a trial relationship with other university research scientists and turn the insulin production problem over to them. Within two years, the scientists developed a new formula that created a method allowing for the large production of insulin. Eli’s program had orchestrated a very profitable university-industry partnership that led to the development of even more medicines. Even though frictions soon surfaced regarding patent and licensing rights, Eli was able to streamline the entire process to everyone’s satisfaction. The days of folk medicine were over. The search for even more new drugs and ways to manufacture them was on, and Eli had the company leading the pack.

The temperature was climbing rapidly, but Josiah ignored the physical discomfort. Sitting at his father’s side always gave him a sense of pride, and he was enjoying every second of it. The Colonel’s company was now the third largest pharmaceutical manufacturing company in the world. The insulin program enabled the company to attract the attention of well-respected scientists and help them develop even more medical advances. Eli was directly involved in every significant decision related to product development. It was he who made the decision to establish fellowships at various colleges and universities. While it was perceived by the public as a magnanimous gesture, Josiah fretted that Eli’s real intentions were less than philanthropic. While he would never embarrass his son, he knew Eli’s main purpose for the fellowships was to increase the friendliness of the faculties of the various universities toward the company, perhaps gaining an upper hand over the competition with privileged information about the progress and development of new formulas. While not illegal, Josiah was certain the Colonel would not have approved of Eli’s tactics.

A soft breeze blew across Josiah’s face, temporarily breaking his wanderings but, when it came to his son, he was never in a hurry to shorten his reflections. In many ways, they were both alike, six feet tall, auburn hair with the seemingly mandatory freckles, and similar voices, but the similarities did not end there. In his early days, when the Colonel started the company, Josiah’s patience did not match the Colonel’s, frequently putting him at odds with his father. The Colonel usually won, but not without leaving a valuable lesson for his son behind. The Colonel called it a learning experience. Josiah felt he and Eli shared a similar father-son relationship as his own with the Colonel, but there was a difference. While Eli was named after his grandfather, he shared little else in common with the Colonel. Their most obvious difference was patience. Eli had none.

The minutes quickly turned to hours and, as if by magic, the sun began to disappear behind a block-long bank of massive oak trees that lined the west side of the cemetery.

Josiah finally stood, stretching his legs. Time well spent, he said to himself.

That night, Josiah lay in bed, unable to sleep. His aching bones reminded him that he was nearing the inevitable. He would retire soon, naming Eli as his successor. During the last twenty-nine years, he had made many decisions but only a few that dramatically changed the direction of the company. In the pharmaceutical business there was a fine line between sound business practices and moral integrity. The Colonel had never crossed it. Always loyal to his father’s credo, Josiah sensed the industry was changing. It had become common practice for some competitors to base their manufacturing decisions solely on profits, pushing some products ahead by shortcutting the research and testing process. It wasn’t right, but it was a well-kept industry secret that morality was frequently trumped by the lure of quick profits. While he had been steadfast in never crossing that line, he felt Eli may have difficulty comprehending some of the moral legacies the Colonel passed on. With his own retirement only two years away, Eli had earned the right to succeed him, but he had serious reservations that his son’s maverick management style could eventually lead to trouble.