A Call to Action:

Taking Back Healthcare for Future Generations

by Hank McKinnell

Chairman and CEO, Pfizer Inc.

with John Kador

Five Quick Questions

Q:  Why write a book?

A:  A lot of reasons—let me talk about three of them.

First, I wrote A Call to Action because I truly believe society is on the wrong track, emphasizing “sick-care” over healthcare. I’ve talked about this many times, but the time was right to outline how a healthcare system that focuses on health might really work.

Second, it’s a fact that, in our society, published authors get greater access to media and more opportunities to put forward their points of view. This book is a door-opener for me and for other Pfizer colleagues in our dialogues with key opinion leaders.

Finally, but very important, I wanted to do more to stand up for the people at Pfizer and at companies like Pfizer.  A number of authors hammered companies like Pfizer last year, and if people listen to the most strident voices out there, it sounds as if we do nothing right. That’s frustrating and demoralizing. Our industry can do better, and in the book I talk frankly about the changes needed so that we can gain trust. But it was time to give people a more balanced view of what companies like Pfizer do, how we work, and why we can be important partners in healthcare.

Q:  How does one of the world’s busiest CEOs find the time to write a book?

A:  It takes some doing. I found a very good writing partner in John Kador, from Chicago.  I relied on a number of people at Pfizer and McGraw Hill for help, and did my best to acknowledge them in the book. And I looked for ways to use my time more effectively to get the job done. For example, instead of reading books on airplanes, I used the time to write one.

Q:  What happens to the proceeds from the book?

A:  My publisher tells me that most first books are, at best, breakeven ventures. Any royalties I earn will go to help fund the work of the Infectious Diseases Institute in Kampala, Uganda, and other projects to treat and prevent HIV.

Q:  What would most surprise your co-workers who read your book?

A:  Probably the extent to which I talk about my personal story. I wanted to give readers some idea of what’s shaped my views of healthcare, and that includes my experiences growing up, going to university, and working as a manager for Pfizer in some difficult places like Iran and Afghanistan.

Q:  Did you dedicate the book?

A:  Yes, to my first grandchild, Sarah. The future she and all our children and grandchildren will inherit is ours to create, right now.

 Excerpted from "Hank McKinnell’s Book on the Future of Healthcare, A Call to Action, Poised for Launch" published in Pfizer World Café, the Pfizer employee publication.  Used by permission.