A furry brown moose with orange antlers sits on the desk of Centocor CEO Neal Fowler's Horsham, Pa., office. It was a gag gift from a colleague, prompted by Fowler's habit of using the phrase, "Let's put the moose on the table," during meetings. "A moose is something big and smelly and ornery," explains Fowler, whose accent hints at Southern roots. "'Putting the moose on the table' means talking about things that are difficult or uncomfortable." The phrase has been used in management circles for years, and it was recently popularized in a book of that title by Randall Tobias, former CEO of Eli Lilly and Company.
To facilitate this kind of communication, Fowler has set up an internal company blog, the first of its kind for a Johnson & Johnson company, where anyone can ask him questions. He also breakfasts regularly with 10 to 15 key managers and other ...
