Mad Men, Mad Industry - Sunday Op-Ed Piece

With the fourth season premier of "Mad Men" tonight on AMC, a cable drama set in the 60's advertising world, for those of our brethren across the pond, TSB started thinking about what would it take for America and the Medical Device Industry to capture the fundamentals of what once made this industry and country so great. At this stage of our evolution, we have to find comedy in how far we've come in such a short period of time by looking in the rear-view mirror. Many of our readers have the perception that TSB is antediluvian because of our disdain for louche behavior by those who call themselves leaders within the industry, yet, what would some of our readers do to go back to the old days when men drank a classic martini or a beer, rather than some tooty-fruity concoction that TSB sees some of you drinking at the bar? When you lit up a cigarette and no one was offended, and when you spanked your children when they didn't listen or did something wrong, rather than attempt to use some of that bullshit psychology that you've been taught to use by being your child's best friend rather than their parent.

Just like Sterling Cooper (the agency), many of us that have tenure in spine, are learning to start all over. Because just like Sterling Cooper, our industry is going to have to adapt to a new world and a new economy. Less is more. In many respects we will have to reign in our disreputable behavior if we are going to survive the last ten years. Just like the adversarial climate that exists in this country, today, we are a mirrored image of that hatred and intolerance. God only knows what awaits our future? But just like our children, who have their lives micro-managed by over doting parents calling them on their cell phone every twenty minutes, that have a life carved out of soccer at 10 a.m., t-ball at 12:00 p.m., a math tudor at 2 p.m., and fencing at 4:oo p.m. our industry is a microcosm of their lives. Maybe some of our Area VP's, Regional Manager's, CEO's and investors will take the time to watch this and learn that Mad Men is a reflection of our lives. Contracts are lost, the days of 20% growth end (hear me Stryker), people are not a seamless team, you don't have to account for every minute of your life because not everyone wants to buy your commodity product, and that your company is not the center of the universe. Yes, the characters on Mad Men are one-dimensional, but how many of you aren't? How much adult supervision do you really need?

Yes, fellow readers, we have made progress since the early days of spine when patient's were placed in full body casts, or even racked like Mel Gibson in Braveheart. But in our zeal for fame and fortune, we have driven the very essence of our humanity underground. You know when men were men and women were women. When multi-tasking was an idle concept rather than a neurotic disorder. When doctors wanted to be doctors except everything else than being a doctor. When salespeople sold and weren't considered brokers. So tune in tonight and remember who you are, you just might learn something about yourself.