CMF, the good and the bad??

[anonymous]

Led the CMF world before Johnson and Johnson bought them. Is now in fourth place behind Stryker, KLS and Biomet.

This is what JNJ does best, buys a company leading in its space and pushes them down a few notches !

 

[anonymous]

I’m not sure Biomet has passed us. I agree KLS has and Stryker is significantly ahead of everyone which I just can’t believe would ever happen. I can’t stand that company but they continue to perform better than everyone else. My biggest concern is the entire leadership team at Synthes. They just are not very good. Our current strategy seems to be trying to buy back our former reps instead of putting our resources in acquiring innovative technology. Most of the reps they are targeting left years ago. On top of that-all of these former reps haven’t converted competitive business for probably at least ten years so I question whether they still have the energy and will to do so. I know some will be successful but I believe most will fail. This short sided vision will lead the mother company to give up and tear down cmf once again which affects the rest of us. The company hasn’t grown for years and is now expected to grow over the market rate every year. I don’t think we can do it on a consistent yearly basis but even if we could, Stryker and KLS have been growing double digits every single year on much higher volume. We are not even close to being in the game. Most of the guys I talk to just try to stay off the radar screen and milk the pension as much as possible. I’m wish Hansjorg never sold the company!

 

[anonymous]

I’m not sure Biomet has passed us. I agree KLS has and Stryker is significantly ahead of everyone which I just can’t believe would ever happen. I can’t stand that company but they continue to perform better than everyone else. My biggest concern is the entire leadership team at Synthes. They just are not very good. Our current strategy seems to be trying to buy back our former reps instead of putting our resources in acquiring innovative technology. Most of the reps they are targeting left years ago. On top of that-all of these former reps haven’t converted competitive business for probably at least ten years so I question whether they still have the energy and will to do so. I know some will be successful but I believe most will fail. This short sided vision will lead the mother company to give up and tear down cmf once again which affects the rest of us. The company hasn’t grown for years and is now expected to grow over the market rate every year. I don’t think we can do it on a consistent yearly basis but even if we could, Stryker and KLS have been growing double digits every single year on much higher volume. We are not even close to being in the game. Most of the guys I talk to just try to stay off the radar screen and milk the pension as much as possible. I’m wish Hansjorg never sold the company!

There are 1,000’s of Synthes legacy peeps that wish HJW did not sell the Company. I’m close to 100% sure I would still be with Synthes if HJW didn’t sell.

You’re right, the current strategy of buying back former reps is not working. Finance keeps extensive records on each rep that is brought back via a guarantee and has to sit on the sidelines while they wait for their non compete to expire. It’s not adding up in JNJ’s favor. The truly elite reps (KC calls them “hunter’s”) that are capable of converting business want nothing to do with JNJ. This debacle originated with Juan Jose cutting the rate from 12.5% to 11.0%.

Juan Jose took over a company that was doing fine, though the glory days were clearly over, and treated it like a turnaround. This was after he told us in the WC cafe it wasn’t a turnaround. The key to repositioning JNJ as the leader in Trauma/CMF/Spine is product innovation, but JNJ is too cheap/dense to make it happen.

 

[anonymous]

I’m not sure Biomet has passed us. I agree KLS has and Stryker is significantly ahead of everyone which I just can’t believe would ever happen. I can’t stand that company but they continue to perform better than everyone else. My biggest concern is the entire leadership team at Synthes. They just are not very good. Our current strategy seems to be trying to buy back our former reps instead of putting our resources in acquiring innovative technology. Most of the reps they are targeting left years ago. On top of that-all of these former reps haven’t converted competitive business for probably at least ten years so I question whether they still have the energy and will to do so. I know some will be successful but I believe most will fail. This short sided vision will lead the mother company to give up and tear down cmf once again which affects the rest of us. The company hasn’t grown for years and is now expected to grow over the market rate every year. I don’t think we can do it on a consistent yearly basis but even if we could, Stryker and KLS have been growing double digits every single year on much higher volume. We are not even close to being in the game. Most of the guys I talk to just try to stay off the radar screen and milk the pension as much as possible. I’m wish Hansjorg never sold the company!

There are 1,000’s of Synthes peeps that wish HJW didn’t sell to JNJ. I’m close to 100% sure I would still be there if he still owned the company.

You’re right, the current “strategy” of buying back former reps is not working. Finance keeps extensive records of reps they’ve brought back via guarantees, it’s not adding up in JNJs favor. The truly elite reps (KC calls them hunters) don’t want anything to do with JNJ. They’re still bitter over Juan Jose’s rate cut a number of years back, and are also aware the strategy changes every few years and don’t trust JNJ.

Juan Jose took over a company that was doing ok, but the glory years were clearly over. He treated it like a turnaround after telling us in the WC cafe it was not a turnaround. He deserved to be fired, hard to believe he got another CEO role. Then again, Orsinger sits on several boards and he’s a pig.

Trauma/CMF/Spine can reposition themselves but it will take true product innovation, JNJs leadership is too cheap/dense to make it happen.

 

[anonymous]

There are 1,000’s of peeps that would still be with Synthes if HJW didn’t sell. I’m close to 100% I would still be there.

The current strategy of buying former reps is not working. Finance keeps extensive records on each of these reps, it’s not adding up in JNJs favor. The truly elite reps (KC calls them hunters) don’t want anything to do with JNJ. They’re still bitter about JJGs commission cut and don’t trust JNJ.

Trauma/CMF/Spine could be repositioned into market leaders if JNJ was willing/able to develop truly innovative products. JNJ leadership is too cheap/dense to do so, despite what they say on LinkedIn.

 

[anonymous]

Mr Incredible is NOT the solution to our problems. We absolutely need much better leadership and a vision for sustainable growth

 

[anonymous]

JNJ busy saving for massive lawsuits. CMF world is long over

 

[anonymous]

I’m not sure Biomet has passed us. I agree KLS has and Stryker is significantly ahead of everyone which I just can’t believe would ever happen. I can’t stand that company but they continue to perform better than everyone else. My biggest concern is the entire leadership team at Synthes. They just are not very good. Our current strategy seems to be trying to buy back our former reps instead of putting our resources in acquiring innovative technology. Most of the reps they are targeting left years ago. On top of that-all of these former reps haven’t converted competitive business for probably at least ten years so I question whether they still have the energy and will to do so. I know some will be successful but I believe most will fail. This short sided vision will lead the mother company to give up and tear down cmf once again which affects the rest of us. The company hasn’t grown for years and is now expected to grow over the market rate every year. I don’t think we can do it on a consistent yearly basis but even if we could, Stryker and KLS have been growing double digits every single year on much higher volume. We are not even close to being in the game. Most of the guys I talk to just try to stay off the radar screen and milk the pension as much as possible. I’m wish Hansjorg never sold the company!

Sooner or later everybody will be passing you. If you do not get your act together and stop pretending everything is well and rosy. In the past few months I have been trying to bring to the attention of your executive management team number of unethical and money laundering practices proclaimed by employment agencies from India like Tata Consultancy or HCL that scam the public in collecting personal information and data. Yet your senior management pretend to act like this is just business as normal. They do not understand that it may be possibly legal to do so but may not be the right thing to do. This by itself can create loop holes for law firms that are sitting and waiting to take you to court for millions of dollars of Tax payers and stock holders profit.

 

[anonymous]

This division is a complete shit show. They drive out the majority of good reps over the last 5 years or so and surprise, surprise-they killed sales and dropped from first to third in the market. Some of us have stayed thru all of this mess, only to find out the outrageous accelerando guarantees former reps are getting to bring back a portion of the sales. Incredibly disappointing . I have received nothing keeping my house in order. Their desperation to turn things around is not working. On top of everything else, I just found out that we are now only getting 60% of our income during COVID. Part of the reason I have stayed with JnJ is to have a parent company like them protect us during times of distress. What a joke! All talk. The only positive news I have received in a long time is that my pension is shaping up to be pretty good.

 

[anonymous]

Does Douglas V still work here?

 

[anonymous]

This division is a complete shit show. They drive out the majority of good reps over the last 5 years or so and surprise, surprise-they killed sales and dropped from first to third in the market. Some of us have stayed thru all of this mess, only to find out the outrageous accelerando guarantees former reps are getting to bring back a portion of the sales. Incredibly disappointing . I have received nothing keeping my house in order. Their desperation to turn things around is not working. On top of everything else, I just found out that we are now only getting 60% of our income during COVID. Part of the reason I have stayed with JnJ is to have a parent company like them protect us during times of distress. What a joke! All talk. The only positive news I have received in a long time is that my pension is shaping up to be pretty good.

Where did all these former reps go? Did thy stay in CMF or go to another market/industry?

 

[anonymous]

This division is a complete shit show. They drive out the majority of good reps over the last 5 years or so and surprise, surprise-they killed sales and dropped from first to third in the market. Some of us have stayed thru all of this mess, only to find out the outrageous accelerando guarantees former reps are getting to bring back a portion of the sales. Incredibly disappointing . I have received nothing keeping my house in order. Their desperation to turn things around is not working. On top of everything else, I just found out that we are now only getting 60% of our income during COVID. Part of the reason I have stayed with JnJ is to have a parent company like them protect us during times of distress. What a joke! All talk. The only positive news I have received in a long time is that my pension is shaping up to be pretty good.

Unfortunately that’s the way of the world. You’ll continue to be taken for granted while others leave and are lured back with huge guarantees. If you want the huge guarantee you know what you need to do.

 

[anonymous]

The only thing more of a joke than CMF, is JNJ. I left spine 3 years ago after unkept promises finally wore me out. They even gave us the CMF line in 2016. After 4 different managers in 3 mos, we gave it back. They’re in shambles. I keep in touch with my old trauma counterparts and they sell the stern all fixation and rib fixation because it’s easy money.....everything else is a waste of time. The new manager has like 6 states, and they haven’t seen or heard from them since the week they were hired.

Heard a quote from a lifer at JNJ. You don’t get rich working for JNJ, you get rich retiring from JNJ. I didn’t have enough patience for that, and I got tired of all the lies, and strategy changes year after year in spine. They’re completely gone on my geography now and couldn’t be happier to see them gone, CMF too. Hired a rep who made it a month. Lol. Run, don’t walk from them.

 

[anonymous]

The only thing more of a joke than CMF, is JNJ. I left spine 3 years ago after unkept promises finally wore me out. They even gave us the CMF line in 2016. After 4 different managers in 3 mos, we gave it back. They’re in shambles. I keep in touch with my old trauma counterparts and they sell the stern all fixation and rib fixation because it’s easy money.....everything else is a waste of time. The new manager has like 6 states, and they haven’t seen or heard from them since the week they were hired.

Heard a quote from a lifer at JNJ. You don’t get rich working for JNJ, you get rich retiring from JNJ. I didn’t have enough patience for that, and I got tired of all the lies, and strategy changes year after year in spine. They’re completely gone on my geography now and couldn’t be happier to see them gone, CMF too. Hired a rep who made it a month. Lol. Run, don’t walk from them.

The constant strategy changes are a joke. It’s all about new product and pricing. KC, Travis Williams and the others that have been in leadership roles are not strategy oriented people. I also don’t think they were really on board with Juan-Jose’s bent approach either, but ya gotta do what the boss wants even when you know it ain’t gonna work.

 

[anonymous]

Heard a quote from a lifer at JNJ. You don’t get rich working for JNJ, you get rich retiring from JNJ. I didn’t have enough patience for that, and I got tired of all the lies, and strategy changes year after year in spine. .

this is one way to look at it. have been at JNJ for ~20 years total. most as a rep.

have the pension accruing and over $1M in retirement. still have a few years to go I hope. could have more but I'm putting my third through college, etc.

you either have a long-term mentality or not. it's not the highest paying gig by any stretch but it's acceptable especially if you don't live in a HCOL area.

-------------------------------------------------------

 

[anonymous]

Where did all these former reps go? Did thy stay in CMF or go to another market/industry?

As a former CMF rep back in the good ol' Synthes days, I got out of the med device / OR sales environment completely. It just wasn't fun anymore. The old Synthes truly seemed focused on education and service, it stood apart from the competition. Sure, HJW in hindsight was probably a little shady, but management wasn't pushing an aggressive sales approach. I sometimes miss the golden days, but I never miss what it turned into. FWIW, I really enjoy being out of the scene.

 

[anonymous]

This division is a complete shit show. They drive out the majority of good reps over the last 5 years or so and surprise, surprise-they killed sales and dropped from first to third in the market. Some of us have stayed thru all of this mess, only to find out the outrageous accelerando guarantees former reps are getting to bring back a portion of the sales. Incredibly disappointing . I have received nothing keeping my house in order. Their desperation to turn things around is not working. On top of everything else, I just found out that we are now only getting 60% of our income during COVID. Part of the reason I have stayed with JnJ is to have a parent company like them protect us during times of distress. What a joke! All talk. The only positive news I have received in a long time is that my pension is shaping up to be pretty good.

Give us an idea of what you heard some reps where offered to come back to Synthes.

 

[anonymous]

Does JW still hate CMF ?

 

[anonymous]

I’m not sure Biomet has passed us. I agree KLS has and Stryker is significantly ahead of everyone which I just can’t believe would ever happen. I can’t stand that company but they continue to perform better than everyone else. My biggest concern is the entire leadership team at Synthes. They just are not very good. Our current strategy seems to be trying to buy back our former reps instead of putting our resources in acquiring innovative technology. Most of the reps they are targeting left years ago. On top of that-all of these former reps haven’t converted competitive business for probably at least ten years so I question whether they still have the energy and will to do so. I know some will be successful but I believe most will fail. This short sided vision will lead the mother company to give up and tear down cmf once again which affects the rest of us. The company hasn’t grown for years and is now expected to grow over the market rate every year. I don’t think we can do it on a consistent yearly basis but even if we could, Stryker and KLS have been growing double digits every single year on much higher volume. We are not even close to being in the game. Most of the guys I talk to just try to stay off the radar screen and milk the pension as much as possible. I’m wish Hansjorg never sold the company!

HANSJORG WAS A SCUMBAG. HE SHOULD BE IN JAIL ALONG WITH THE EXECUTIVES THAT TOOK A BULLET FOR HIM. HE WAS THE SINGLE MOAT CHILDISH EGOMANIAC I EVER ENCOUNTERED. REMEMBER EVERY YEAR HE WOULD STAND ONSTAGE AND PROMISE THE CONSULTANTS HE WOUKD GET THEM STOCK OPTIONS .

 

[anonymous]

Hansjorg was very shady and slippery. This is a man who to this day has a vendetta with Marriott properties over his banana slices that he didn't get for his cereal at Sawgrass in the 90's. Very crooked man.