Perhaps we are all expecting a bit too much too quickly.
A month ago new Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) CEO Omar Ishrak created a ripple in the world of healthcare social media when he launched a Twitter account and began to tweet for the first time. A month later, people expecting a river of tweets from @MedtronicCEO have been treated to a trickle instead.
In 30 days, Ishrak has had exactly three – yes, that’s right, three – tweets.
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On June 13, the day he joined the world’s largest medical device company, he launched his Twitter account with an upbeat message. Four days later, Ishrak tweeted about excitement about meeting with employees.
Then there was radio silence for nearly two weeks until Ishrak went on damage control after the Spine Journal published a series of articles criticizing research behind its controversial bone growth product Infuse, leading the New York Times to write a scathing report.
Steve Cragle, a Medtronic spokesman, declined to make Ishrak available to answer questions about his Twitter acitivity. But Cragle said it was Ishrak’s idea to launch the account. He also said the Medtronic CEO writes his own tweets but runs them via corporate communications to make sure the content doesn’t run afoul of the company’s regulatory and legal policies.
Cragle added, however, that there isn’t an overarching communication strategy behind the decision to tweet other than a desire to be open, transparent and communicate about issues he cares about.
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“There is no pre-established cadence that he needs to feel compelled to adhere to and content will dictate the pace,” Cragle said in an e-mail.
In other words, don’t hold your breath while you wait for Ishrak to pick up the pace of tweets. He has bigger fish to fry.
And honestly, I bet investors and Wall Street would much prefer him getting a handle on Medtronic’s business and developing a strategy for turning around the company’s fortunes, than in him getting Twitter happy. As for social media denizens waiting to glean pearls of healthcare social media wisdom or med tech insights from Ishrak, I suggest finding other more voluble Twitterati.
