Eli Lilly & Co. said on Monday it fired an employee who wrote a book about his tenure as a Pfizer Inc. sales representative which boasted about how little he worked and how much money he earned.
Company spokesman Philip Belt said Jamie Reidy, author of the recently released “Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman”, was terminated because the book advocated actions that were in violation of Lilly’s policies.
In the book, for example, Reidy admits he exaggerated how often he visited doctors. He also says in the book that he ordered extra food when he visited physicians’ offices so he could take the leftovers home for dinner.
Reidy said he worked for Lilly for four and a half years, first as a salesman but most recently training other representatives. The book is based on the five years he worked at Pfizer, which makes Viagra.
Reidy said Lilly told him it couldn’t allow him to set an example for its sales representatives.
He said he didn’t regret his actions while at Pfizer or writing the book, however.
“I can see where people may say it was unethical but I was still making my numbers,” said Reidy. “I didn’t think I was hurting Pfizer.”
Reidy said he had cleaned up his act while at Lilly, and that it was harder to manipulate the system.
Reidy said he finds it strange that Lilly fired him for actions he took while at Pfizer, and was somewhat surprised by the company’s decision.