The Takeaway: McKesson’s Chris Dimos, black belt in life

Humble roots in the family business fed a calling to ‘create moments that matter.’ A lifetime of martial arts training gave him the confidence and discipline to make it happen. Drug Store News Mckesson SVP marketing, strategy and business development Chris Dimos about his mentors, his background in his family’s business and how his passions have shaped his approach to doing business. 

DSN: Who were your most important mentors — either growing up or in business — and what was the most important thing you learned from them?

Chris Dimos: I think I’ve had a great business mentor in Kevin Tripp. Kevin’s philosophy was to develop the person, not the position. What I mean is he would put me into all these different situations. It wasn’t just like ‘Chris is good — let’s just keep giving him more.’ It was more like, ‘I want you to do this role, and now I want to pick you up and put you in a totally different role that perhaps made you a little uneasy or uncomfortable, but let’s see how you grow and what you learn from of it.’

Growing up, it was my dad. I grew up around family-owned businesses. I worked next to my dad from [the time I was] eight years old … in the family-owned restaurant. My dad imparted an awful lot about who you are, character, integrity. ... I learned early that you live your life, but you also lived your business life. I think one of the most important things [he taught me] was not to let what you do define who you are.

It’s not so much how you lead, … it’s more about who are you. When you introduce yourself to somebody it’s not, ‘Hi, I’m the senior vice president of [X],’ it’s really about how you interact with people on a broad basis. That lesson is something that just has been ingrained in me [from a young age].

DSN: So, growing up in the family business, what made you want to get into the pharmacy business?

Dimos: My dad was a serial entrepreneur and had several different businesses. But the restaurant was … near two independent pharmacies, and those pharmacists came in every morning for breakfast and most evenings for dinner. I got to know [them] and understand what it was they did. And some of the best advice I ever got was from my grandfather; he told me, ‘People will either be hungry or sick, so choose one of those two. We chose the restaurant business, you can either choose that or the medical field.’

So when I [got to know the pharmacists], I became kind of intrigued with this idea of making people healthier or feel better, and it really was more of a personal ethos for me; how do we leave the earth a little better than we found it? For my family, it was about how do you impact people’s lives beyond just the meal that you serve them, and I thought that through medicine I’d be able to do that — to have a positive impact on people’s lives.

DSN: Many people may not know, but in addition to having played Division 1 college football, you’re also a highly accomplished martial artist. How do you think those experiences — the training, the discipline, the sacrifice —have helped shape your approach to life and/or business?

Dimos: I think they [feed] into each other. … My desire to start studying martial arts at a very young age was primarily driven not only for self defense, but, more importantly, it was about confidence. It was about being able to be confident in any situation and understand how to control the adrenaline, or control the rush, because you knew you had the confidence that you would be able to take care of any situation. Growing up in Gary, Ind., when I did, that was an important thing to have. That foundation [gave me] … the confidence that I would be able to do whatever I put my mind to.

I played college [football], but I wasn’t an accomplished college athlete by any stretch of the imagination. For me, the combination of being able to [focus in stressful] situations —to be cool and calm under fire — and understanding that through hard work there were benefits on the other side. And for me, it was about, ‘what role did you play?’ If you balance the individual sport of martial arts against a team sport, my approach to the team sport was that I had an individual job to do, and the best I could be at that individual role would make the team successful. It’s about focusing an awful lot on how I could be the best me. …

DSN: What’s the biggest mistake you ever made, and what did you learn from it? How should a person react to success and/or failure?

Dimos: I think you should celebrate success and learn from success, … but you also should learn from failure and not be afraid to fail. I learn about as much from success as I do from failure — one feels better, but I learn an awful lot in both situations. … The most fulfilling thing for me is to know I push as hard as I can. Sometimes that ends up in success and sometimes that ends up in failure — and both are ok.

The biggest mistake? I’ve made a lot of them. One that I’ve shared before was trying to predict how the state of California would [react] if we [exited the] worker’s comp program because of low reimbursement rates. …It was one of the biggest financial mistakes I ever made, but long term I learned from it. I learned that [failure] allows you to make a different decision very quickly. So with failure — I say this a lot — I make decisions quickly because if I’m wrong I have the opportunity to make them again. Don’t be wedded to your last bad decision.

DSN: If you could be anywhere, other than where you are right now, where would you be?

Dimos: I think the most important thing for me is family. Do you mean, if I wasn’t [doing what I do now], what would I do?

DSN: Yes.

Dimos: I think it’s funny… I might be back in the restaurant business.

DSN: What about it do you miss?

Dimos: I’m a ‘live-to-eat’ not an ‘eat-to-live’ kind of guy. … For me, meals have always been about good times, family and surrounding yourself with people who you love. It’s about how you create those moments that matter for people. I think you can do that through health care, but I also think you can do that through the restaurant business. So, I think that’s maybe where I would be. I would be back in a family restaurant trying to create [those moments] where you can get great food and great atmosphere and have a real family experience.

DSN: Where do you find inspiration in life?

Dimos: Inspiration has a lot to do with my faith. … [I want to] understand my role for my time here.

DSN: If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

Dimos: To be able to see the future. I say that, but then I worry that would screw everything up, right? If I could see the future then it wouldn’t be a surprise. I absolutely love to be surprised.

DSN: If you could go back in time and talk to 21-year-old Chris Dimos, what advice would you give yourself?

Dimos: You know I have this classic dad problem. I hold onto my kids, … [a