Career Imprints Creating Leaders Across An Industry

by Higgins, Monica C.; Schein, Edgar H.

• ISBN13: 9780787977511
• ISBN10: 0787977519
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-04-07
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Summary

Based on her research of 800 biotechnology companies and 3,200 biotechnology executives, Harvard Business School professor Monica Higgins discovered that one firm-Baxter-was the breeding ground for today's most successful biotechnology ventures. This phenomena of one organization spawning an industry has also been seen in the high-tech (Hewlett-Packard) and semiconductor industries (Fairchild). However, until now there has been no suitable explanation of why and how these organizations were able to create the next generation of industry leaders. Career Imprints shows why Baxter was so successful in spawning senior executives and offers an understanding of what it takes for an organization to produce leaders that will dominate an industry for years to come. In this important book, Higgins shows that an organization's "career imprint"¾the result of company systems, structure, strategy, and culture¾that employees take with them throughout their careers is the key to creating great leaders. By understanding these factors, staff, human resource executives, and CEOs can analyze their own organization's career imprint and develop leaders.

Author Biography

Monica Higgins is an associate professor in the Organizational Behavior Unit of Harvard Business School. Her research, published in more than 40 professional articles and case studies, centers on careers, strategic human resource management, and leadership development. She is a member of the Academy of Management and the American Psychological Association.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements.

Introduction.

Foreword.

Part I: Setting the Stage.

Chapter 1. Career Imprints and Senior Executive Mobility.

A more detailed definition.

The impact of Baxter’s career imprint.

Points of departure.

Chapter 2. From Baxter to Biotechnology: An Introduction to the First Wave of Baxter Boys.

Gabe Schmergel’s story.

The rest of the first wave.

The bigger picture.

Part II: The Career Imprinting Process.

Chapter 3. Place: Understanding Breeding Grounds for Career Imprinting.

Social reinforcement.

Stretch opportunities.

Demonstrated success.

Chapter 4. People: Characteristics and Susceptibility to Career Imprinting.

Developmental readiness. *Developmental fit.

Chapter 5. Paths: The Baxter Career Experience and Resulting Career Imprintp

Objective career patterns: Jobs held at Baxterp

Subjective career patterns: The experience of working at Baxter.

Summary: Baxter’s entrepreneurial career imprint.

Chapter 6. Beyond Baxter: Career Imprints of Merck, Johnson & Johnson, and Abbott.

The unique career imprints at Merck, John Johnson & Johnson, and Abbott.

The scientific career imprint.

The boundary-spanning career imprint.

The functional career imprint.

Part III: The Consequences of Career Imprints.

Chapter 7. The Spawning Effect: Career Imprints and Industry Evolution.

The backdrop.

Career imprints: An explanation for the first wave.

From the first wave to the second wave: Factors that facilitated spawning.

Chapter 8. The Legacy of Career Imprints for Organizations.

Starting points for understanding the legacy of career imprints.

Comparing the legacies of career imprints at Genzyme and Biogen.

Summary and considerations for the future.

Counterpoint: What doesn’t get exported.

Chapter 9. The Opportunities and Constraints of Career Imprints.

Different imprints, different paths.

The stickiness of perceptions of organizational career imprints.

Chapter 10. Career Imprints: New Answers, New Questions.

New answers.

New questions.

The dynamics of career imprints.

The contingent value of career imprints.

Generalizability of the consequences of career imprints.

Patterns of inquiry for the future.

References.

Notes.

Index.