Career Imprints: Creating Leaders Across An Industry (J-B Warren Bennis Series) [Paperback]

Monica C. Higgins (Author), Edgar H. Schein (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0787977519 | ISBN-13: 978-0787977511 | Publication Date: April 7, 2005 | Edition: 1

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Monica Higgins’ groundbreaking work, Career Imprints, offers bold and original insights into the way in which talent-laden companies spawn new businesses, as Baxter alums did for the biotech industry. Her provocative and thoroughly documented research goes well beyond classic economic theories to demonstrate conclusively why entrepreneurially-led companies have the capacity not only to create new companies but entire industries as well.”--Bill George, author, Authentic Leadership, and former chairman and chief executive officer, Medtronic

 “At the heart of this important study is a fascinating question:  Why did alumni of one company --the amazing ‘Baxter boys’--produce so many of the leaders of the burgeoning biotech industry?  To find the answers, Monica Higgins left no research stone unturned.  The result is a compelling new theory about exactly what happens in the early stages of careers to shape true leaders who can guide innovation and entrepreneurship.  Higgins’ concepts will leave their imprint on careers, company cultures, and industry development.”--Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School, author, Confidence:  How Winning Streaks & Losing Streaks Begin & End

“What Farichild was to the development of high technology firms in Silicon Valley, Baxter has been to the evolution of the biopharmaceutical industry. Monica Higgins builds a fascinating, richly portrayed case for Baxter’s impact on the creation and growth of biopharmaceutical firms.”--Denise Rousseau, H.J. Heinz II Professor of Organization Behavior and Public Policy, Carnegie

“Dr. Higgins has written an insightful analysis of a phenomenon which shaped the biotechnology industry. There is no doubt that my days at Baxter had the most profound influence on my life and career as well as those of my colleagues.”--Bob Carpenter, founder, Intergrated Genetics, Geltex, Vactex, Candent, Somatix, Hydra and Peptimmune

“Career Imprints is inspired as both industry history and cultural anthropology. In unique fashion, Monica Higgins tells the story of the emergence of Baxter Travenol as a healthcare giant and one of the great cell cultures of American entrepreneurship. This book is a must for anyone interested in the place of high tech healthcare in our economy and entrepreneurial organizational development.”--William A. Holodank, president, J. Robert Scott

From the Inside Flap

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 (Fairchild) industries . 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"—the result of company systems, structure, strategy, and culture—that 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.

The book is filled with the compelling stories from the "Baxter Boys" alumni. These stories of their individual career paths provide a behind-the-scenes look at the processes and effects of career imprinting. Higgins illustrates different types of organizational career imprints by juxtaposing Baxter's entrepreneurial career imprint with the career imprints of other healthcare organizations—Merck, Johnson and Johnson, and Abbott.

Higgins focuses on the consequences of career imprints for industries, organizations, and individuals. She offers insight into the opportunities and pitfalls that open up to industries, organizations, and individuals with an understanding of career imprints.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (April 7, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787977519
• ISBN-13: 978-0787977511
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #252,256 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ground-breaking addition to the management literature, April 25, 2005

By 

Stacy McManus (Somerville, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Career Imprints: Creating Leaders Across An Industry (J-B Warren Bennis Series) (Paperback)

"Career Imprints" provides an insightful, interesting, well-researched look into how our earliest organizational experiences produce the tacit knowledge of "what work is" that we carry with us throughout our professional lives. Higgins' fascinating chronicle of the Baxter Boys' overwhelming influence on the development of the biotech industry shows how the right career imprint at the right time creates a strong strand of cultural DNA that flourishes and propagates to generate a new breed of industry leaders. Higgins' discerning discussion of the interplay between organizational culture and personal career trajectories makes this a book worth reading - not only to help us all better understand and map our own careers, but also to help HR professionals think systematically about designing appropriate career imprints to instill in our own workforces. This wonderful book is a ground-breaking addition to the management literature - a must read!!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Transforming an industry through people, April 20, 2005

By 

Jody Hoffer Gittell "Author of The Southwest ... - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Career Imprints: Creating Leaders Across An Industry (J-B Warren Bennis Series) (Paperback)

How can one organization transform an entire industry? This fascinating book suggests a new answer -- by spawning a generation of leaders with a distinctive approach to management, who use that approach to start up successful companies in the same industry. Professor Higgins' argument suggests some interesting questions too. For example, why would an organization want to spawn a generation of leaders whose start-ups could potentially challenge and surpass its own success? This book is extremely thought-provoking and will lead you to look with a fresh eye at the industries you are most familiar with. While the argument is grounded in the biotech industry, the implications go far beyond.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read!!!, April 15, 2005

By 

Infinite Potential (Cambridge, Ma) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Career Imprints: Creating Leaders Across An Industry (J-B Warren Bennis Series) (Paperback)

I never write reviews but I feel compelled because I was so impressed with this body of knowledge.

Professor and now author Higgins offers up explanations of why and how one company is able to consistently churn out their industries future leaders. She shows and proves why Baxter has been so successful in growing their executives and shows us what an organization needs to produce winners and leaders.

A great, must read for all industries.