Praise for Career Imprints

"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 Fairchild 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 Mellon University

"Dr. Higgins has written an insightful analysis of a phenomenon whichshaped 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 on 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

Achieving Coherence in District Improvement focuses on a problem of practice faced by educational leaders across the nation: how to effectively manage the relationship between the central office and schools. The book is based on a study of five large urban districts that have demonstrated improvement in student achievement. The authors-all members of Harvard University's Public Education Leadership Project (PELP)-argue that there is no "one best way" to structure the central offi ce-school relationship. Instead, they say, what matters is whether district leaders eff ectively select and implement their strategy by achieving coherence among key elementsand actors-the district's environment, resources, systems, structures, stakeholders, and culture. The authors examine the fi ve districts' approaches in detail and point to a number of important findings. First, they emphasize that a clear, shared understanding of decision rights in key areas-academic programming, budgeting, and staffing-is essential to developing an eff ective central office-school relationship. Second, they stress the importance of building mutually supportive and trusting relationships between district leaders and principals. Third, they highlight the ways that culture and the external environment infl uence the relationship between the central office and schools. Each chapter also provides relevant "Lessons for Practice"-actionable takeaways-that educational leaders from any district can use to improve the central office-school relationship.

Achieving Coherence in District Improvement focuses on a problem of practice faced by educational leaders across the nation: how to effectively manage the relationship between the central office and schools. The book is based on a study of five large urban districts that have demonstrated improvement in student achievement. The authors-all members of Harvard University's Public Education Leadership Project (PELP)-argue that there is no "one best way" to structure the central offi ce-school relationship. Instead, they say, what matters is whether district leaders eff ectively select and implement their strategy by achieving coherence among key elementsand actors-the district's environment, resources, systems, structures, stakeholders, and culture. The authors examine the fi ve districts' approaches in detail and point to a number of important findings. First, they emphasize that a clear, shared understanding of decision rights in key areas-academic programming, budgeting, and staffing-is essential to developing an eff ective central office-school relationship. Second, they stress the importance of building mutually supportive and trusting relationships between district leaders and principals. Third, they highlight the ways that culture and the external environment infl uence the relationship between the central office and schools. Each chapter also provides relevant "Lessons for Practice"-actionable takeaways-that educational leaders from any district can use to improve the central office-school relationship.