Born Entrepreneurs, Born Leaders: How Your Genes Affect Your Work Life

by Scott Shane

Overview

It's no secret that your genes have a subtle, but powerful impact on your job and career. But did you know that your DNA accounts for one third of the difference between you and your co-workers in many aspects of work life, from job satisfaction to income level? That's the revelation of this fascinating book—one that will change the way you think It's no secret that your genes have a subtle, but powerful impact on your job and career. But did you know that your DNA accounts for one third of the difference between you and your co-workers in many aspects of work life, from job satisfaction to income level? That's the revelation of this fascinating book-one that will change the way you think about the role of genetics in the workplace.

Despite extensive evidence highlighting the influence of genetics in the business world, this critical connection has been glossed over by corporate leaders and management gurus. Now, for the first time, author Scott Shane explains why genes matter, and how an understanding of their relationship to behavior is of vital importance to employers, employees, and policy makers. This eye-opening resource begins with an incisive look at the basic function of genes and their effects on organizational behavior, providing a real-world analysis of how genes influence numerous aspects of our professional lives, from the jobs we choose, to how effectively we make decisions and manage people. Born Entrepreneurs, Born Leaders also delves into role that genetics plays in creativity and innovation, and focuses on how genes affect our tendency to start companies. Armed with these insights, you'll not only learn how to leverage your innate skills and personality, but you'll discover how to succeed by acting in ways contrary to your "nature."

Packed with scientifically grounded insights, this phenomenal book also examines the potential use of genetic information in creating job assignments and designing incentive and training plans. Ultimately, Born Entrepreneurs, Born Leaders shows how a heightened awareness of your own-and your colleagues'-genetic predispositions can make you a better employee or employer.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195373424
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	03/04/2010
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	9.54(w) x 6.34(h) x 0.83(d)

About the Author

Scott Shane is the A. Malachi Mixon III Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at Case Western Reserve University. A world renowned expert in management and entrepreneurship, Shane has conducted extensive research on numerous aspects of business, including the effect of genetics on entrepreneurial behavior. He is the author or editor of fourteen books, including the widely acclaimed Illusions of Entrepreneurship, and was the 2009 winner of the Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research.

Editorial Reviews

"Scott Shane takes a close look at recent scientific research to assess the role that genes play in careers and career choices. His aim is to illuminate the role of heredity at work. The strength of his account is that it calmly brings an uncomfortable subject to the fore, laying out the research data in admirably plain English and describing in detail how scientists match specific genes to specific traits."—The Wall Street Journal

"Buttressed by fascinating research and reasonable interpretations, the book reveals how and why some of us seem to be born leaders, creative types, communicators, or entrepreneurs."—Publishers Weekly

"Once in a decade a magnificent book comes along that causes a paradigm shift in thinking about business. Scott Shane's Born Entrepreneurs, Born Leaders is that book."—Barbara Oakley, Ph.D., author of the best-selling, Evil Genes

"Are you a workaholic? The answer may lie as much in your genes as your personality. Scott Shane has written a fascinating account of how our inherited DNA influences our work life. This book is about more than our genes; it's about what our genes can tell us about ourselves."—Dean Hamer, Molecular biologist and author of The Science of Desire, Living With Our Genes, and The God Gene

"This book is a great read for anyone interested in the exciting new world of genetics. Focusing on job choices and workplace behaviour, it shows what genetics can offer employers, employees, parents, and students alike."—Tim Spector, MD, Professor of Genetic Epidemiology and Director of TwinsUK, Kings College London, and author of Your Genes Unzipped

"This is a very important book outlining and discussing how the biological building blocks of DNA affect and permeate almost everything we think, feel, and do in the workplace. Scott Shane has done a masterful job in taking difficult and sophisticated scientific findings and translating them into readable and comprehensive terms and implications."—Richard D. Arvey, noted behavioral geneticist, and Chair of the Management and Organization Department, University of Singapore

From the Publisher

Bored at work? Prone to taking dangerous risks on the job? A control freak? Your genes may be to blame, argues economics professor Shane in this analysis of how our professional destinies are influenced by our genetic and hormonal makeup. Particularly intriguing are his discussions of how individuals might be variously hardwired to be altruistic, to job-hop, desire high-powered careers, take risks, and manage in highly idiosyncratic styles. Shane’s findings may have a practical component, as a wider understanding of genetics may require companies to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions used to enhance employee performance, such as incentive plans and training. Buttressed by fascinating research and reasonable interpretations, the book reveals how and why some of us seem to be “born” leaders, creative types, communicators, or entrepreneurs. If the book has a failing, it’s accessibility: though the author makes a laudable attempt to reach a broad audience, some scientific discussions might prove too esoteric. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly