Discussion: View Thread

"Founder's Syndrome" refers to a condition at the stage in an
organization's growth where it must shift from being an extension of the
founder to a becoming a professionally managed organization but can't make
that shift because the founder is unable to change his or her ways of
leading and managing the organization. Clearly, not all organizations
suffer from this syndrome but some do. I've been contacted by someone
interested in locating resources (books, papers, articles) that shed light
on (A) this stage in an organization's development and (B) methods and
techniques for dealing with Founder's Syndrome.

Any and all leads greatly appreciated.


Regards,

Fred Nickols
nickols@att.net
Distance Consulting
http://home.att.net/~nickols/articles.htm

From: Vicki M. Staebler Tardino [mailto:Vicki_Tardino@alumni.umass.edu]

Hi, Fred. I would recommend Managing Corporate Lifecycles by Ichak
Adizes. It is an expansion of the classic Corporate Lifecycles.

Hope this helps,

Vicki Tardino

Take a look at Jeff Sonnenfeld's work on departure styles of CEO's -
The Hero's Farewell - somewhat dated and out of print -- you can
reach him at jeffrey.sonnenfeld@yale.edu.

Chris poulson

>"Founder's Syndrome" refers to a condition at the stage in an
>organization's growth where it must shift from being an extension of the
>founder to a becoming a professionally managed organization but can't make
>that shift because the founder is unable to change his or her ways of
>leading and managing the organization. Clearly, not all organizations
>suffer from this syndrome but some do. I've been contacted by someone
>interested in locating resources (books, papers, articles) that shed light
>on (A) this stage in an organization's development and (B) methods and
>techniques for dealing with Founder's Syndrome.
>
>Any and all leads greatly appreciated.
>
>
>Regards,
>
>Fred Nickols
>nickols@att.net
>Distance Consulting
>http://home.att.net/~nickols/articles.htm


--
===========================
Chris Poulson
Professor of Management and Human Resources
California State Polytechnic University Pomona
Pomona, CA 91768

Mail: P.O. Box 339, Claremont, CA 91711-0339

cfpoulson@csupomona.edu
cpoulson@deltanet.com
909-869-2415 office
909-869-4353 office fax
949-464-9366 home
949-494-6596 home fax
http://www.csupomona.edu/~mhr/facFolders/cfpoulson/

Academy of Management Art & Poetry Web page:
http://www.csupomona.edu/~mhr/facFolders/cfpoulson/expressions.html

"Seeing Time" Photo Essay as exhibited at the Academy of Management 2000:
http://www.aom.pace.edu/meetings/2000/art/seeing_time_title.htm
=====================================

Fred,

Edgar Schein's book, "Organizational Culture and Leadership" (Jossey-Bass,
1991), is a classic on the issue of the founder's effect on organizational
culture.

Good luck,

Don Gibson

Donald E. Gibson
Associate Professor of Management
Charles F. Dolan School of Business
Fairfield University
North Benson Road
Fairfield, CT 06430-5195
Ofc (203) 254-4000, ext. 2841
Fax (203) 254-4105

Dear Fred, While focusing on CEOs rather than founders, Jeff Sonnenfeld's
book, "A hero's farewell" deals with several archtypes of CEOs and the
legacy they leave depending upon how they let go of their organization.
One of my favorite books, which possibly has useful insights for your
founders. Also, See Filley and Aldag's piece "Organization growth and
types: Lessons from small institutions" in Staw and Cummings (Eds.),
Research in Organizational Behavior, Vol 2. They deal with metamorphisis
between types and leadership, thus their research might prove useful.

Best, Kim.

At 06:39 AM 1/19/2002 -0500, you wrote:
>"Founder's Syndrome" refers to a condition at the stage in an
>organization's growth where it must shift from being an extension of the
>founder to a becoming a professionally managed organization but can't make
>that shift because the founder is unable to change his or her ways of
>leading and managing the organization. Clearly, not all organizations
>suffer from this syndrome but some do. I've been contacted by someone
>interested in locating resources (books, papers, articles) that shed light
>on (A) this stage in an organization's development and (B) methods and
>techniques for dealing with Founder's Syndrome.
>
>Any and all leads greatly appreciated.
>
>
>Regards,
>
>Fred Nickols
>nickols@att.net
>Distance Consulting
>http://home.att.net/~nickols/articles.htm
>
--------------------------------
Kim Boal
College of Business Administration
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, TX 79409
(806) 742-2150
KimBoal@ttu.edu