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Reflecting or ruminating: listening to the regrets of life science leaders
- Source :
- International Journal of Organization Theory & Behavior. 24:77-92
- Publication Year :
- 2021
- Publisher :
- Emerald, 2021.
-
Abstract
- PurposeThe overwhelming frequency of failure in trying to bring a safe and effective biotech, pharmaceutical or medical device product to market is truly astounding. This research synthesizes industry leaders' insights on lessons learned from reflecting on professional disappointments.Design/methodology/approachThis research used a qualitative approach to learning from the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), Chief Scientific Officers (CSOs) and Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) of the most successful life science firms in the USA. A total of 45 industry leaders were interviewed regarding their lingering regrets about their career misadventures.FindingsRegrets were unavoidable because there were opportunity costs for every choice each leader made. Commentary about wisdom gained comprised themes regarding valuable time lost, strategies that could have been enacted, products that failed and essential personnel who were not managed optimally. Contrary to expectations, there was little mention of money that was squandered.Originality/valueNot felt as a solely negative emotion, regrets were recognized by these leaders as a potentially positive influence on their future decisions. Not felt as a solely negative emotion, regret was recognized by these leaders as a potentially positive influence on their future decisions. This exploratory study suggests that learning from retrospective and anticipated regrets benefits life science leaders in gaining clarity of thought regarding their current business challenges. Because prior research on the value of psychological regrets has mostly relied on limited samples, this inquiry contributes a new vantage point by examining a unique population of senior business leaders, thus providing broader applicability to the organizational literature.
- Subjects :
- Value (ethics)
Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management
Opportunity cost
Public Administration
media_common.quotation_subject
Population
Exploratory research
050105 experimental psychology
law.invention
law
0502 economics and business
0501 psychology and cognitive sciences
Active listening
education
Applied Psychology
media_common
education.field_of_study
business.industry
05 social sciences
Regret
Public relations
CLARITY
Psychological resilience
business
Psychology
050203 business & management
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 15324273
- Volume :
- 24
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- International Journal of Organization Theory & Behavior
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........7ede78cd18b91b608f6488bd61e8b188