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Management article
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Reference no. R00113
Published by: Harvard Business Publishing
Originally published in: "Harvard Business Review", 1999
Revision date: 12-Feb-2013

Abstract

AllerGen, a young biotechnology firm, is heading for trouble, possibly even bankruptcy. The company''s one product - a vaccine for people allergic to cats - may never make it to market. And turnover is on the rise, not only because of the vaccine''s uncertain future but also because employees are increasingly unhappy working for founder and Chief Scientific Officer Harry Huston. Although Harry is an excellent scientist, he has no business background. Several years ago he recruited a president and chief operating officer to bring some much-needed business savvy to the organization, but that executive left after a year because Harry simply wouldn''t let him do his job. It hasn''t helped matters that AllerGen''s board consists mainly of Harry''s friends and family, who go along with whatever he wants. Recently some scientists at AllerGen had the phenomenal good luck to develop, almost by accident, an alternative potentially lucrative product. But Harry won''t give the go-ahead to develop a business plan for it. ''There has to be someone who stays the course and works for the sheer joy of finding the cure,'' he says. ''There are people out there who need this vaccine. Some very badly. That''s why we''re here. Not for the money.'' It''s up to two senior scientists to make Harry see that he is holding AllerGen back. How can they convince Harry that changing course is critical?

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Abstract

AllerGen, a young biotechnology firm, is heading for trouble, possibly even bankruptcy. The company''s one product - a vaccine for people allergic to cats - may never make it to market. And turnover is on the rise, not only because of the vaccine''s uncertain future but also because employees are increasingly unhappy working for founder and Chief Scientific Officer Harry Huston. Although Harry is an excellent scientist, he has no business background. Several years ago he recruited a president and chief operating officer to bring some much-needed business savvy to the organization, but that executive left after a year because Harry simply wouldn''t let him do his job. It hasn''t helped matters that AllerGen''s board consists mainly of Harry''s friends and family, who go along with whatever he wants. Recently some scientists at AllerGen had the phenomenal good luck to develop, almost by accident, an alternative potentially lucrative product. But Harry won''t give the go-ahead to develop a business plan for it. ''There has to be someone who stays the course and works for the sheer joy of finding the cure,'' he says. ''There are people out there who need this vaccine. Some very badly. That''s why we''re here. Not for the money.'' It''s up to two senior scientists to make Harry see that he is holding AllerGen back. How can they convince Harry that changing course is critical?

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