It is taken for granted in the knowledge economy that companies must employ the most talented performers to compete and succeed. Many firms try to buy stars by luring them away from competitors. But Boris Groysberg shows what an uncertain and disastrous practice this can be. After examining the careers of more than a thousand star analysts at Wall Street investment banks, and conducting more than two hundred frank interviews, Groysberg comes to a striking conclusion: star analysts who change firms suffer an immediate and lasting decline in performance. Their earlier excellence appears to have depended heavily on their former firms' general and proprietary resources, organizational cultures, networks, and colleagues. There are a few exceptions, such as stars who move with their teams and stars who switch to better firms. Female stars also perform better after changing jobs than their male counterparts do. But most stars who switch firms turn out to be meteors, quickly losing luster in their new settings. Groysberg also explores how some Wall Street research departments are successfully growing, retaining, and deploying their own stars. Finally, the book examines how its findings apply to many other occupations, from general managers to football players. "Chasing Stars" offers profound insights into the fundamental nature of outstanding performance. It also offers practical guidance to individuals on how to manage their careers strategically, and to companies on how to identify, develop, and keep talent.
Acknowledgments ix Introduction 3 Part One: Talent and Portability Chapter 1: Moving On 15 Chapter 2: Analysts' Labor Market 35 Chapter 3: The Limits of Portability 51 Chapter 4: Do Firms Benefit from Hiring Stars? 77 Part Two: Facets of Portability Chapter 5: Stars and Their Galaxies: Firms of Origin and Portability 93 Chapter 6: Integrating Stars: The Hiring Firm and Portability of Performance 125 Chapter 7: Liftouts (Taking Some of It with You): Moving in Teams 141 Chapter 8: Women and Portability: Why Is Women's Performance More Portable than Men's? 163 Part Three: Implications for Talent Management: Developing, Retaining, and Rewarding Stars Chapter 9: Star Formation: Developmental Cultures at Work 197 Chapter 10: Turnover: Who Leaves and Why 239 Chapter 11: A Special Case of Turnover: Stars as Entrepreneurs 253 Chapter 12: Measuring and Rewarding Stars' Performance 273 Chapter 13: Lessons from Wall Street and Elsewhere 321 Appendix 343 Notes 353 Index 437