People

Adam Grant

Adam Grant

Formal First Name
Adam
Dates
8/13/1981 - present

Adam Grant is the Saul P. Steinberg Professor of Management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is a renowned organizational psychologist and best-selling author whose work seeks to understand human motivation, job design, and prosocial and proactive behaviors. His work has been highly influential, especially in the world of big business and technology. With more than 60 publications in leading management and psychology journals, Adam has been recognized as one of the world’s most-cited, most prolific, and most influential researchers in business and economics.

Professional Experience


Academic History

PERSONAL LIFE

  • Grant was raised in the suburbs of Detroit.
  • He is a former magician and Junior Olympic springboard diver.


WORK

  • His pioneering studies have increased performance and reduced burnout among engineers and sales professionals, enhanced call center productivity, and motivated safety behaviors among doctors, nurses, and lifeguards.
  • Companies continue to adapt his principles in their work cultures and practices.


PUBLICATIONS

  • ​Grant has authored at least 5 books that have sold millions of copies and been translated into 35 languages.
  • His books have been named among the year’s best by Amazon, Apple, the Financial Times, and The Wall Street Journal.
  • He writes on work and psychology for the New York Times.
  • He is the host of WorkLife, a chart-topping TED original podcast.
  • He features new insights in his free monthly newsletter, GRANTED.


MEDIA AND APPEARANCES

  • His speaking and consulting clients include Google, the NBA, Bridgewater, and the Gates Foundation. 
  • His TED talks have been viewed more than 20 million times.
  • He has more than 4 million followers on social media.


ACADEMIA


AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS
  • Grant received a standing ovation at TED in 2016.
  • He was voted the audience’s favorite speaker at The Nantucket Project.
  • He has been honored as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.
  • He was recognized by Forbes as one of the world’s "10 most influential management thinkers."
  • He made the list of Fortune’s 40 under 40 and Oprah’s Super Soul 100.
  • He has been Wharton’s top-rated professor for 7 years in a row.
  • He was tenured at the age of 28, making him the youngest professor in history to receive tenure at the Wharton School.
  • He received distinguished scientific achievement awards from the American Psychological Association and the National Science Foundation.