Adam Grant, Ph.D.

Adam Grant, Ph.D. is Saul P. Steinberg Professor of Management and Professor of Psychology, The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania. He is an organizational psychologist and bestselling author who explores the science of motivation, generosity, original thinking, and rethinking.

He has been Wharton’s top-rated professor for 7 straight years. As an organizational psychologist, he is a leading expert on how we can find motivation and meaning, rethink assumptions, and live more generous and creative lives. He has been recognized as one of the world’s 10 most influential management thinkers and Fortune’s 40 under 40.

He is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of five books that have sold millions of copies and been translated into 45 languages: Think Again, Give and Take, Originals, Option B, and Power Moves. His books have been named among the year’s best by Amazon, Apple, the Financial Times, and the Wall Street Journal. His viral piece on languishing was the most-read New York Times article of 2021 and the most-saved article across all platforms.

Grant hosts WorkLife, a chart-topping TED original podcast. His TED talks on languishing, original thinkers, and givers and takers have been viewed more than 30 million times. He has received a standing ovation at TED and was voted the audience’s favorite speaker at The Nantucket Project. His speaking and consulting clients include Google, the NBA, Bridgewater, and the Gates Foundation. He writes on work and psychology for the New York Times, has served on the Defense Innovation Board at the Pentagon, and has been honored as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He has more than 5 million followers on social media and features new insights in his free monthly newsletter, GRANTED.

Grant was profiled in The New York Times Magazine cover story, “Is giving the secret to getting ahead?” He was tenured at Wharton while still in his twenties, and has received the Excellence in Teaching Award for every class that he has taught. He is the founder and host of the Authors@Wharton speaker series, and co-director of Wharton People Analytics. He curates the “Next Big Idea Club” along with Susan Cain (FAN ’13), Malcolm Gladwell, and Dan Pink (FAN’18 and ’22), handpicking two new books each quarter for subscribers and donating 100% of profits to provide books for children in under-resourced communities. He and his wife Allison have published a children’s picture book on generosity, The Gift Inside the Box. Grant is also the cofounder of Givitas, a knowledge collaboration platform that makes it easy to give and receive help in 5 minutes a day, and an angel investor in startups in HR and culture, technology, and consumer products.

Grant earned his Ph.D. in organizational psychology from the University of Michigan, completing it in less than 3 years, and his B.A. from Harvard University, magna cum laude with highest honors and Phi Beta Kappa honors. He has received awards for distinguished scholarly achievement from the Academy of Management, the American Psychological Association, and the National Science Foundation, and been recognized as one of the world’s most-cited, most prolific, and most influential researchers in business and economics. His pioneering research has increased performance and reduced burnout among engineers, teachers, and salespeople, and motivated safety behaviors among doctors, nurses, and lifeguards. He is a former magician and Junior Olympic springboard diver.