Adam M. Grant (born August 13, 1981) is an American popular science author, and professor at the

Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School ( ) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton, a co-founder of Bethlehem Steel, the Wharton ...

specializing in

organizational psychology Industrial and organizational psychology (I-O psychology) "focuses the lens of psychological science on a key aspect of human life, namely, their work lives. In general, the goals of I-O psychology are to better understand and optimize the effec ...

Early life and education

Grant was born in the township of West Bloomfield, Michigan, on August 13, 1981, to a lawyer father and a teacher mother. He grew up in the suburbs of

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. Grant participated in

springboard A springboard or diving board is used for diving and is a board that is itself a spring, i.e. a linear flex-spring, of the cantilever type. Springboards are commonly fixed by a hinge at one end (so they can be flipped up when not in use), and ...

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), ...

and aspired to be a professional basketball player growing up. During high school, he was named an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n in 1999 in diving. He received a B.A. from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

in organizational psychology. He worked as a professional magician during college.

Academic career

Before pursuing a career in academia, Grant was the advertising director at Let's Go Publications and a professional magician. Grant was hired by the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

to serve as an assistant professor of organizational behavior in 2007. After publishing a series of papers in academic journals, he was hired as an associate professor at the

in 2009, becoming the school's youngest

tenured Tenure is a type of academic appointment that protects its holder from being fired or laid off except for cause, or under extraordinary circumstances such as financial exigency or program discontinuation. Academic tenure originated in the United ...

professor at age 28. He was ranked by students the best professor at the university from 2011 to 2017. In 2023, Grant was named by the Thinkers50 as the #2 most influential management thinkers in the world.

Business

Grant is the host of the ''WorkLife'' and ''ReThinking'' podcasts. In 2017 Grant co-founded (along with University of Michigan professor Wayne Baker and entrepreneur Cheryl Baker) Give and Take, Inc., a company that makes a software called Givitas, a web-based SaaS platform designed to help organizations implement the principles from his book ''Give and Take''. Grant serves on the board of Lean In and chairs the Creative Advisory board of EXILE Content.

Personal life

While in graduate school, Grant married Allison; the couple have two daughters and a son.

Books

* ''Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success'' (Viking, 2013) * ''Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World'' (Viking, 2016) * ''Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy.'' with

Sheryl Sandberg Sheryl Kara Sandberg (born August 28, 1969) is an American technology executive, philanthropist, and writer. Sandberg served as chief operating officer (COO) of Meta Platforms, a position from which she stepped down in August 2022. She is also ...

(Knopf, 2017) * ''Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know'' (Penguin, 2021). * ''Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things'' (Penguin, 2023).

Awards

* 2011 winner of the American Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Scientific Early Career Contributions to Psychology. * 2015, named Young Global Leader by the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

References

External links

* * Rys, Richard (Spring 2016)
"Adam Grant, Original"
''Wharton Magazine''. * * Adam Grant's ''

Business Insider ''Business Insider'' (stylized in all caps: BUSINESS INSIDER; known from 2021 to 2023 as INSIDER) is a New York City–based multinational financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Inside ...

'
interview 2019

Firing Line with Margaret Hoover Guest: Adam Grant. Full Episode. 7.22.22.
*
Adam Grant on the Tim Ferriss Podcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, Adam 1981 births 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers Academics from Michigan American business writers American male non-fiction writers 21st-century American psychologists Harvard College alumni Living people People from West Bloomfield, Michigan Organizational psychologists University of Michigan alumni Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania faculty Writers from Michigan Writers from Philadelphia