Jeffrey Pfeffer

Jeffrey Pfeffer is the Thomas D. Dee II Professor of Organisational Behavior at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, where he has taught since 1979.

Pfeffer began his academic career at the University of Illinois College of Business and subsequently taught for six years at the University of California, Berkeley. He has held visiting appointments at Harvard Business School, Singapore Management University, London Business School, Copenhagen Business School, and, for 14 years, IESE Business School in Barcelona.

In addition to his teaching and research, Pfeffer hosts the Pfeffer on Power podcast, available on all major platforms and YouTube. From 2003 to 2007, he wrote a monthly column, The Human Factor, for Business 2.0, and from 2007 to 2010, provided career advice through a monthly column for Capital, a leading Turkish business and economics magazine. He has also contributed to Fortune.com, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, BBC, Learning Corner for CornerstoneOnDemand, and is a recognised LinkedIn Influencer.

Pfeffer serves on the advisory boards of Collective Health, Medeloop, Quorso, and Veridian, and on the boards of the nonprofits Quantum Leap Healthcare and the San Francisco Playhouse. He has previously served on the boards of Resumix, Unicru, and Workstream (WSTM); Audible Magic; SonoSite (SONO); Longeveron (LGVN); and Berlin Packaging.

He is the author or co-author of 16 books, including The Human Equation: Building Profits by Putting People First, Managing with Power: Politics and Influence in Organisations, Hidden Value: How Great Companies Achieve Extraordinary Results with Ordinary People, What Were They Thinking? Unconventional Wisdom About Management, Power: Why Some People Have It—And Others Don’t, and Dying for a Paycheck. Rooted in social science research, Pfeffer’s latest book, 7 Rules of Power, provides a practical guide to increasing influence and effectiveness in professional settings.

His contributions to management scholarship have been recognised with the Richard D. Irwin Award from the Academy of Management, numerous awards for his articles and books, and his inclusion in the Thinkers50 Hall of Fame. HR Magazine has named him among the Most Influential HR International Thinkers. Pfeffer holds B.S. and M.S. degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and a Ph.D. from Stanford University, where he was also awarded an honorary doctorate.