Jeffrey Pfeffer

The Thomas D. Dee II Professor of Organizational Behavior at Stanford Graduate School of Business

Schools

SDA Bocconi School of Management
IESE Business School
Stanford Graduate School of Business

Expertise

Biography

Stanford Graduate School of Business

Research Statement

Jeffrey Pfeffer has published extensively in the fields of organization theory and human resource management. His current research focuses on the relationship between time and money, power and leadership in organizations, economics language and assumptions and their effects on management practice, how social science theories become self-fulfilling, barriers to turning knowledge into action and how to overcome them, and evidence-based management and what it is, barriers to its use, and how to implement it.

Bio

Jeffrey Pfeffer is the Thomas D. Dee II Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University where he has taught since 1979. He is the author or co-author of 15 books including:

Leadership B.S.: Fixing Workplaces and Careers One Truth at a Time;
The Human Equation: Building Profits by Putting People First;
Power: Why Some People Have It—and Others Don’t;
The Knowing-Doing Gap: How Smart Companies Turn Knowledge Into Action;
Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths, and Total Nonsense: Profiting from Evidence-Based Management
And more than 150 articles and book chapters.

In March, 2018, HarperCollins will publish Pfeffer’s latest book, Dying for a Paycheck: How Modern Management Harms Employee Health and Company Performance—And What We Can Do About It.

Dr. Pfeffer received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Carnegie-Mellon University and his Ph.D. from Stanford. He began his career at the business school at the University of Illinois and then taught at the University of California, Berkeley. Pfeffer has been a visiting professor at the Harvard Business School, Singapore Management University, London Business School, Copenhagen Business School, and for the past 12 years a visitor at IESE in Barcelona.

From 2003-2007, Pfeffer wrote a monthly column, “The Human Factor,” for the 650,000-person circulation business magazine, Business 2.0 and from 2007-2010, he wrote a monthly column providing career advice for Capital, a leading business and economics magazine in Turkey. Pfeffer has also written for Fortune.com, BNET, the Washington Post, BloombergBusinessWeek.com, and is an Influencer on LinkedIn.

Pfeffer currently serves on the board of directors of Berlin Packaging, on the advisory board for Collective Health, and on the board of the nonprofit Quantum Leap Healthcare. In the past he has served on the boards of Resumix, Unicru, and Workstream, all human capital software companies, Audible Magic, an internet company, SonoSite, a NASDAQ company designing and manufacturing portable ultrasound machines, and the San Francisco Playhouse, a non-profit theater.

Pfeffer has presented seminars in 39 countries throughout the world as well as doing consulting and providing executive education for numerous companies, associations, and universities in the United States.

Jeffrey Pfeffer has won the Richard D. Irwin Award presented by the Academy of Management for scholarly contributions to management and numerous awards for his articles and books. He is listed in the top 25 management thinkers by Thinkers 50 and as one of the Most Influential HR International Thinkers by HR Magazine. In November, 2011, he was presented with an honorary doctorate degree from Tilburg University in The Netherlands.

Academic Degrees

PhD in Business Administration, Organizational Behavior, Stanford University, 1972
MS in Industrial Administration, Carnegie Mellon University, 1968
BS in Administration and Management Science, Carnegie Mellon University, 1968

Academic Appointments

At Stanford University since 1979
Tommie Goh Visiting Professor of Entrepreneurship, Singapore Management University, Winter 2006
Visiting Professor, IESE Business School, Spring 2006
Advanced Institute of Management Visiting Professor, London Business School, Fall 2005
Thomas Henry Carroll-Ford Foundation Visiting Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School, 1981-1982
Assistant-Associate Professor, University of California, Berkeley, 1973-1979
Assistant Professor, University of Illinois, 1971-73

Awards and Honors

BP Faculty Fellow in Global Management for 2021–22
Hank McKinnell-Pfizer Inc. Faculty Fellow for 2015–16
Honorary Doctorate, Tilburg University, The Netherlands, 2011
Richard D. Irwin Scholarly Contributions to Management Award, Academy of Management, 1989
Terry Book Award, Academy of Management, 1984

Videos

Courses Taught

Customer-Focused Innovation

Stanford Graduate School of Business

Online

Leading Change and Organizational Renewal

Stanford Graduate School of Business

Online

People, Culture, and Performance: Strategies From Silicon Valley

Stanford Graduate School of Business

Online

The Innovative Health Care Leader: From Design Thinking to Personal Leadership

Stanford Graduate School of Business

Online

Asian Leadership Program

Stanford Graduate School of Business

Stanford, California, United States

Aug 3, 2025

Black Leaders Program

Stanford Graduate School of Business

Stanford, California, United States

Sep 21, 2025

Discover the Paths to Power

Stanford Graduate School of Business

Online

Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders

Stanford Graduate School of Business

Online

Executive Program in Leadership: the Effective use of Power

Stanford Graduate School of Business

Online

Getting Things Done: Power, Influence & Networks

IESE Business School

Online

Getting Things Done: Strategic Leadership

IESE Business School

Online

Stanford Executive Program: be a Leader Who Matters

Stanford Graduate School of Business

Online

Read about executive education

Cases

Update on Zia Yusuf | OB82 Jeffrey Pfeffer2016

Tristan Walker: The Extroverted Introvert | OB93 Jeffrey Pfeffer2016

DaVita: A Community First, A Company Second | OB89 Charles O'Reilly, Jeffrey Pfeffer, David Hoyt, Davina Drabkin2014

Women's Careers and Power, What You Need to Know | OB86 Jeffrey Pfeffer2012

Ross Walker's Path to Power | OB79 Jeffrey Pfeffer2011

A Note on Women and Power | OB78 Jeffrey Pfeffer2010

Incentive Problems in a Software Company | OB75 Jeffrey Pfeffer2009

Kimberly-Clark Andean Region: Creating a Winning Culture | OB72 Jeffrey Pfeffer, Megan Anderson2009

Zia Yusuf at SAP: Having Impact | OB73 Jeffrey Pfeffer2009

A Note on Social Networks and Network Structure | OB66 Jeffrey Pfeffer2008

Note on Power and Social Interaction | OB41 Jeffrey Pfeffer2008

Nuria Chinchilla: The Power to Change Workplaces | OB67 Jeffrey Pfeffer, Megan Anderson2008

Kent Thiry and DaVita: Leadership Challenges in Building and Growing a Great Company | OB54 Jeffrey Pfeffer2006

Three Common CEO Missteps (A Perspective From The Boardroom) | E201 Harold Grousbeck, Joel Peterson, Jeffrey Pfeffer, Alex Tauber2006

Human Resources at the AES Corporation: The Case of the Missing Department | HR3 Jeffrey Pfeffer2004

Karen Jones | OB23 Jeffrey Pfeffer2004

Standard Financial Services | OB25 Jeffrey Pfeffer, Thomas D. Dee, II2004

Wells Fargo and Norwest, \"Merger of Equals\" (A) | HR26A Victoria Chang, Charles O'Reilly III, Jeffrey Pfeffer2004

Wells Fargo and Norwest, \"Merger of Equals\" (B) | HR26B Victoria Chang, Charles O'Reilly III, Jeffrey Pfeffer2004

Dr. Laura Esserman (A) | OB42A Jeffrey Pfeffer, Victoria Chang2003

Dr. Laura Esserman (B) | OB42B Victoria Chang, Jeffrey Pfeffer2003

Gary Loveman and Harrah's Entertainment | OB45 Jeffrey Pfeffer, Victoria Chang2003

Keith Ferrazzi | OB44 Jeffrey Pfeffer, Victoria Chang2003

Holy Cross Hospital The Road to a New Culture | HR16 Jeffrey Pfeffer, Victoria Chang2001

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld: The Road to Redemption | OB34B Jeffrey Pfeffer, Victoria Chang, Kimberly Elsbach2001

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld: The Fall From Grace | OB34A Jeffrey Pfeffer, Victoria Chang, Kimberly Elsbach2000

SAS Institute: The Decision to Go Public | HR6B Jeffrey Pfeffer2000

PSS World Medical, The Challenges of Growth and the Financial Markets | HR12 Charles O'Reilly III, Jeffrey Pfeffer1999

SAS Institute (A): A Different Approach to Incentives and People Management Practices in the Software Industry | HR6A Jeffrey Pfeffer1998

The Fresh Choice Company: Acquiring and Transferring Knowledge | HR7 Jeffrey Pfeffer1998

The Men's Wearhouse: Success in a Declining Industry | HR5 Jeffrey Pfeffer1997

Southwest Airlines (A) | HR1A Charles O'Reilly III, Jeffrey Pfeffer1995

Gary Loveman - Succeeding as an Outsider | OB45V

Laura Esserman - Being an Effective Leader | OB42V5

Laura Esserman - Driving Change | OB42V4