Adam Grant's Top Speaker Suggestions

Speakers loved by one of the world's top business voices? Here are nine top speakers as personally recommended by Adam Grant. We’ve included a little bit of their profiles and how they’ve changed their fields and influenced the world we live in. What's not to love?

Adam Grant reccomends

Just over five years ago, the legendary Adam Grant, organisational psychologist at Wharton, and author of Hidden Potential and Think Again, and TED podcast host, asked his LinkedIn followers, “Who are your favourite keynote speakers? Some of mine…" Then, shared an incredible list of 38 names. We recently rediscovered Adam's post, which is simply too good not to share.

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“Who are your favourite keynote speakers? Some of mine…”

Mellody Hobson on feedback

Mellody Hobson is a businesswoman and co-CEO of Ariel Investments, a firm focusing on the needs of African American investors. Despite humble Illinois beginnings, Mellody attended Princeton University. She began her career at Ariel Investments, becoming president and co-CEO. Hobson is also a regular guest contributor of financial advice on CBS News, and she has written a financial advice column for Black Enterprise magazine. She’s served on the boards of Starbucks and JPMorgan Chase, and in 2015, she was selected for inclusion on Time magazine's annual list of the one hundred most influential people in the world.

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Daniel Pink on motivation and regret

Daniel Pink is an American author, journalist, and speaker best known for his books A Whole New Mind, Drive, and To Sell Is Human. Daniel explores the science of human behaviour and motivation in his work, focusing on intrinsic motivation and the role of creativity and empathy in business and personal success.

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Baratunde Thurston on storytelling

Baratunde Thurston is an American writer, comedian, and commentator. He co-founded the black political blog Jack and Jill Politics, archived in the Library of Congress, and served as the Director of Digital for The Onion. Thurston has written several books, including the New York Times best-seller "How to Be Black," released in 2012. Baratunde has also contributed to HuffPost and the Weekly Dig and has been a semi-regular panellist on the podcast This Week in Tech.

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Kat Cole on leadership

Kat Cole is a business executive who rose from humble beginnings to become the COO of Athletic Greens and the former COO of Focus Brands, which operates Cinnabon and Jamba Juice. She is known for her unconventional career path, starting as a hostess and waitress at Hooters in her teens and eventually climbing the corporate ladder without a college degree. Cole's "hotshot rule" is a practice she uses to gain insights from others by imagining someone she admires in her position and considering what they would do differently. This exercise helped her take action on new ideas within 24 hours, leading to significant progress.

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Dan Harris on self-compassion

Dan Harris is an American journalist, author, and meditation teacher. He is best known for his book "10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works," which chronicles his journey from scepticism to embracing mindfulness meditation and self-compassion. 

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Brian Little on personality

Brian R. Little is a professor, author, and speaker who has significantly contributed to studying human personality and well-being. He is a pioneer in personality assessment and motivation. He has been recognised with the Henry A. Murray Award for distinguished research on the study of lives awarded by the Association for Research in Personality. Brian is known for his work on personal project analysis, which examines the coherence of personality and has shown that the sustainable pursuit of core projects in our lives enhances human well-being.

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Annie Duke on decision-making

Annie Duke is an American former professional poker player and author in cognitive-behavioural decision science and decision education. She has written books on decision-making, including "Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts". Annie is known for her expertise in the science of intelligent decision-making and has applied her knowledge to various pursuits, including championship poker and public speaking. 

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Rachel Botsman on trust

Rachel Botsman is a world-renowned expert on trust and technology. She has lectured and written extensively on the topic, including her book "What's Mine is Yours," which was named by TIME as one of the "Ten Ideas That Will Change the World." Rachel has been recognised as a top management thinker and has delivered TED talks that have been viewed over four million times. She is a Trust Fellow at Oxford University's Saïd Business School, where she designed and taught new courses on trust and technology. Her work has been published in various prestigious publications, and she has advised boards, senior leaders, and governments worldwide on building trustworthy cultures.

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Luvvie Ajayi Jones on authenticity and disruption

Luvvie Ajayi Jones is a Nigerian-American author, speaker, and digital strategist known for her work on authenticity and disruption. She has written two New York Times best-selling books, "I'm Judging You: The Do-Better Manual" and "Professional Troublemaker: A Fear-Fighter Manual," which focus on authenticity and taking action to create positive change. Luvvie’s TED talk, "Getting Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable," has been viewed over 9 million times, placing her in the Top 1% of TED Talks.

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💡 Curious to find out how a PepTalk can help accelerate your team's knowledge? If you're facing challenges in your business and need a fresh perspective on feedback, motivation and regret, leadership or any of the other topics mentioned here, trust, drop us an email at hello@getapeptalk.com or send us a chat message for a free strategy call.