Kathleen Eisenhardt is the Stanford W. Ascherman M.D. Professor of Strategy at Stanford, highly-cited author, and Co-director of the acclaimed Stanford Technology Ventures Program, Her new book (w/MIT’s Don Sull) is “Simple Rules: How to Thrive in a Complex World”. It explores how and why simplicity tames complexity in life, business, and nature. "Can’t convey enough how important this is… Simple Rules is the Nerd book of the Summer.”  –Tom Keene, Bloomberg TV .

She is also co-author (w/Shona Brown former Google SVP) of “Competing on the Edge: Strategy as Structured Chaos”, winner of the George R. Terry Award and an Amazon Top 10 Business and Investing book.

Kathleen’s research usually begins with a dilemma – something that stymies lots of people and piques her curiosity. In “Simple Rules”, that puzzle was coping with the mind-numbing proliferation of information and choices that characterizes business and everyday life. She then attacks these dilemmas in her research, and clarifies unexpected solutions for academic, business, and general readers. She is currently studying the use of heuristics in strategies, synergies in multi-business corporations, and strategies for new markets.

Kathleen has served as a Fellow at the World Economic Forum (Davos) and Clinton Global Initiative. She has been on General Motors’ science board and the board of MWH Global, an international design and construction firm. She has won many research awards including the Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research and Schendel Best Paper prize, has four honorary degrees, and gave Oxford’s Clarendon Lectures. A renowned scholar, she was recently named the most cited research author in strategy and organization studies during the past 25 years.

Kathleen received a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Brown University and holds an MS in Computer Science. Her PhD is from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.

Briefings: 
Simple Rules for Thriving in a Complex World