Jacob’s family is from The Republic of Georgia which used to be a part of the former U.S.S.R. They came to America with no money, no possessions, and without speaking a word of English. Through sheer hard work, determination, and will, they were able to build a life for themselves and their family. Jacob was raised with the belief that if you work hard, you can accomplish anything, that it’s always better to lead instead of follow, and that anyone has the potential to lead.
After graduating with honors in business management economics and psychology from the University of California Santa Cruz, Jacob was excited to join the corporate world. At his first job he was told that he’d be traveling the country, meeting with executives and entrepreneurs, and doing all sorts of exciting work. A few months in, he was stuck doing data entry, cold calling, and PowerPoint presentations. One day the CEO came out of his nice corner office, handed Jacob a $10 bill and said, “I’m late for a meeting, go grab me a cup of coffee, and get something for yourself as well.” That was the last corporate job he ever had.
Today, Jacob Morgan is a trained futurist and one of the world’s leading authorities on leadership, the future of work, and employee experience, He speaks in front of tens of thousands of people each year and his content is seen over a million times a year. Jacob is the best-selling author of five books: Leading With Vulnerability (Wiley 2024), The Future Leader (Wiley 2020) The Employee Experience Advantage (Wiley, 2017), The Future of Work (Wiley, 2014), and The Collaborative Organization (McGraw Hill, 2012). He speaks at over 50 conferences a year including TED Academy which is one of the largest TED events in the world. In addition Jacob provides advisory and thought leadership services to various organizations around the world.