Geoff Smart

Biography

Geoff Smart is a CEO, bestselling author, and social entrepreneur whose mission is to create, communicate, and put into practice useful ideas about leadership.

As a public speaker, Geoff has delivered top audience satisfaction ratings at a wide range of corporate and industry events across the globe.

Geoff serves as Chairman & CEO of ghSMART. ghSMART is a leadership advisory firm for CEOs and investors, which Geoff founded in 1995. The firm was named one of the "world`s top firms" in Broderick`s The Art of Managing Professional Services, and is the subject of two Harvard Business School Cases titled "ghSMART & Co.: Pioneering in Professional Services."

Geoff is co-author, with his colleague Randy Street, of the New York Times bestselling book Who: The A Method for Hiring. The book is one of the bestselling and most-acclaimed books in the world on the topic of hiring leaders, which The Wall Street Journal calls "the most important aspect of business." Soundview Executive Book Summaries gave Who the "Best 30 Business Books Award." Shanghai Daily named it a "Top 5 Business Book in China." Canada`s Globe and Mail named Who the "#1 Best Business and Management Book of 2009." Geoff is also co-creator of the Topgrading philosophy of talent management.

As a social entrepreneur, Geoff is Chairman and Co-founder of SmartKids Leadership Program, a 501c3 not-for-profit foundation that provides a customized program of 10 years of leadership mentoring and a $100,000 scholarship to top students with leadership potential from low-income communities. He is also Chairman and Founder of The Leaders Initiative, whose mission is to elevate humanity by identifying, developing, and deploying society`s greatest leaders into government. Geoff and his ghSMART colleagues also provide pro bono leadership advisory services to leaders in the fields of education, healthcare, and government.

Geoff earned a B.A. in Economics with Honors from Northwestern University, an M.A., and a Ph.D. in Psychology with emphasis in Leadership from Claremont Graduate University, where he was a student of Peter F. Drucker. He was elected to Sigma Xi, the honorary society for holders of doctoral degrees, and is a member of Young Presidents` Organization (YPO).

Publications

Who: The A Method for Hiring

In Who: The A Method for Hiring (Random House, 2008), Geoff Smart and Randy Street solve every entrepreneur`s #1 problem: making hiring mistakes.

Over 20 billionaire entrepreneurs were interviewed exclusively for this book (a record) to collect their best advice and stories on this important subject. The largest statistical study every done on this topic was conducted with the University of Chicago`s Steve Kaplan, which revealed some startling findings about types of candidates who succeed and fail.

A simple and practical solution is presented. Over 20 CEOs have endorsed Who.

Titles

Topgrading: How Leading Companies Win by Hiring, Coaching, and Keeping the Best People.

Who: The A Method for Hiring