For over 20 years, Thinkers50 has been identifying, ranking, and sharing the very best in management thinking.
Published every two years, the Thinkers50 Ranking is the definitive list of the most influential management thinkers in the world and answers one simple question: who is the world’s most influential living management thinker?
Nominations for the Thinkers50 Ranking are open from May to July in the years that the ranking takes place (odd-numbered years). The public is invited to participate in the online nomination process by submitting the names and qualifications of thinkers they wish to put forward for consideration. Nominations are accepted and encouraged from individuals and organisations across the globe.
All nominations for the Thinkers50 Ranking are considered by the Thinkers50 Panel of Advisors. Each new ranking is announced at the Thinkers50 Awards Gala held in November every other year, culminating in a countdown of the top 10.
The Thinkers50 Ranking uses a proprietary methodology for evaluating management thinking. Thinkers50 founders Stuart Crainer and Des Dearlove lead the process, with input and review from the Thinkers50 advisors. The criteria are evaluated on a weighted basis taking account of the thinker’s performance over the long term, as well as over the two years since the previous ranking.
The methodology is organised by two broad concepts: Viability – the quality and relevance of ideas; and Visibility – the influence and impact of ideas in the world. These concepts are quantified using 10 criteria.
VIABILITY (THE 4RS):
VISIBILITY (IMPACT):
Nominations are accepted between 1 May and 30 June in odd-numbered years.
Paul Polman and Andrew Winston developed the concept of ‘net positive.’ They define net positive as a company improving the wellbeing of everyone it touches through its operations, products, and services, including the planet, and thriving as a result. Corporate sustainability goals fall to the wayside too often, they say, as victims of a false choice between pursuing profits and ‘doing good.’ But companies that adopt net positive principles, they explain, deliver better results.
Acclaimed pioneer and champion of psychological safety.
Best-selling author and quantitative futurist researching emerging technology, business and society…
Top expert on leadership and innovation, focused on global strategies.
Leading adviser on innovation and champion of “dual transformation” strategy, helping businesses to turn disruption into advantage.
Globally recognized expert on strategy, innovation, and entrepreneurship; champion of harnessing disruptive influences for competitive advantage.
Leadership isn’t about you, it is about the people you work with…
Studies how we can find motivation and meaning and lead more generous and creative lives.
Putting purpose at the heart of management, Ranjay explains, delivers game-changing results for both companies and society alike…
Leading expert on choice, studying the factors that influence the choices we make and how choice and meaning are intertwined…
Launched into the thought leadership stratosphere in 2014 with The Second Machine Age (with Andrew McAfee).
International authority in people analytics, talent management, leadership development, and the Human-AI interface.
Self-reinvention and branding expert, showing others how to take control of their professional lives and make an impact on the world…
Connecting the dots for leaders as they seek to break team silos, drive exponential growth and innovate through teamwork…
Psychologist studying how grit, self-control, and behaviour change can predict individual success.
On a mission to help teams collaborate effectively and achieve exceptional results.
Marketing pioneer, unleashing the power of the consumer and the importance of building trust, connections…
Ecosystem specialist and Mandarin-speaking authority on innovation in China…
Strategist and digital anthropologist focusing on emerging technology, innovation, and future of work.
Distinguished authority on leadership and career development, advocating the importance of strategic networks, and the value of collaboration…
Champion of business ecosystems and digital platforms, collaboration and partnership; specialist on corporate turnarounds and organizational transformation…
Expert on the powers of disruption, and the ways to grasp the opportunities of change, starting with the personal.
Helping leaders put purpose to work and unleash human magic.
Inventors of the ground-breaking “blue ocean strategy”, paving the way for organizations to break out of …
Founder of the growth strategy and innovation consulting firm Outthinker.
International branding expert, who has led deep research into the minds of buyers, applying insights from neuroscience to develop the concept of “buyology”…
Martin’s influence on business strategy and thinking has been immense. He championed the idea of integrative thinking, arguing that …
Launched into the thought leadership stratosphere in 2014 with The Second Machine Age (with Erik Brynjolfsson).
Prominent thought leader and strategist on the future of work in the social era, advocating for people in a technology-driven workspace…
Specialist on cross-cultural management, her evaluation of different cultures has resulted in a strategic framework for organizations seeking international success…
Making business sense of human behaviour and the decisions we make…
Expert on the effects of AI on work, entrepreneurship, and education.
Answers the question of how leaders can scale their organizations by developing and implementing global and digital strategies.
The world’s leading champion of project management; creator of concepts including the Project Economy and the Hierarchy of Purpose.
The “Tech Humanist”.
Founder of Shared Sisterhood™, Tina explores the connections between diversity, inclusion, and equity …
Osterwalder and Pigneur created the Business Model Canvas, an innovative strategy management …
Expert on leadership and learning in the workplace, notably leadership in the age of “nomadic professionalism”, and broadening and strengthening…
How we can expand our awareness and tap into abundant inner resources — love, ingenuity, wisdom — to direct human evolution towards a healthier…
Explorer of the theory, practice and importance of speaking truth to power…
Making workplaces fairer.
Educator and executive coach, passionate about helping champions grow, adapt, and give back so they can keep on winning…
Masters of navigating paradoxes.
A leading voice on the case for good jobs, Zeynep explores how companies can satisfy their customers, employees, and investors simultaneously.
Best-selling author, proponent of talent development through leadership, advocates the power of harnessing collective intelligence…
A future-ready strategist, Howard specialises in technological innovation, strategic transformation, and change management.
Thinkers50 Limited
The Studio
Highfield Lane
Wargrave RG10 8PZ
United Kingdom
Thinkers50 Limited
The Studio
Highfield Lane
Wargrave RG10 8PZ
United Kingdom
Thinkers50 Limited
The Studio
Highfield Lane
Wargrave RG10 8PZ
United Kingdom
Thinkers50 Limited has updated its Privacy Policy on 28 March 2024 with several amendments and additions to the previous version, to fully incorporate to the text information required by current applicable date protection regulation. Processing of the personal data of Thinkers50’s customers, potential customers and other stakeholders has not been changed essentially, but the texts have been clarified and amended to give more detailed information of the processing activities.
