Hayagreeva Rao
The Atholl McBean Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resources
Professor of Sociology (by courtesy), School of Humanities and Sciences
Academic Area:
Bio
His recent book The Friction Project: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier and the Wrong Things Harder (St. Martin’s Press) has been well received in the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Fast Company. The book has been chosen by the Next Big Idea Book Club, curated by Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, Dan Pink, and Susan Cain, as one of the two best books for the 2024 season. The book also has been chosen as one of the best business books of 2024 by Financial Times. It has been featured in many podcasts. His prior book, co-authored with Bob Sutton of the School of Engineering at Stanford, is Scaling Up Excellence. The book is a Wall Street Journal best seller, and was included in the best business books to read in 2014 by Financial Times, Inc. Magazine, Amazon, Forbes, Washington Post, and the Library Journal.
His research has been published in journals such as the Administrative Science Quarterly, American Journal of Sociology, American Sociological Review, Academy of Management Journal, Organization Science and Strategic Management Journal. He is also the author of Market Rebels: How Activists Make or Break Radical Innovation, Princeton University Press. 2009. He served as the Editor of Administrative Science Quarterly, and has been a member of the editorial boards of American Journal of Sociology and Organization Science and Academy of Management Review. He has been a Member of the Organizational Innovation and Change Panel of the National Science Foundation. He is a Fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Science, a Fellow of the Sociological Research Association, and also a Fellow of the Academy of Management.
His teaching specialties include leading organizational change, building customer-focused cultures, and organization design. He teaches courses on these topics to MBA and executive audiences. He has consulted with, and conducted executive workshops for, organizations such as Aon Corporation, British Petroleum, CEMEX, General Electric, Hearst Corporation, IBM, Mass Mutual, James Hardie Company, Seyfarth and Shaw. Additionally, he also worked with nonprofit organizations such as the American Cancer Society and governmental organizations such as the FBI and CIA, and the intelligence community.
Among the awards he has received are the Sidney Levy Teaching Award from the Kellogg School of Management, and the W. Richard Scott Distinguished Award for Scholarship from the American Sociological Association.
Administrative Titles
Director, TELUS Senior Leadership Forum
Co-Director Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative - Education
Co-Director, RISE: PTT Leadership Transformation
Academic Co-Director, Stanford Innovation and Entrepreneurship Certificate
Director, People, Culture, and Performance: Strategies from Silicon Valley
Co-Director, Customer-Focused Innovation
Stanford GSB Affiliations
- Faculty Affiliate King Center on Global Development
Stanford University Affiliations
- National Guest Scholar Stanford Clinical Excellence Research Center 2013–present
- Advisory Board Member Stanford Cancer Institute 2013–present
Academic Degrees
- PhD, Case Western Reserve University, 1989
- Post-Graduate Diploma in Personnel Management and Industrial Relations, XLRI, India, 1980
- BA, Andhra University, India, 1978
Academic Appointments
- At Stanford University since 2005
- Richard L. Thomas Distinguished Professor of Leadership and Organizational Change, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 2002–2005
- Charles Howard Candler Professor of Management, Emory University Goizueta Business School, April–June 2002
- Professor of Organization & Management, Emory University Goizueta Business School, 2000–2002
- Associate Professor of Organization & Management, Emory University Goizueta Business School , 1995–2000;
- Assistant Professor of Organization & Management, Emory University Goizueta Business School, 1989–1994
Awards and Honors
- BP Faculty Fellow in Global Management for 2019–2020
- BP Faculty Fellow in Global Management, 2018–2019
- BP Faculty Fellow in Global Management, 2017–2018
- Fellow, Academy of Management, 2008
- Fellow of Sociological Research Association, American Sociological Association, 2007
- W. Richard Scott Distinguished Award for Scholarly Contributions, American Sociological Association, 2005
- Sidney Levy Award For Teaching, Kellogg School of Management, 2004
- Fellow, Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Science, 2004
Service to the Profession
- Editor, Administrative Science Quarterly, 2008-2011
- Member, Macro-Organizational Behavior Society, 1997-present
- Consulting Editor, American Journal of Sociology, 2001-2003
- Member, Organization and Innovation Panel, National Science Foundation, 2000-2002
- Senior Editor, Organization Science, 2000-2002
Research Statement
Professor Rao studies collective action within organizations and in markets. His research and by implication, his teaching, revolves around scaling up mobilization, innovation, and talent in organizations.
Journal Articles
Working Papers
Other Publications
Books
Teaching Statement
Professor Rao teaches courses on Scaling up Excellence, HR for Startups, and Launch to Liquidity — a course he coteaches with Professors Levav and Rauh.
Degree Courses
Executive Education & Other Non-Degree Programs
Advance leadership skills, career growth, and professional networks with the Asian Leadership Program — a first-of-its-kind offering from a leading business school.
Learn about cutting-edge social science frameworks and design thinking techniques in a unique partnership between Stanford GSB and d.school.
Learn leading-edge strategies, frameworks, and best practices for making complex board decisions — with customized cohorts for public and private company board members
Develop best practices to drive innovation in your organization by exploring the critical role and impact of AI, and then apply your knowledge through real-world projects.
Guide your organization through growth with innovative CFO training that blends financial expertise, strategic thinking, and leadership skills.
Discover business growth strategies and build a stronger company designed to sustain progress, scale management, and facilitate market expansion.
Gain general management training — combining conceptual knowledge with individual experiences — and increase your impact in the nonprofit sector.
Develop your leadership style, create an action plan and inspire innovation in your team, your company, and the world.
Develop strategic frameworks, customer empathy, and communication and leadership skills to help you move from product management to the C-suite.
Explore the intersection of innovation, technology, and business, and learn to drive strategic change across your organization.
Build your career and network with a specialized leadership program for LGBTQ+ executives, the first of its kind from a leading business school.
Leverage diverse research, proven methodologies, and design thinking for change management in this collaboration between Stanford and Harvard.
Tackle the entire M&A process through an interdisciplinary curriculum and a hands-on, weeklong team simulation project.
Gain a competitive advantage using Silicon Valley models and mindsets to recruit, retain, and inspire people for performance and growth.
Start the next step in your personal and professional journey by experiencing Stanford GSB and Silicon Valley’s culture of innovation.
Elevate your leadership with Stanford LEAD, our flagship online program. Gain the skills and mindset to thrive in today’s complex world.
Make the business case for sustainability with strategic and financial frameworks, personal leadership skills, and a deeper knowledge of today’s sustainability landscape.
Cases
In the Media
BE A BETTER DIRECTOR: How company leaders can drive growth
Insights by Stanford Business
School News
Faculty Voices