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Tammy Erickson Named to 2013 Thinkers50, Global Ranking of Influential Management Thinkers

Management gurus worldwide attend the Biennial Gala in London

November 12, 2013 - London – Tammy Erickson, author, expert on organizations and the changing workforce and CEO of Tammy Erickson Associates, was named one of the most influential living management thinkers at the recent Thinkers50 awards gala in London. The biennial global ranking honored Erickson for her work and research on the generational differences between workers today and on the way corporations innovate through collaboration.

“I am honored to be included on this prestigious list,” said Ms. Erickson.  And it was wonderful to be a part of such an acclaimed gathering of business thinkers in London. I thank the Thinkers50 organization and everyone who supported me to help make this happen.”

Thinkers50, the first-ever global ranking of management thinkers, was created in 2001 by Stuart Crainer and Des Dearlove. It is the premier ranking of global business thinkers spanning categories such as innovation, strategy, and leadership.

Ms. Erickson has been included in the Thinkers50 bi-annual ranking since 2009, with her rank steadily rising with each new list—this year to #29.  A McKinsey Award-winning author and an expert on generations in the workplace, Erickson is the author of a trilogy on Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y and the different attributes they bring to work. Presently she is writing a fourth generational focused book on a new, emerging cohort she calls the ReGeneration, those who are 17 and under today.

Ms. Erickson is also well-known for her expertise on organizations and the changing workforce. Her work is anchored in extensive research on changing demographics and employee values and, most recently, on how successful organizations innovate through collaboration.

“My work has evolved over the last five years,” Erickson explained.  “I now find that the biggest impact of the ideas is helping people discover their own biases – how each of us is shaped by our experiences – and therefore how logical and legitimate our differences really are.  Developing this understanding broadly helps organizations benefit from the diverse perspectives of multiple people, driving higher levels of engagement, collaboration, and innovation.”

The Thinkers50 has ten established criteria by which thought leaders are evaluated—originality of ideas; practicality of ideas; presentation style; written communication; loyalty of followers; business sense; international outlook; rigor of research; impact of ideas and the elusive guru factor. Described as the ‘Oscars of Management Thinking,’ Thinkers50’s is referred to by Crainer and Dearlove as “the essential guide to which thinkers and which ideas matter now and which have been consigned to business history.”  The ranking is based on voting at the Thinkers50 website and input from a team of advisers led by Crainer and Dearlove. For the 2013 ranking more than 12,000 votes were cast.

This year’s Thinkers50 Gala Highlights featured a number of unique occurrences including the arrival of the first Chinese management thinkers in the ranking and more female thinkers ever honored—a total of 13 women (up from 11 in 2011) out of 50. Clayton Christensen, Professor at Harvard Business School, was named the most influential living management thinker in the world. Christensen, the originator of the theory of disruptive innovation and author of best-selling books including The Innovator’s Dilemma, tops the list for the second time running. Past winners were management legends Peter Drucker and CK Prahalad.

More information about Thinkers 50 is available on http://www.thinkers50.com.