Tom Rath

Tom Rath is an American author, business consultant, and speaker who currently focuses his efforts on creating positive change in the workplace. He has written or co-written a number of popular books, some of which are widely considered classics of modern workplace advice.

Rath was born in 1958 in Chicago, Illinois. He studied sociology, economics, and psychology at the University of Michigan and received an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1988. Rath's career took off after he began working for Gallup, Inc. in 2004. He quickly rose within the organization, eventually becoming the Senior Scientist and majority shareholder in 2008. His work with Gallup has spanned many areas, but some of his contributions were in the assessment of employee engagement, customer engagement, and customer loyalty.

Rath's first book, Vital Friends, was released in 2006 and focused on the importance of friendship and its effect on overall life satisfaction. His subsequent books, StrengthsFinder 2.0 and StrengthsBased Leadership, utilized his work with Gallup to empirically derive a method for improving team performance and overall employee engagement. His work in these areas achieved global recognition, and was discussed in high-level business circles.

In 2009, Rath released his fourth book, Eat Move Sleep, which focuses on physical and mental health. He followed that up with How Full Is Your Bucket?, which targets engagement and personal growth within the workplace. He also co-wrote Strengths Based Selling, a book focused on sales strategies, in 2017.

Through his books, Rath encourages readers to focus on their strengths and use those strengths to help define their role in the workplace. He champions a people-first mentality and often has been described as providing the research necessary to show the economic value of placing people in the center of any organization.

Besides being an author, Rath is a speaker and consultant to many top businesses including Google, Microsoft and Boeing. He has taught popular courses on leadership, employee engagement and communication at Harvard Business School, and also serves as a board member for a number of organizations.

Overall, Tom Rath is an inspirational author and business consultant who has played an important role in placing people at the center of workplace strategies. His work, both through his books and through his lectures, has led to the understanding that there is real economic value in placing the welfare and satisfaction of employees at the core of any successful organization. His thoughts and ideas have been embraced, studied, and universally accepted by all levels of the business world.