Ori Brafman is a multiple New York Times bestselling author. He specializes in organizational culture, leadership, conflict resolution, inclusion, and non-kinetic warfare. His objective is to propagate non- violence and influence society’s highest leaders in military, government, NGOs, and business to pursue life-affirming decisions and actions.
Brafman’s recent bestselling book, Radical Inclusion: What the Post– 9/11 World Should Have Taught Us About Leadership, co-authored with 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Martin Dempsey, argues that inclusion is no longer a “nice-to-have”, but a strategic imperative in today’s rapidly changing world. His seminal work, The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations, is cited by the U.S. military as the foundation for a successful campaign to counter Al Qaeda.
Brafman has advised Fortune 500 companies, all branches of the U.S. military, the Obama White House, the National Academy of Sciences, NASA, and NATO, among others. His media appearances include the New York Times, the Washington Post, Bloomberg TV, CBS, Fox News, MSNBC, ABC News, BBC, National Public Radio, CNBC, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, and C-SPAN. His published books include Radical Inclusion: What the Post-9/11 World Should Have Taught Us About Leadership; The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations; Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior; Click: The Forces Behind How We Fully Engage with People, Work, and Everything We Do; and The Chaos Imperative: How Chance and Disruption Increase Innovation, Effectiveness, and Success.
Brafman is a Distinguished Teaching Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business where he lectures on improvisational leadership and the ethical use of artificial intelligence. He leads a strategic broadening seminar between UC Berkeley and the U.S. Army and created a first-of-its-kind partnership between the Haas School of Business and the U.S. military’s National Defense University. His continued work on bridging the military/civilian divide is focused on the national security threat created by the growing mistrust and misunderstanding between Silicon Valley and the Department of Defense.
Brafman is founder and president of Starfish Leadership and co-founder of the Fully Charged Institute, which combines his work with that of Tom Rath. The Institute focuses on improving the well-being and quality of life of leaders and business teams. Brafman is a founding member of Vegan Action which celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2019.
Brafman holds a BA in Peace and Conflict from UC Berkeley and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. He resides in San Francisco, California.