Werner Erhard

Werner Erhard

www.we ererhard.net

Werner Erhard is an original thinker whose ideas have transformed the effectiveness and quality of life for millions of people and thousands of organizations around the world. For nearly 40 years he has been the creator of innovative ideas and models of individual, organizational, and social transformation. His work has been the source of new perspectives for thinkers and practitioners in fields as diverse as business, education, philosophy, medicine, psychotherapy, developing countries, conflict resolution, and community building.

Werner Erhard has created new ways of seeing things in areas where progress has stalled or where breakthroughs would make a significant difference. A majority of the Fortune 100 companies and many foundations and governmental entities have used his ideas and models. More than two million people around the world have participated in the public, corporate and academic programs and courses he has created.

Werner Erhard is largely self-educated, albeit with tutoring from some important thinkers of his time – Richard Feynman, Michel Foucault, Humberto Maturana, Sir Karl Popper, and Hilary Putnam, to name a few. Professor of Philosophy, Michael E. Zimmerman said of Erhard “He had no particular formal training in anything, but he understood things as well as anyone I’d ever seen; and I’ve been around a lot of smart people in academia. This is an extraordinary intellect I saw at work”.

Werner Erhard has been recognized:

• Fortune magazine’s 40th Anniversary issue (May 15, 1995), in examining the major contributions to management thinking, recognized Erhard’s ideas as one of the major innovation of the last few decades for their unique impact on corporate culture, introducing into business the idea of and a model for employee empowerment.

• For his humanitarian work around the world, in 1988 the Mahatma Gandhi International Foundation awarded him the Mahatma Gandhi Humanitarian Award, citing “…your notable effort to end the starvation and hunger suffered by millions throughout the world, and for drawing broad public awareness to the value of integrity in our everyday lives."

• The distinguished social scientist Daniel Yankelovich had the following to say about the results of his study of participants in The Forum, one of the public programs created and developed by Erhard: “Several of the study’s findings surprised me quite a bit, especially the large number of participants for whom The Forum proved to be ‘one of the most valued experiences of my life’. This is not a sentiment that people, especially successful, well-educated people, express lightly. More than 7 out of 10 found The Forum to be one of their life’s most rewarding experiences. To me, this suggests that it addresses many of peoples’ most profound conce s; how to improve their personal relationships, how to be a more effective person, how to think productively about their lives and goals.”

While he may have been originally known to the general public for applications derived from his models including The est Training and The Forum of the 1970s and 1980s, currently Erhard commits his time and intellectual effort almost exclusively to the academic world. Some of his recent research, writings, lectures, and courses can be found on his author page in the Social Sciences Research Network – http://ssrn.com/author=433651. He is writing papers, most recently on the topics of integrity, leadership, and performance, and he lectures and teaches from time to time at various academic institutions.

Recent Invited Lectures

6/2012 - Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth University, Being a Leader and the Effective Exercize of Leadership, An Ontological/Phenomenological Model

11/2010 - IC Centre for Governance, Panchgani, India: Michael Jensen, Werner Erhard, Steve Zaffron, Kari Granger; “Leadership: An Ontological Approach” (6 day course).

8/2010 - Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Professional Development Workshop, Michael Jensen, Werner Erhard and Kari Granger, “Being a Leader and the Effective Exercise of Leadership: An Ontological Model”. Slides available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1651278.

7/2010 - United States Air Force Academy, Werner Erhard, Michael Jensen, Kari Granger and Joseph DiMaggio: “Creating Leaders: Mastering the Principles and Effective Delivery of the Ontological Access to Leadership” (5 day course for faculty). Slides available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1638429

6/2010 - Mays School of Business, Texas A&M University, Werner Erhard, Michael Jensen, Kari Granger and Steve Zaffron: "Being a Leader and the Effective Exercise of Leadership - An Ontological Model" (6 day course) Slides available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1622671

2/2010 - Harvard Business School, Harvard University, Michael C. Jensen and Werner Erhard: “Being a Leader and the Effective Exercise of Leadership: An Ontological Model” Slides available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1392406

10/2009 - Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Center for Public Leadership: “Why We Do What We Do; A New Model Providing Actionable Access To The Source Of Performance” Slides available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1483082 View the entire lecture at Harvard’s YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=HarvardCPL#p/search/0/DwQr_BJrHJ8

2013 - Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine; Michael C. Jensen and Werner Erhard: “Being a Leader and the Effective Exercise of Leadership: An Ontological / Phenomenological Model” Slides available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1392406

2014 - Nanyang Technological University in Singapore: "Being A Leader and the Effective Exercise o Leadership: An Ontological / Phenomenological Model

In-process Publications:

For Werner Erhard’s in-process publications please visit his author page at

SSRN: http://ssrn.com/author=433651. To give just a few examples:

“Integrity: A Positive Model that Incorporates the Normative Phenomena of Morality, Ethics, and Legality – Abridged”, Erhard, Werner, Jensen, Michael C., Zaffron, Steve (March 2010). Harvard Business School NOM Working Paper No. 10-061; Barbados Group Working Paper No. 10-01; Simon School Working Paper No. 10-07. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1542759.

“Creating Leaders: An Ontological Model”, Erhard, Werner, Jensen, Michael C., Granger, Kari L. (October 2010). Harvard Business School NOM Working Paper No. 11-037; Barbados Group Working Paper No. 10-10; Simon School Working Paper No. FR-10-30. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1681682. Published in THE HANDBOOK FOR TEACHING LEADERSHIP, Knowing, Doing and Being, Scott Snook, Nitin Nohria, Rakesh Khurana, eds., Sage Publications, 2011. Chapter 16

“Introductory Reading for Being a Leader and the Effective Exercise of Leadership: An Ontological Model”, Erhard, Werner, Jensen, Michael C., Zaffron, Steve and Granger, Kari L., (July 2010). Harvard Business School Negotiations, Organizations and Markets Unit Research Paper Series No. 09-022; Barbados Group Working Paper No. 08-01; Simon School Working Paper No. 08-02; Gruter Institute Squaw Valley Conference 2009: Law, Behavior & the Brain. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1585976.

“Being a Leader and the Effective Exercise of Leadership: An Ontological Model (PDF File of PowerPoint Slides)”, Erhard, Werner, Jensen, Michael C. and Granger, Kari L., (March 2010). Harvard Business School NOM Unit Working Paper No. 09-124; Barbados Group Working Paper No. 09-01; Gruter Institute Squaw Valley Conference 2009: Law, Behavior & the Brain; Simon School Working Paper No. FR 09-27. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1392406.

For a more complete Curriculum Vitae for Werner Erhard please see: http://www.we ererhard.net/cv.html