David Epstein

#1 NYT Bestselling Author of Range and The Sports Gene & Expert on the Science of High Performance

David Epstein

#1 NYT Bestselling Author of Range and The Sports Gene & Expert on the Science of High Performance

Add to List Availability & Fees

Biography

“David Epstein manages to make me thoroughly enjoy the experience of being told that everything I thought about something was wrong.” –Malcolm Gladwell

“Range is an urgent and important book, an essential read for bosses, parents, coaches, and anyone who cares about improving performance.” –Daniel Pink

“Range is a goldmine of surprising insights. Makes you smarter with every page.” –James Clear, Best-selling author of Atomic Habits

“I want to give Range to any kid who is being forced to take violin lessons — but really wants to learn the drums. Range is full of surprises and hope, a 21st century survival guide.” –Amanda Ripley, Author of The Smartest Kids in the World

“The most important business — and parenting — book of the year.” -Forbes

Since the debut of his #1 New York Times bestseller Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, David Epstein has topped the recommended book lists of everyone from Bill Gates and Adam Grant to The Wall Street Journal, The Sunday Times, Financial Times, Forbes, and Inc. He has engaged in a notable “nerd fight of gladiatorial proportions” with Malcolm Gladwell, been featured on Good Morning America and the CBS Morning News, seen his books translated into more than 30 languages, and reached more than 12 million views with his two TED talks.

David’s much-anticipated third book expands his relentless, myth-busting pursuit of the secrets of high performance, building on Range and his previous New York Times bestseller, The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance. Slated for the fall of 2025, the new book examines how constraints, limitations, and restrictions can actually be catalysts for focus, creativity, innovation, organizational resilience, and reinvention in today’s rapidly changing business environments.

As a speaker, David has inspired (and provoked) global audiences at Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Fidelity, JP Morgan, Deloitte, Gartner, Procter & Gamble, World 50, Kaiser Permanente, NASA, the U.S. Army, the Association for Talent Development, the University of Pennsylvania, the World Knowledge Forum, and many others with his fascinating presentations on the keys to achieving high performance. Combining surprising data and meticulous research with eye-catching graphics and thought-provoking stories from the worlds of sports, business, science, and the arts, David overturns previous notions and makes the case for why Range is the new personal and organizational superpower. Audiences gain actionable insights on fostering innovation, building a future-proof career and workforce, confronting change with resilience, navigating disruption, and turning challenges into opportunities.

A science writer and former investigative journalist, David has built a reputation for challenging mistranslations of scientific research, especially when it comes to humans achieving their highest potential. His popular newsletter, “Range Widely,” generates millions of annual views, and counts among its subscribers CEOs, Army generals, and pro sports general managers. When he was a senior writer at Sports Illustrated, David authored or co-authored several of the magazine’s most high-profile pieces, including the exposé that first broke the news of Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez’s steroid use. Later, as an investigative reporter for ProPublica, his work ranged from investigating drug cartels to an episode of This American Life about an Olympic medalist with a rare genetic mutation. He later hosted Slate’s popular “How To!” podcast. David’s first New York Times bestseller, The Sports Gene, explored the balance of nature and nurture in becoming a world-class athlete, and attracted readers including Barack Obama and Condoleezza Rice.

David has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, National Geographic, and more. His work has been honored by an array of organizations, including the National Academy of Sciences, the Society of Professional Journalists, the National Center on Disability and Journalism, and has been included in The Best American Science and Nature Writing.

Like the people he featured in Range, David has had a winding career that included a broad “sampling period” as a scientist. He worked as an ecology researcher in the Arctic, studied geology and astronomy while residing in the Sonoran Desert, and joined the crew of a seismic research vessel shortly after it had been attacked by pirates. David holds master’s degrees in environmental science and journalism from Columbia University and is a past volunteer with the Pat Tillman Foundation and Classroom Champions. He currently serves on the board of Jubilee Jumpstart, an early childhood education center for families with the least access. An avid runner, David was a Columbia University record holder and twice NCAA All-East as an 800-meter runner.

Speaker Videos

TED: Why specializing early doesn't always mean career success

Technology and Strategy

David Epstein: 10,000 Hours Is A Lie! The Morning Habit That’s Secretly Ruining Your Day!

Virtual Keynote| Lessons from Range: Developing High Performance Teams

Bill Gates’s Holiday Book 2020: Range

Epstein and Gladwell discuss “Range” at MIT

Keep Experimenting

CLSA Investors' Forum 2014

An Introduction to “Range”

TEDTalk: Are Athletes Really Getting Faster, Better, Stronger?

Lateral Thinking: The Reason You’ve Heard of Nintendo and Marvel

CBS This Morning: "Range" Generalization Over Specialization

Juggling Through Implicit Learning

See Fewer Videos

Speech Topics

The Power of Range: Achieving Success & High Performance in Any Domain

“David Epstein manages to make me thoroughly enjoy the experience of being told that everything I thought about something was wrong.”

—Malcolm Gladwell

The secrets to success and high performance are not what we always thought they were. That’s why David Epstein’s #1 New York Times bestseller, Range, has sold more than a million copies worldwide and topped the major must-read and bestseller lists for business, leadership and entrepreneurship books—including Forbes, Inc., The Sunday Times, and The Washington Post, as well as Apple’s best audiobooks and Amazon’s best business books. Additionally, Range was one of only five books included in Bill Gates’ “Holiday Books List,” made Adam Grant’s “New Leadership Books to Read” and was a finalist for The Financial Times/McKinsey “Business Book of the Year.” In this highly motivating talk, David draws upon his fascinating research on the world’s most successful athletes, artists, business leaders, musicians, inventors, forecasters, scientists, and more to shatter myths and provide actionable insights on the science of high performance. Did you know that athletes that sample different sports are more likely to succeed in the long term than those who specialized early (case in point: Roger Federer vs. Tiger Woods)? Or, that most Nobel Laureates have a hobby or dabble outside their primary area of research? David contends that in most fields—especially those that are complex, unpredictable and difficult to automate—generalists, not specialists, are primed to excel. Generalists often find their path late or juggle many interests rather than focusing on one. They’re also more creative, agile, and able to make connections their more specialized peers can’t see—making them much better forecasters in a constantly changing, unpredictable world. Be prepared to re-think all of your previous notions on paths to success as David Epstein unlocks the secrets to achieving high performance in any field or profession.

Confronting Change with Range & Resilience: Navigating Disruption & Turning Challenges into Opportunities

The post-pandemic world is changing at an unprecedented rate. New technologies such as AI and constant disruption demand that organizations and individuals become more resilient, agile, and equipped to tackle ambiguity on a daily basis. What was once a predictable, “kind” environment is now an uncertain, “wicked” one, requiring updated approaches to hiring, team formation, training, and creating resilient cultures grounded in diverse skill sets. In this impactful and empowering talk, David Epstein shares enlightening data, riveting research, and eclectic success stories (ranging from business leaders and legendary athletes to chess champions and NASA engineers) from his #1 New York Times bestseller, Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World. Audiences gain insightful, actionable takeaways that will inspire them to embrace change, break down silos, make better-informed decisions, re-invent their roles, re-tool their skills, and turn change, challenges, and setbacks into opportunities and triumphs.

Range & Innovation: What We Can Learn from Serial Innovators

In an organization with Range, there is a culture of constant learning and broadening of skills, and everyone can break out of silos to take a bird’s-eye view of their environment and competitive landscape. In such settings, change is embraced rather than feared, creativity flourishes, collaboration is optimized, and innovation abounds. In this game-changing talk, David Epstein recounts his experiences examining organizations ranging from 3M and NASA to the Girl Scouts and the United States Army to demonstrate how teams with diverse backgrounds, talents, and skill sets are best positioned to innovate. Audiences receive actionable takeaways that will inspire them to constantly learn and improve, and value perspectives and backgrounds different from their own. He also shares systems and organizational practices that innovative enterprises have used to foster meaningful collaboration and breakthrough results.

Testimonials

“Please extend our heartfelt gratitude to him for joining today and being such an engaging, fascinating, and prepared speaker! The team loved what he had to say – lots of soundbites being quoted in the chat, and great anecdotal feedback. The Prezi format was also one of the best I’ve ever seen for a virtual presenter – will definitely be recommending him to anyone looking for a keynote speaker in the future!”

- AB InBev

“David was great! We loved wrapping up the show with his presentation and received positive feedback. Attendees loved that he stuck around for the cocktail hour and dinner.”

- O.C. Tanner Company

“David was just lights out incredible. He was both fascinating and insightful. He jumped out of the book and brought it directly down into why these frameworks mattered for the executives in the room and he absolutely hit it out of the park. There were so many questions that we had to be selective about which ones he chose to engage with. His visuals were not only informative but engaging and really kept the attention of the members in the room. David was brilliant! Please share our thanks….!”

- World 50

“He was spectacular, the session was great…. until next time!”

- AB InBev

“…David did great and I actually really wanted to talk to him for hours!”

- Portfolio Management Institute

“Thank you again so much for working with us on this. I think you definitely challenged many of our inherent thoughts and allowed us to broaden our ways of working collaboratively. I personally loved the conversation and thank you for this partnership!”

- Electronic Arts

"David Epstein came highly recommended through various colleagues who were familiar with his research and had enjoyed his bestselling book, Range. Although we originally intended for David to speak to a group of our talent development executive members in-person, we switched to a virtual meeting last-minute due to new realities of a COVID-19 world. David was completely flexible and willing to work with us and this new virtual environment. He was enthusiastic and responsive as we planned the content and format of the 90-minute session. He asked excellent questions about the audience and tailored his presentation to best suit their interests and challenges, even accepting individual questions from attendees ahead of the meeting. The content was exceptional and the visuals – using Prezi video – unlike anything I’ve seen virtually. David was overprepared, which I loved. He had enough material to present for hours and allowed attendees to choose which information they were most interested in discussing. Working with David was an A+ experience from beginning to end!"

- Association for Talent Development

"On a scale of 1 to 10, David was a 15! Perfect capstone for our meeting."

- The Cynosure Group

"We had a fantastic event! Our cohort loved David and walked away with a new perspective on their careers, which is what we were hoping to achieve. Thank you for your support in enabling this success and a big thank you to David for his amazing energy and his generosity with his time and effort. He’s a great person and we’d love to have him in-person someday."

- Microsoft

"I’ve heard a lot of positive feedback from our CEO’s and other executives. It’s clear to me that the audience learned a lot during the presentation and that is exactly what we were hoping for. We sincerely appreciate all of the prep work you put into this event, the Prezi slides worked great and your delivery was perfect."

- Providence Strategic Growth

"You tied with the Harvard Business School Professor as best speaker at the conference. What’s more, the survey results all featured lines like, 'more speakers like Epstein."

- BIFMA

"The audience loved him! David was so wonderful to work with. He took time to really talk to every attendee who approached him and attended his book signing. I watched him interact with them and he really took the time to listen and ask questions. I know those connections are what the attendees go home and tell their co-workers about. Very entertaining and engaging session. Fantastic and fascinating subject."

- Gartner

"I thought David was great! Really interesting and informative presentation and he also tried something new (he said was the first time) by having the audience pick different topics on this “map” he had created to discuss or show examples about. He also joined us for our Friday night dinner at the St. Regis which featured a political fireside chat so that was great. Would definitely be interested in using him at another event where there is no audience cross over!"

- JP Morgan

"David is extraordinary, everyone loves his presentation because they found it interesting and useful. His presentation format and style was extremely interactive. We treasured David."

- CLSA

"David was terrific! He was engaging, and spent lots of time with guests, and we loved the interactive nature of his presentation."

- Cisco

"It was a wonderful event, and we have gotten such great feedback from parents, faculty, and student on David's visit and presentations. We were especially impressed by the degree to which David tailored his presentation to Fay, and even modified his talk to make it age-appropriate for the middle schoolers. We felt that everything went beautifully, and both you and David have been a pleasure to work with."

- Fay School

"What an awakening and powerful commencement address to the UPJ class of 2019...I raised my children on the Gallup Philosophy and not only did you expand on it as it relates to today, you confirmed to them I’m an awesome mother!"

- University of Pittsburgh Johnstown

"His presentation was enlightening, entertaining and well received by a large audience. David combines a science based background with an engaging delivery, keeping the entire audience focused on his presentation. He is personable and does a very nice job answering questions and communicating with the attendees. His book is excellent and addresses the question of greatness: created or developed. His presentation is even better and I highly recommend David for your upcoming events. He is a special speaker who can combine honesty and observation with a diverse background from his sports medical journal experience."

- Arthroscopy Association of North America

"We just had David Epstein and he was so wonderful. One of our longtime members thought he was the smartest person we have ever had. He was just so interesting, charming, and great, and just a huge, huge, huge hit. What a perfect match he was for our group, and what a great success he was."

- Fort Worth Lecture Foundation

"His speech was well received by the audience at the forum…everything worked perfectly. Many of the participants were impressed by the amount of preparation he put into his presentations and visual/audio aids. It made the speech more engaging for the non-English speaking audience."

- Program Coordinator, World Knowledge Forum

"Everyone LOVED David Epstein! We are so looking forward to having him back some day. I can’t tell you how many times I heard “this was the best talk ever.” Thank you again for you and your team helping with the organization and being so patient with my response time. You all are wonderful. I hope we work together again soon."

- FORE (Foundation for Orthopaedic Research and Education)

“David was wonderful and the audience loved the session...David was absolutely fantastic and spent a lot of time with our attendees and leadership team while he was with us in Phoenix. The session was fabulous and very well received by our attendees!”

- TRUE Network of Advisors