PeopleofSuperintelligence

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Jim Clifton

Jim Clifton is the chairman of Gallup, a global analytics and advice firm, and writes about jobs, management and the effect of AI on work. Under his leadership, Selection Research acquired the Gallup Organization in 1988, and he served as Gallup's CEO until 2022. He launched the Gallup World Poll in 2005 and created The Gallup Path, a model linking human nature in the workplace with customer engagement and business outcomes. His books include The Coming Jobs War (2011), Culture Shock (2023) and It's the Manager (2019), written with Gallup chief scientist Jim Harter, which covers how organizations adapt to the rise of artificial intelligence. In September 2026, he warned on Gallup's Chairman's Blog that forecasts of mass job loss from AI could raise interest in socialism and universal basic income.

Now at
Gallup, U.S. Council on Competitiveness, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University
Badges

Timeline

  1. 1988

    Acquiring the Gallup Organization

    Under his leadership, Selection Research, a company psychologist Don Clifton founded in 1969, acquires the Gallup Organization in 1988, and he becomes CEO. As CEO, he creates The Gallup Path, a metric-based model linking human nature in the workplace with customer engagement and business outcomes.

  2. 2005

    Launching the Gallup World Poll

    With Gallup, he launches the Gallup World Poll in 2005 "to measure the will of every person on Earth." He pledges to keep collecting world opinion for 100 years in 150 countries.

  3. 2011

    The Coming Jobs War

    He publishes The Coming Jobs War in 2011. The book makes the case that job creation and successful entrepreneurship shape economics, foreign policy and America's moral authority in the world.

  4. June 2015

    The Don Clifton Strengths Institute

    In June 2015, the Clifton Foundation and Gallup announce a $30 million gift to the University of Nebraska to establish the Don Clifton Strengths Institute. The gift supports the early identification and accelerated development of thousands of gifted entrepreneurs and future business builders.

  5. May 2019

    It's the Manager with Jim Harter

    In May 2019, he and Gallup chief scientist Jim Harter discuss their new book, It's the Manager, which tops the Wall Street Journal bestseller list. The book offers managers 52 discoveries from Gallup's largest study on the future of work and covers remote employees, gig workers and the rise of artificial intelligence.

  6. June 2022

    Handing the CEO role to Jon Clifton

    In June 2022, Gallup promotes Jon Clifton to chief executive officer. Jim Clifton, CEO from 1988 to 2022, remains chairman of the board.

  7. 2023

    Writing Culture Shock

    His book Culture Shock, released in 2023, becomes a Wall Street Journal bestseller and offers Gallup's solution to what he calls the biggest leadership issue of the time. He also writes the bestseller Wellbeing at Work.

  8. As of October 2026

    Chairman of Gallup

    He is chairman of Gallup, serves on the board of the U.S. Council on Competitiveness and is a distinguished visiting professor at UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University. In a September 2026 Chairman's Blog column, he writes that tech titans predict unimaginable job loss as AI displaces human jobs, which would raise interest in socialism and universal basic income. He calls for a single measure of real unemployment, which he puts at about 12%, or 22 million Americans.

Career

  1. Since 1988GallupChief Executive Officer
  2. NowU.S. Council on CompetitivenessBoard Member
  3. NowUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillDistinguished Visiting Professor
  4. NowDuke UniversityDistinguished Visiting Professor

From the biography.

  1. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes Duke University. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labs. We compare publishing careers, recent citations, dual appointments and job moves across 2,420 university researchers and 308 frontier-lab researchers.
  2. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes Duke University. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  3. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes Duke University. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  4. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Jim Clifton yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Gallup Biography: Jim Clifton gallup.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. Jim Clifton - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. Daily Research News Online no. 33424 - Clifton Jr Named Gallup Chief Executive Officer mrweb.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. Meridian Global Leadership Awards: Mr. Jim Clifton meridian.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. The Coming Jobs War - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. Jim Clifton Bio - Detroit Regional Chamber detroitchamber.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. Jim Clifton - Compete compete.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  8. PODCAST #344: It's The Manager | Gallup's Jim Clifton and Jim Harter - LEADx leadx.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  9. Unemployment: A National Misunderstanding news.gallup.com. Checked 20 October 2026.