Eric Morrison grew up between two worlds. Growing up in Michigan, he watched how different people worked, talked, and solved problems. Early on, he became curious about how systems shape behavior. That curiosity stayed with him.
He studied History at Yale, where he learned how large forces quietly shape everyday life. His academic work earned him the John Addison Porter Prize, one of Yale’s top awards for original research. Wanting to understand modern systems more deeply, he went on to earn a master’s degree in the Social Science of the Internet at the University of Oxford. There, his research on teamwork and innovation received the Oxford Internet Institute Prize.
After school, Eric brought his research mindset into the tech world. Over the past 13 years, he has led research teams and programs for companies like TikTok, Disney, and Google. He is known for establishing complex programs of research that guide organizational decision-making at scale
Today, Eric is a User Experience Research Lead at Google. He leads research programs focused on the future of AI in the workplace, helping the organization ensure its investments are grounded in how people actually create, collaborate, and produce. His work reflects a commitment to building products that drive both economic and cultural impact by aligning technological advancement with human needs.
Outside of work, Eric road bikes, lifts weights, and reads modern fiction. He lives in New York City, where constant movement, noise, and variety continue to fuel his interest in how people and systems evolve together.
What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?
My days are structured, but not rigid. I wake up early and avoid screens for the first hour. I journal and write notes by hand. That quiet time helps me think clearly before the day gets noisy. Workdays usually start with conversations. I talk with partners from many disciplines, ranging from product and UX leadership to data science and marketing. I try to understand what decisions teams are stuck on to help unblock paths forward.
How do you bring ideas to life?
I bring programs of work to life by building frameworks that bridge the gap between human behavior and executive strategy. At Google, this means moving beyond individual features to look at the broader landscape of AI in the workplace. I focus on standing up research systems and programs that provide a continuous stream of insight, ensuring that our long-term roadmap is always informed by real-world understanding.
What’s one trend that excites you?
One trend that excites me is the public shift toward viewing AI as a partner in collaboration. I’ve seen that many systems fail when they are designed for a theoretical ideal; my work focuses on creating programs that account for the messiness of real human teamwork.
What is one habit that helps you be productive?
A habit that keeps me productive is maintaining a “thinking doc” where I track emerging themes across different areas of work. It’s where I connect the dots between disparate pieces of data until they form a clear, strategic recommendation.
What advice would you give your younger self?
If I could talk to my younger self, I would say this: do fewer things, but go deeper. Early in my career, I tried to be good at everything. Progress came faster once I focused.
Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?
Something I believe that most people disagree with is that speed is a double-edged sword. Moving fast can feel productive, but it can also veil poor decisions. Slowing down at the right moments saves time later.
What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?
The one thing I repeatedly do is push for deeper context. The most important insights for leadership often come from understanding the “why” behind a trend, rather than just the trend itself.
When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?
When I feel overwhelmed, I go for a long bike ride without music. Physical effort resets my thinking better than any productivity system.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?
One strategy that helped me advance was learning to speak the language of investment and risk. Research is most powerful when it is positioned as a tool for making more confident, grounded decisions.
What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?
A failure that stands out was a program that produced high-quality insights that weren’t timed to the business’s operating cycle. It taught me that a research program must be synchronized with the organization’s decision-making rhythm to be effective.
What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?
One business idea I would give away is a research “translation layer.” A small team dedicated only to operating systems that turn insights into decisions.
What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?
The software I rely on most is Google Docs. I use it to think, not just write.
Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?
A favorite book is Flesh by David Szalay, which I finished recently. It offers lessons in how the best way to really know a person is to pay close attention to the way time and life gradually shape them. We’re all products of our conditions, at the end of the day.
What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?
A film I constantly revisit is Days of Heaven. It’s one of those rare visual spectacles that feels more like a memory than a movie. A few years ago, I was lucky enough to catch a 4K restoration screening of it at Film Forum in NYC.
Key learnings
- Deep understanding comes from studying how people actually work, not how systems expect them to work.
- Clear thinking often requires slowing down at the right moments.
- Strong ideas grow through early sharing and critique.
- Progress accelerates when insights are shaped to fit real decision-making processes.
- Focus and simplicity create more impact than constant speed.