Stephen Denning is the author of eight books, including The Secret Language of Leadership: How Leaders Inspire Action Through Narrative, which was selected by the Financial Times as one of the best books of 2007. The Leader's Guide to Storytelling: Mastering the Art and Discipline of Business Narrative was named in 2005 by the Innovation Network as one of the twelve most important books on innovation in the past several years. Squirrel Inc.: A Fable of Leadership Through Storytelling was published in 2004. He has also published Storytelling in Organizations (2004) and The Springboard (2000), as well as a novel and a volume of poetry.

Denning consults with organizations in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia on topics of leadership, management, innovation, and business narrative. He worked at the World Bank from 1969 to 2000, where he held various management positions, including program director of knowledge management from 1996 to 2000.

In 2000, he was named as one of the world's most admired knowledge leaders (by Teleos), and in 2003, he was ranked as one of the world's top two hundred business gurus by Tom Davenport and Larry Prusak in their book, What's the Big Idea?

Denning studied law and psychology at Sydney University in Australia and worked as a lawyer in Sydney for several years. He then earned a postgraduate degree in law at Oxford University.

In 2009, he was a visiting fellow at All Souls College, Oxford University.

Denning's Web site (http://www.stevedenning.com) has an extensive collection of materials on radical management, leadership, innovation, knowledge management, and business narrative.