Gruenfeld describes misconceptions around power, which she defines as a "central organizing force" in society, affording connection as well as control, and as "a resource that exists for the protection of groups.
"[13] In 2015, Poets & Quants, a blog that covers MBA programs around the world, made public a wrongful termination suit filed by Gruenfeld's estranged husband, James A. Phills, who had been another professor at the business school.
Phills alleged his firing was driven by the affair that Gruenfeld was having with the dean of the business school, Garth Saloner, apparently with the knowledge of the Stanford's Provost, John Etchemendy.
[18] On August 1, 2017, a Santa Clara Superior Court judge rejected this suit, deciding that Phills had failed to prove he'd been discriminated against, harassed, or wrongfully terminated.
[19][20] In an interview by Dennis Relojo-Howell, Gruenfeld shares that she is an art person; always looking for artistic works to alleviate stress.