The Making of a Corporate Athlete
by Jim Loehr, Tony Schwartz
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jim Loehr, Tony SchwartzEdition: Digital
Format: Download: PDF
Published: 2001-01-01
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 11
Publisher: Harvard Business Review
Book Reviews of The Making of a Corporate Athlete
Book Review: Oscillation for Recovery; Rituals to Relax, gain Strength
Summary: 5 Stars
I am not an expert on the subject. Therefore, I submit this review for your respective analysis. This is a condensed version of their book "The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal." The invaluable research completed by Loehr and Schwartz is remarkable!
An outrageously incredible coach will help build new skills, nourish changes, and reach goals for the corporate athlete; and remain with that person over an extended length of time to build consistency.
Loehr and Schwartz have discovered that properly distributing positive energy is more important than managing time expended on a daily basis. The top-down performance pyramid model addresses the body, the emotions, the mind, and the spirit to reach the Ideal Performance State.
In my humble opinion, to attain this level of consistency over the span of two or more decades for an executive is impossible. The research could be realistically applied for a world-class athlete since he or she has a much shorter time (and attention) span and the coach is still around.
However, I will contradict myself now and submit that maybe, just maybe, it is possible. Here is my reasoning. Recently, I met a new group of world-class athletes who are challenging traditional rules. This new breed does not comprehend the word "NO" and the positive energy, reflected in diet, exercise, and mental agility is not only healthy but contagious.
A few weeks ago, I also had the pleasure of meeting a 24-yr. Chinese-born executive who received her business training and experience in Germany. She is fluent in six languages. She owns three manufacturing plants in China, and she is the most aggressive human machine I have ever met. After rigorous negotiations and discussions, she is a powerful and wealthy woman on all levels.
I noticed that she took periods to oscillate (rebuild her energy) after stressful negotiations. She closed her eyes, relaxed her muscles and meditated. Later, she told me that she imagined the experience of skydiving, or pretended that she was the heroine in a popular American movie, or she was focused on her next business 'conquest' (her word), planning every detail.
During her normal workday, every 2 hours, I noticed that she would stop at whatever she was doing and take fifteen minute stretches, similar to the breaks taken by tennis players staring at their tennis rackets between volleys. Precise, disciplined and focused. Wow!
I quickly noticed the similarities while reading this article, demonstrated by this remarkable woman. Spiritually, she had a keen sense of awareness and purpose. She found many different ways to tap into her positive energy.
Is this 21st Century "shock-corporate/jock" material or what? This is a spectacular book for managing our "inner stage under the most difficult circumstances, and to emerge from stressful periods stronger, healthier, and eager for the next challenge."
[ADDITION TO REVIEW 12JAN06] Upon additional, admittedly amateur research, I believe this book is the beginning of a powerful movement about how people can manage energy and expand life. Please review the Abs Diet by David Zinczenko (sold by Amazon). Exercise your lifestyle with challenging "sprints," then learn to oscillate (relax).
Summary of The Making of a Corporate Athlete
Management theorists have long sought to identify precisely what makes some people flourish under pressure and others fold. But they have come up with only partial answers: rich material rewards, the right culture, management by objectives. The problem with most approaches is that they deal with people only from the neck up, connecting high performance primarily with cognitive capacity. Authors Loehr and Schwartz argue that a successful approach to sustained high performance must consider the person as a whole. Executives are, in effect, "corporate athletes." If they are to perform at high levels over the long haul, they must train in the systematic, multilevel way that athletes do. Rooted in two decades of work with world-class athletes, the integrated theory of performance management addresses the body, the emotions, the mind, and the spirit through a model the authors call the performance pyramid. At its foundation is physical well-being. Above that rest emotional health, then mental acuity, and, finally, a spiritual purpose. Each level profoundly influences the others, and all must be addressed together to avoid compromising performance. Rigorous exercise, for instance, can produce a sense of emotional well-being, clearing the way for peak mental performance. Rituals that promote oscillation--the rhythmic expenditure and recovery of energy--link the levels of the pyramid and lead to the ideal performance state. The authors offer case studies of executives who have used the model to increase professional performance and improve the quality of their lives.Management theorists have long sought to identify precisely what makes some people flourish under pressure and others fold. But they have come up with only partial answers: rich material rewards, the right culture, management by objectives. The problem with most approaches is that they deal with people only from the neck up, connecting high performance primarily with cognitive capacity. Authors Loehr and Schwartz argue that a successful approach to sustained high performance must consider the person as a whole. Executives are, in effect, "corporate athletes." If they are to perform at high levels over the long haul, they must train in the systematic, multilevel way that athletes do. Rooted in two decades of work with world-class athletes, the integrated theory of performance management addresses the body, the emotions, the mind, and the spirit through a model the authors call the performance pyramid. At its foundation is physical well-being. Above that rest emotional health, then mental acuity, and, finally, a spiritual purpose. Each level profoundly influences the others, and all must be addressed together to avoid compromising performance. Rigorous exercise, for instance, can produce a sense of emotional well-being, clearing the way for peak mental performance. Rituals that promote oscillation--the rhythmic expenditure and recovery of energy--link the levels of the pyramid and lead to the ideal performance state. The authors offer case studies of executives who have used the model to increase professional performance and improve the quality of their lives.
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