Confident Under Pressure

Stress is directly linked to six of the leading causes of death in the U.S. today, and it seems obvious that environmental, economic and social stresses are not going away. In fact, they're predicted to get worse. For this reason, the vast majority of “stress less” books are concerned with the modern problem of too much stress and how to reduce it. Not this one! Confident Under Pressure is about the advantages of stress, clarifying the critical role that intentionally engaged stress plays in personal and professional development. Author Rick Lewis makes his living by putting leaders, executives and organizational teams into challenging situations to help them see the habitual ways they respond to stress. He then offers unique guidance in the practice of “stress production,” rather than stress reduction – revealing how to make a dynamic turnaround, an attitude of YES to stress. Confident Under Pressure weaves colorful personal stories, recent neuroscience, the research of human performance experts, and the inspiration of leading business executives into a compelling and lucid argument for moving toward stress, conflict and change in order to become more creative, effective and happy in life, on the way to making our highest contribution in the world. The result is an eminently readable and practical book that anyone can use, at home, on the job, and in one-on-one relationships. Lewis points out that we commonly approach stress with avoidance or downright denial, which basically postpones the inevitable and makes matters worse. We might try to avoid the reality of some situation, or deny how strongly our emotions are affected; we may try to circumvent the uncomfortable by some denial of purpose, or by side-stepping our creativity, or failing to engage appropriate action. Sound familiar? Taking each of these common avoidance strategies, he highlights the high price we pay for such behaviors, and invites us back to the playing field – the only place where goals are scored. The author has been a corporate consultant for over twenty years, with contracts with over 500 corporations, associations and government agencies. He has presented to audiences that have included Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, the Prime Minister of Canada, and worked with CEOs, dignitaries, and government organizations from The Federal Reserve Bank to the International Board of Mastercard. The result of this lifetime of experience – both successes and failures – is distilled within this book.