Boost! by Michael Bar-Eli Summary

Boost! explores how sports psychology principles can enhance workplace performance, offering strategies to improve focus, decision-making, and team dynamics under pressure. Drawing on 35+ years of consulting with elite athletes and organizations, Michael Bar-Eli translates techniques like mental preparedness and goal-setting into actionable tools for managers and professionals.

Leaders, managers, and aspiring professionals seeking to elevate team performance will benefit, as will athletes transitioning to corporate roles. It’s also ideal for psychology enthusiasts interested in real-world applications of behavioral science in high-stakes environments.

Yes—the book combines research-backed insights with sports and business case studies, making complex psychological concepts accessible. Readers praise its practicality for improving decision-making and fostering resilience in competitive settings.

Key strategies include:

• Goal-setting frameworks to align team objectives.
• Stress-management techniques to maintain clarity under pressure.
• Feedback loops modeled after athletic coaching to refine skills.

Bar-Eli emphasizes creating a "winning culture" by fostering trust, accountability, and communication. He uses sports examples like Olympic teams to illustrate how shared mental models and adaptive leadership drive collective success.

Yes—the book provides tools to reframe setbacks, build resilience, and leverage competitive mindsets. For example, it discusses how athletes’ pre-competition rituals can reduce anxiety during high-stakes presentations or negotiations.

Bar-Eli analyzes scenarios like coaching Olympic teams, managing burnout in corporate settings, and optimizing decision-making under time constraints. These examples bridge sports and business, offering universal lessons on performance.

Unlike generic leadership guides, Boost! uniquely integrates sports psychology research with organizational behavior, providing a science-backed approach to mastering pressure and sustaining motivation.

Some readers may find the sports analogies repetitive, and the strategies require consistent practice to yield results. However, the actionable steps balance theoretical concepts with real-world applicability.

With rising workplace stress and remote collaboration challenges, Bar-Eli’s focus on mental agility and team cohesion offers timely solutions for maintaining performance in dynamic industries.

As a renowned sports psychologist and professor, Bar-Eli has advised Olympic teams and Fortune 500 companies, blending academic research with hands-on experience in high-performance environments.

The book recommends:

• Pre-task rituals to boost focus.
• Post-action reviews to identify improvement areas.
• Visualization techniques to rehearse success scenarios.