On Form: Managing Energy, Not Time, is the Key to High Performance, Health and Happiness

by Jim Loehr, Tony Schwartz

Four forms of energy pulse through each of us at all times: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. To thrive, we must recruit all four of these energies in the service of a specific mission. To be fully engaged means to be physically energized, emotially engaged, mentally focused, and spiritually vested. Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz draw on 30 years of research and experience with thousands of world-class atheletes, FBI hostage rescue teams, emergency service workers, and corporate executives who must sustain high performance in the face of pressure. In this book they offer their precise understanding of how to help individuals and organizations manage energy to drive full engagement - along with a step-by step programme to make that happen.

Genres: Self Help, Personal Development

316 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 14, 2003

About the author

Dr. Jim Loehr is a world-renowned performance psychologist and author of 16 books including his most recent, The Only Way to Win. He also co-authored the national bestseller The Power of Full Engagement.

Dr. Loehr’s ground-breaking, science-based energy management training system has achieved world-wide recognition and has been chronicled in leading national publications, including the Harvard Business Review, Business Week, Fortune, Newsweek, Time, US News and World Report, Success, Fast Company and Omni. He has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Nightline with Ted Koppel, the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather and CBS Morning News, and the Oprah Winfrey Show.

From his more than 30 years of experience and applied research, Dr. Loehr believes the single most important factor in successful achievement, personal fulfilment and life satisfaction is the strength of one’s character.
He strongly contends that character strength can be built in the same way that muscle strength is built
through energy investment.

Dr. Loehr has worked with hundreds of world-class performers from the arenas of sport, business, medicine and law enforcement, including Fortune 100 executives, FBI Hostage Rescue Teams, and military Special Forces. Corporate clients of the Institute represent hundreds of Fortune 500 companies, including Procter & Gamble, The Estée Lauder Companies, FBI, GlaxoSmithKline, PepsiCo, and Citigroup Smith Barney. A sampling of his elite clients from the world of sport include golfers Mark O’Meara and Justin Rose; tennis players Jim Courier, Monica Seles, and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario; boxer Ray Mancini; hockey players Eric Lindros and Mike Richter; and Olympic gold medal speed skater Dan Jansen.

Dr. Loehr possesses a masters and doctorate in psychology, serves on several prestigious scientific boards and is a full member of the American Psychological Association, the American College of Sports Medicine, the National Strength and Conditioning Association, and the Association for
Applied Sport Psychology.

The Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute is the pioneer in delivering a science-based energy management training solution. Based on over 30 years of proprietary research, the Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute has worked with elite performers, including Olympic gold medalists, military Special Forces, Hostage Rescue teams, surgeons, and Fortune 500 CEOs to achieve sustained high performance. In 2015 alone, 25 of the Fortune 100 companies participated in Corporate Athlete® training, delivered across 32 countries, in over 500 sessions.

Reviews

[Paul Fulcher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lance Armstrong offers a particularly inspiring example. In the early 1990s, Armstrong was a top American cyclist and by his own description, highly self-absorbed. In 1996, at the age of twenty-five, he was diagnosed with a virulent form of testicular cancer. In a short time, it spread to his lungs, and then to his brain. His odds of survival were put at less than 3 percent. Somehow Armstrong survived and, equally miraculously, he returned to cycling. In 1999, three years after his original cancer diagnosis, he won the Tour de France, the most challenging bicycle race in the world—and he went on to win it the next three years as well.

Well that inspiring example aged like vinegar.

The basic premise of this book is that of the Corporate Athlete, taking lessons from sports into high performance for individuals and corporations. Hopefully though without the systemic cheating though and psychological abuse of anyone who dares to hint at it.

There are some interesting nuggets in here - perhaps the most interesting for me that we gain resilience to stress by pushing ourselves rather than stepping back: We build emotional, mental and spiritual capacity in precisely the same way that we build physical capacity. We must systematically expose ourselves to stress beyond our normal limits, followed by adequate recovery. Expanding capacity requires a willingness to endure short-term discomfort in the service of long-term reward. .

Although it would have been useful to have some science to back this up rather than a rather tiring list of case studies of anonymised clients of the authors ( Peter D. is a writer who sought our advice at a time when he was facing a highly challenging book deadline that he wasn’t sure he could meet.), which can make the book feel more like a advertising brochure for their services and dull to read (I found reading the start and end of chapters and perhaps one case study worked best; certainly not a book to read every word).

Rather disappointing given the general level of high reviews here and elsewhere, although as a reader of literary fiction I do tend to let the writing style of such books distract from their useful messages.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting book, with the basic idea that we need to schedule regular breaks in to most working days, and also to spend lots of time relaxing, with family and other things not involving work. Ultimately by working less, you can be more productive and live a longer happier life and that is really what it is all about.

I found the book overly repetitive, the case studies a little oversimiplied. I'm not risking heart disease and carrying 25 extra pounds, and I found there to be much less help for people like me. I'm not presently able to close my office door and take an afternoon nap or meditate. I don't have my own office or a PA and I would have appreciated some more practical solutions for people who aren't board level. I also felt the nutritional advice was way off, advising low fat and high carbs. That can be forgiven since it was written some time ago.

So why 5 stars?

Well you need to manage your energy, you can't do everything and wear yourself down.
The key to exercise is intensity and rest.
The key to performance at work is intensity and rest. Focus on key tasks and then change what you are doing, reading, breathing, walking, eating. Then get back to work.

[Enrique · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting book about managing energy instead of time. I am putting in practice what I read and is working!
For example, breakfast is the most important meal and it gives me a lot of energy. Also, I’m adding some rituals little by little therefore I have more energy.

[Harry Vinh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book points out 1 interesting point regarding how emotions can take up so much energy and like physical strength, it can be trained and brought to another level if you are determined to do so!

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An indispensable life manual for all humans. Including this in all curricula could transform the world. I'll add more when I've applied the book, but now I'm saving all forms of energy for that :)

[Lydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

For people who lack productivity, success and efficiency in their career or sports, this book teaches you a variety of ways to tackle the problems. Each of the advice given is clear and easy to implement as long as you have the will to do so. The book also gives a number of real-life examples of people who have achieved their specific goals. Some people are described as edgy, low-energy and quick to anger with addiction to drinking and smoking. When the individuals followed the advice of Jim and Tom, they saw significant change in their lives. The impact is on all aspect of their lives, their outlook, their psyche, their physique, their relationships with people and emotional well-being. Every word in the book is designed to help you understand things deeply and implement it in your own life.

As everyone faces a different situation, there are many ways to tackle the problems which are outlined in the book. It is engaging, drawing upon anecdotes to make you feel like you can relate to the people they talked about. If you are feeling low energy and that you are unhappy with work, relationships, health and more, this book is certainly for you. It teaches you how to be energised in your work, home, personal and physical life. It doesn't talk too much on spiritual mumbo jumbo but focuses more on applicable solutions for anybody. It is especially good for people who are listless all the time.

[Anna Lundberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

We had the "corporate athlete" training at my previous job, my only lasting memory of this being that they recommended nutella as a low GI snack. Hmm. It felt like the course, and the book on which it is based, is aimed primarily at middle-aged overweight men who are stressed at their jobs and neglecting their families. As ever, though, the principles are important for us all. It's about four kinds of energy: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual, all four are being vital to a healthy, balanced life. So well worth the read, with some great insights and good concrete tips on how to maximise each of the dimensions.

[Zvonimir · Rating 5 out of 5]

U "ubrzanom" dobu rokovi su postali najvažnija stvar - cilj postaje napraviti što više u što manje vremena. No što ako se pristup promijeni i kao temeljnu valutu uspješnog djelovanja uzmemo energiju, a ne vrijeme?

U ovoj knjizi se izmijenjuju ideje o energiji, njezinu trošenju i obnavljanju te praktični primjeri iz iskustva autorova rada. Uz pomoć danih smjernica moguće je odrediti viziju svog djelovanja/života, naći svrhu, stvoriti plan balansiranja različitih vrsta energije i voditi uspješan život, kako na poslovnom, tako i na privatnom planu.

[Zanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading On Form going to work will never be the same again. There are ways to increase your energy levels which anyone can do. This profound read will give you many real life examples and lots of practical tips.