Do you think it's possible to truly enjoy your job? No matter what it is or where you are? Timothy Gallwey does, and in this groundbreaking book he tells you how to overcome the inner obstacles that sabotage your efforts to be your best on the job.

Timothy Gallwey burst upon the scene twenty years ago with his revolutionary approach to excellence in sports. His bestselling books The Inner Game of Tennis and The Inner Game of Golf, with over one million copies in print, changed the way we think about learning and coaching. But the Inner Game that Gallwey discovered on the tennis court is about more than learning a better backhand; it is about learning how to learn, a critical skill that, in this case, separates the productive, satisfied employee from the rest of the pack. For the past twenty years Gallwey has taken his Inner Game expertise to many of America's top companies, including AT&T, Coca-Cola, Apple, and IBM, to teach their managers and employees how to gain better access to their own internal resources.

What inner obstacles is Gallwey talking about? Fear of failure, resistance to change, procrastination, stagnation, doubt, and boredom, to name a few. Gallwey shows you how to tap into your natural potential for learning, performance, and enjoyment so that any job, no matter how long you've been doing it or how little you think there is to learn about it, can become an opportunity to sharpen skills, increase pleasure, and heighten awareness. And if your work environment has been turned on its ear by Internet technology, reorganization, and rapidly accelerating change, this book offers a way to steer a confident course while navigating your way toward personal and professional goals.

The Inner Game of Work teaches you the difference between a rote performance and a rewarding one. It teaches you how to stop working in the conformity mode and start working in the mobility mode. It shows how having a great coach can make as much difference in the boardroom as on the basketball court-- and Gallwey teaches you how to find that coach and, equally important, how to become one. The Inner Game of Work challenges you to reexamine your fundamental motivations for going to work in the morning and your definitions of work once you're there. It will ask you to reassess the way you make changes and teach you to look at work in a radically new way.

"Ever since The Inner Game of Tennis, I've been fascinated and have personally benefitted by the incredibly empowering insights flowing out of Gallwey's self-one/self-two analysis. This latest book applies this liberating analogy to work inspiring all of us to relax and trust our true self."
--Stephen R. Covey, author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Average Customer Review: ( 8 customer reviews )
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If you have had a bad manager... or if you want to be a good one... this book will encouage you toward motivating yourself and others in a way that will actually work.

The book's genius is in its observation about human beings, their work, and their motivational patterns. Through paying closer attention to the internal state of the worker and to the details of the job, the author brings the work into sharper focus. He advocates that workers also choose to notice details about their jobs; in this greater level of awareness, they can make better choices about the work... and can get past layers of defensiveness or fear in order to do better (more enjoyable!) work.

Not every chapter will speak to you, and not every concept will be just what you need. But I would bet money that somewhere in this book you will find a gem of insight into yourself or others you work with... and if you follow that insight, it will be worth the price of the book.

This book helped me sort out the logic behind my "good days" and "bad days" so I could make more of my days good. I sometimes struggle with being content with my job, and this book is giving me tools to use to enjoy my job more!

PS - I'm not the only one who thought this book was worthwhile. Go to the other edition of the book for more reviews.

24 of 26 found the following review helpful:

Not in the same league as the Inner Game of TennisSep 11, 2006
By Crunch Solutions
I read the Inner Game of Tennis in the 70s, found it revolutionary and find myself dipping into it every few years. I picked up the Inner Game of Work with great expectations, particularly after seeing Peter Senge's endorsement as The Fifth Discipline is a great book. However, I am disappointed. The writing style is turgid, the arguments not as tight as the Inner Game of Tennis and overall, the effort to transpose Inner Game concepts to the world of work don't quite come off. Perhaps tighter editing would have made for a more cohesive work?

9 of 9 found the following review helpful:

Great ideas for a better working life!Jan 19, 2007
By B. Stromberg
I think this book can be extremely helpful for many people. It should be an aid to a less stressful working life with greater satisfaction and better work results at least in the long run. The ideas are very clearly presented with examples so chances are good that the readers will understand the potential benefits of so called self 2 thinking (as opposed the self 1 judgemental thinking). Self 2 is the natural, intuitive, and non-judgmental part of ourselves that contribute to a genuine interest in our work and not only interest in performance objectives. Another concept discussed is mobility, i.e. the ability to change and improve working life through deliberate choices.

A problem is that working life is not as well-defined as e.g. tennis or golf (topics previously addressed by the same author). There is presumably an extremly wide spectrum of work-related problems and the book focus only on limited aspects of those. Nevertheless, it would be inconceivable to write a book tha could help everyone and I think this one will be of great help in particular for readers that are too easily intimidated and are in general overly concerned with what others think about them.



4 of 4 found the following review helpful:

New Inner GameJan 21, 2007
By Elton Mahaffy
I enjoyed Tim Gallwey's Inner Game of Work. It was great to see him apply his principles in general rather than the specific modalities of tennis and music which I had found valuable in his previous works. For those who have read his previous work he has continued to create new subtle distinctions and expand his models to make it a worthwhile read.For the new reader you are in for a great surprise to be exposed to his understanding and insight.

Life Changing Book in a practical applicationOct 27, 2009
By Kellie Ann, Parent and Life Coach "Kellie Ann, www.parentandlifecoach.com"
The Inner Game of Work was the first book I read in my training to become a Parent and Life Coach. It was clear and direct in how a coach is effective in their work. Even though I do not work in the business arena, I still find this book to very applicable for me as I work with families. The learning on the inner-critic has become a regular tool in my family coach practice. I recommend this book to anyone entering the field of coaching or someone who wants to change their work environment. I can see how managers of any kind will benefit from the information in this book. Kellie Ann, [...]

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