Prof. Michael Bar-Eli's latest book Boost, How the Psychology of Sports Can Enhance your Performance in Management and Work, is a labor of love for this professor, the Chair of the Business Administration Department at the Guilford Glazer Faculty of Business and Management at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Prof. Bar-Eli also holds the Nat Holman Chair in Sports Research at the GGFBM, and heads the Sport Management Program at the Wingate Academic College. He is also Chairperson of both the Supreme Academic Council and the Supreme Promotion Committee.
"My book has far reaching relevance for CEO's in private and public sectors, for health systems managers, for sports leaders naturally, and moreover, for individuals seeking the secrets of self-help management."
Bar-Eli studied psychology and sociology in Israel and Germany. He has about 175 international refereed publications in English 
and numerous publications in Hebrew. Bar-Eli has served as associate- and section-editor of leading sport psychology journals. He has held senior psychology positions in the Israel Defense Forces and is a consultant to elite sports. Bar-Eli held senior positions in both the European and Asian-South Pacific societies of Sport Psychology. His scientific work has been recognized by awards such as a “Mercator Professorship" at the University of Tuebingen and a “Distinguished Invited Professorship" at the University of Heidelberg, Germany.
To perform better in any situation, in any facet of your life, it is critical to develop psychological skills, which, just like physical abilities, can be taught, learned, and practiced. We can tone these psychological skills and use them to heighten awareness, foster talents and technical abilities, and reach peak performance. Mental preparedness and psychological awareness are the keys to thriving in any environment.
Boost! How the Psychology of Sports Can Enhance Your Performance in Management and Work, Michael Bar-Eli. Oxford Univ., $29.95 (336p) ISBN 978-0-1906-6173-1
Few understand the importance of psychological skills better than the internationally recognized Professor Michael Bar-Eli. As both a sports and organizational psychologist for more than 35 years, Bar-Eli has not only researched the science of performance but has also worked directly with elite athletes, coaches, and teams to help them improve their success on the court or field. Boost! takes the lessons he's learned from sports psychology and translates them for leaders and managers at any stage in their career. With prescriptive advice, Bar-Eli illustrates how anyone can apply these lessons to better support and inspire co-workers and employees and create a sustainable, successful working environment and business.
Boost! breaks down the complex behavioral science of getting ahead. Through original scientific research, unique case studies, and anecdotes from the world of sports and beyond, Bar-Eli explains the psychological underpinnings of human behavior and how we can harness this knowledge to perform at our highest levels, succeeding in our careers and personal lives.
One example how sports performance behavior can be implemented to enhance management skills: if you’re not sure what
management move to make, as in a strategic sports movement – stay still.
book review From Publishers Weekly:
Bar-Eli, a professor of business and sports psychology at Israel's Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, takes an energetic look at management and business success. Inspired to write a book on his lifelong interest—human performance—after a Parkinson's diagnosis made him realize that his time was limited, Bar-Eli presents lessons from sports psychology, a field that he posits can aid our understanding of human behavior in general, and particularly our understanding of business activities. His interesting and varied life provides plenty of fodder; he begins with his time in the Israeli army during the Yom Kippur War and describes holding down unlikely jobs such as that of psychological consultant to Israel's national table-tennis team. Focusing on the often hidden psychological forces behind human performance, he dives deep into the methodologies for cultivating mental preparedness and psychological awareness. He covers stress and performance, aspiration, self-confidence, and action, and he includes interesting anecdotes from sports history such as the story of the Fosbury Flop—an innovative new style of high jump when it was introduced at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. The exuberant tone and fresh angle make this a standout in the crowded job-performance subgenre, and readers looking for help with their careers need look no further. (Nov.)
