Bob Kriegel

An internationally respected expert and pioneer in the field of performance psychology, Dr. Robert Kriegel is every bit as much of a "Break It Thinker" devoted to taking risks, breaking rules and challenging convention as are the many successful people spotlighted in his publication, If It Ain't Broke Break It! and in his two previous best-sellers, Inner Skiing and The C Zone: Peak Performance Under Pressure. His new book entitled Sacred Cows Make The Best Burgers is about paradigm-busting strategies for developing change-ready people and organizations.

Beyond his work as an author, and drawing on 25 years of pioneering work with leaders and peak performers in all fields, Dr. Kriegel is in constant demand as a speaker and consultant. He advises organizations around the globe on how to keep ahead in these turbulent and unpredictable times. Although currently applying his psychological expertise primarily to the business arena, Kriegel--a pioneer in the field of sports psychology--continues to be sought out by numerous sports franchises and individual athletes as well. In that capacity, he is presently working with both the Oakland A's and Montreal Expos.

Prior to his work sports, which the New York Times said "spurred a sporting revolution in performance practices," Dr. Kriegel enjoyed an equally successful tenure during the 1960s as an elective at the high-powered New York firm, Young & Rubicam Advertising. While there, he not only garnered praise for his unique handling of such accounts as Proctor & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson and Travelers Insurance but also emerged as one of the fastest-rising young executives in the entire company.

Looking back on that facet of his career, Dr. Kriegel suggests that Break-It Thinking had a great deal to do with his success even then. As a case in point, he recalls organizing an unprecedented chartered ski trip to Europe for several hundred Young & Rubicam employees. Despite having the idea "firehosed" by top management, the trip was so flawlessly executed that his own boss later said, "If you could manage that, you could manage a whole account." As a result, Dr. Kriegel was given a new office, new responsibilities and the first of many promotions.

Born in New York, Dr. Kriegel attained success early in his professional career as a salesman in the rag trade, an experience followed soon after by his years in advertising. Later venturing off on his own and employing much of the insight he had gained as an All-American swimmer, he received international attention for his skills in the mental coaching of professional athletes, Olympic contenders and top coaches. Dr. Kriegel's remarkable achievements in this field were further reinforced with the publication of his first book, Inner Skiing, a New York Times best-seller which Ski magazine said, "...set skiing ahead ten years."

Since then, Dr. Kriegel's forward-looking theories on excelling under pressure, stress-reduction, and unconventional wisdom have proven applicable in virtually all areas of life, both professionally and personally. The universality of this work is particularly evidenced by the widespread popularity of his books beyond the fields of business and sports.