Widely considered the best NFL quarterback of all time, Joe Montana personifies performance excellence and personal integrity both on and off the field. Yet the word most closely associated with him is not “winner”–it’s “leader.” Since his retirement a decade ago, he has become a popular motivational speaker sought out by corporations nationwide, speaking to capacity audiences as large as twenty thousand. Now making his message available to a broader audience, Montana teams up with performance coach Tom Mitchell to extend to all areas of life the truths of success on the field. The Winning Spirit shows that ultimately performance excellence is fueled by personal integrity. This is the key to winning the inner game, which is about accountability and attitude, as well as desire, enthusiasm, effort, and appreciation. For example:• Know What You Want: First, identify goals, then turn clarity into action.• Strive for Excellence: Surpass expectations and reach new heights• Fail Fast and Move On: Take chances, learn from mistakes, and keep pressing forward–don’t let fear or regret take you out of the game.• Remember the “I” in Team: Make yourself the priority–because intense preparation is the individual responsibility of each member of the team.• Welcome Pressure: Want to be the best? Work with or compete against the best!• Walk Like a Champ: Your life is not just about achieving success, but also about having a purpose and creating significance.With great stories and practical strategies, Joe Montana and Tom Mitchell give us hard-won advice based on years of success. This timely and timeless message is nothing less than a contemporary motivational classic.

Expectations vs. Reality
Expectations vs. Reality applies here. What do you expect when you buy a book entitled "The Winning Spirit, #16" by Joe Montana? (For those readers who don't happen to follow football, specially football in San Francisco, you might want to know that Joe was one of the best quarterbacks in the game in history! He drove the San Francisco 49er's to several Superbowl wins.) So, I'm expecting some kind of biography or life story (which BTW, would be interesting). Well, surprise! That's not what this book is about!! In Joe's after-football-life, he and partners went into capital investing and then eventually into training sessions on performance. He and partners are also into business coaching of executives. So, in reality, this book turns out to be a rather interesting and well written training class on team building and executive leadership. Believe me, I've read alot of these kind of books! What I like about this book is that it focuses on teamwork and teambuilding. Drawing from Joe's football experience (and his co-author's basketball coaching experience), they successfully map between sports and business. A pretty easy book to get thru and relatively easy on the brain, it does give a nice set of 15 guidelines with alot of examples and suggestions. In fact, I often found myself saying, "hey I do that!" Bottom line, yeah, a pretty good business book focusing on teamwork and teambuilding. Oh yeah, GO NINERS!