Optimal

How to Sustain Excellence Every Day

Emotional intelligence is now embedded in our public discourse: an idea so pervasive and important in our work, culture, politics and society that leaders such as Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase and New York City mayor Eric Adams have placed it at the heart of what they do.

Daniel Goleman's bestselling book Emotional Intelligence was the first to coin this idea and bring it to a mass audience. Now, more than a quarter of a century after it was first published, he and Rutgers professor of psychology Cary Cherniss take a fresh look at how emotional intelligence has evolved over the past few decades, reframing its importance in this definitive book.

Beginning with a dissection of what makes for individual success, Goleman and Cherniss then set out how high performance can be cultivated at every level, scaling up the concept to top team performance and outstanding organisations. Building on attributes such as self-awareness, a sense of meaning and emotional balance, high concentration and 'flow' states, they demonstrate that it is in our optimal moments that our mental clarity shines.

In the age of AI and machine intelligence, emotional intelligence is more important than ever for building a company culture that brings out the best in people and drives success. Anyone leading a team or organization should read Optimal—it will open your mind and show you the inner balance and skill set that we all need to face the future.

MARC BENIOFF, chair and CEO, Salesforce

About Daniel Goleman

Daniel Goleman, PhD, author of five New York Times bestsellers, is best known for his paradigm-shifting book Emotional Intelligence, a global bestseller, and has a long-standing interest in meditation dating back to his two years in India as a graduate student at Harvard. His books have been translated into more than forty languages.
Details
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • ISBN: 9780241609040
  • Length: 272 pages
  • Price: £10.99