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Not a lot, you might think. But forget Murray Walker, scantily-clad ladies and controversial rear diffusers, Formula 1 has an estimated turnover of $4bn, is an employer of 50,000 people in more than 30 countries, and has a foothold in every major and developing economy. Fundamental to the organisation’s success is consistent performance in highly competitive surroundings: a lesson that all companies can and should learn from.

"Formula 1 provides the perfect ‘goldfish bowl’ for us to examine the components of performance at the critical levels of organisation."

- Mark Jenkins, Ken Pasternak and Richard West, Performance at the Limit

In the second edition of the successful Performance at the Limit, Mark Jenkins, Ken Pasternak and Richard West show that the Formula 1 industry and corporate executives face similar day-to-day realities in key areas. Both are:

• Highly competitive
• Experience change on a constant basis
• Require continual innovation to stay ahead of the competition
• Rely on sharing of knowledge
• Require teamwork to achieve common goals
• Measure success by actual performance

A thorough study of the industry, including interviews with executives active in the sport as well as Formula 1 drivers, the authors provide practical lessons on how to address these shared challenges so that organisations can perform at the highest limits of their potential.

ENDS

Notes for Editors

Business Lessons from Formula 1 Motor Racing | Mark Jenkins, Ken Pasternak, Richard West | Publication date 23 April 2009 | Hardback 9780521449632 | £27.99 | 272 pages

About the Authors:

Mark Jenkins is Professor of Business Strategy at Cranfield School of Management. He has twenty-one years’ experience as a teacher and consultant in the area of competitive strategy, knowledge management and innovation. He has undertaken research on the performance of Formula 1 teams since 1997.

Ken Pasternak delivers seminars for executives and advises banks and businesses in the area of leadership and management, organisation development and teamwork. Previously he worked for Citibank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Richard West has held senior commercial roles with the McLaren, Williams and Arrows Formula 1 teams and the Jaguar Sportscar team. Having raised in excess of £165 million of commercial sponsorship, today he works as an international keynote speaker and facilitator and runs a management training company that uses Formula 1 as a central theme.

Contents

List of figures | List of tables | Acknowledgements | Note on the reference system | The Grand Prix experience | 1. Introduction | 2. Why Formula 1 motor racing? | 3. The performance framework | 4. The war for talent: the people in Formula 1 | 5. Winning through teamwork | 6. Capability through partnerships | 7. The high performance organisation | 8. Integrating: effective leadership brings it all together| 9. Innovating: the drive for continual change | 10. Transforming: breaking out of the old ways | 11. Achieving and sustaining performance | 12. Twelve business lessons from Formula 1 motor racing | Appendix A: Grand Prix champions 1950–2007 | Appendix B: Grand Prix graveyard 1950–2008 | Appendix C: Interview respondents | References | Index | Colour plates 1–8 between pages | Colour plates 9–16 between pages.

About Cambridge University Press

2009 marks the 425th anniversary of the printing in 1584 of the first book by a practising University Printer, fifty years after Henry VIII granted to Cambridge in 1534 a royal charter to print all manner of books.

It is the oldest printer and publisher in the world, having been operating continuously since 1584, and is one of the largest academic publishers globally.

Its purpose is to further the University’s objective of advancing learning, knowledge and research. Throughout its history, the Press has maintained a reputation for innovation and enterprise, through its use of printing technologies, through publishing the latest research, and through supporting the latest methodologies for teaching and learning.