How Winning Works: 8 Essential Leadership Lessons from the Toughest Teams on Earth [Hardcover]

Robyn Benincasa (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 22, 2012

Robyn Benincasa has made an art form of extreme performance by competing and winning at the highest levels of sport and business. In her fifteen-year career as a professional adventure racer, she has biked through jungles in Borneo, climbed Himalayan giants in Nepal, trekked across lava fields in Fiji, rafted rapids in Chile--and racked up multiple world championship titles along the way. In her spare time, she is a firefighter and a sought-after keynote speaker on the subject of teamwork and leadership.

In "How Winning Works, " Benincasa shows you how to climb to new levels of professional and personal success. She shares the eight essential elements of teamwork, learned through her extreme adventure racing, that create synergy with all the teammates in your life, from colleagues and customers to family members and friends:

Total Commitment

Empathy and Awareness

Adversity Management

Mutual Respect

"We" Thinking

Ownership of the Project

Relinquishment of Ego

Kinetic Leadership

This field guide to success shares the same training tools and exercises that have become wildly popular in the leadership seminars Benincasa gives to corporations, including Starbucks, Deloitte Consulting, 3M, Verizon, Nestle, Boeing and many others. Stories from her adventure racing also illustrate how winning teams interact under the world's most extreme conditions, from jungles to mountain peaks.

Whether you're trying to beat the competition to market with a new product, scale a looming mountain of deadlines or simply get your kids to clean up their rooms, the advice in this book will take you on an adventure you'll never forget, and coach you over the finish line to success.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Athlete, firefighter, competitor, mentor, winner. These impressive attributes all accurately describe Robyn Benincasa. In 2002, Benincasa launched World Class Teams, an adventure-based teambuilding company that brings the lessons of teamwork from adventure racing to both the corporate and personal worlds of her audience. She lives in Cardiff, California. Visit her at RobynBenincasa.com.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Harlequin; 1 edition (May 22, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373892551
• ISBN-13: 978-0373892556
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.1 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #49,716 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robyn Benincasa
UPDATES for the Fall 2012 -
going for my THIRD Guinness Record in Paddling in September.
will help Athenas hike the Rim to Rim to Rim in the Grand Canyon in October!

SEPTEMBER: Finished First in Women 's Division for ELLIPTIGO Championships on Palomar Mountain - met Olympian Mary Decker Slaney while racing for Project Athena with Teammate Ann Hall who came in 5th!

JULY: Finished First Woman and Second in Race for the Missouri 360 - paddled for 3 days - as the picture of my hands tell the story


Athlete, firefighter, competitor, mentor, winner--and now bestselling author. These attributes all describe Robyn Benincasa. She continually sets new goals for herself and in the last week of September 2012, she will attempt to break a third Guinness World Record in the ocean for "Longest Distance Paddled in a Canoe/Kayak in 24 hours by a Female". She currently holds the "Flat Water" (lake) and "Moving Water" (river) Guinness 24 hour records and this new endeavor will complete the paddling category.

In 2002, Robyn launched World Class Teams, an adventure-based team-building company that brings the lesson of teamwork from adventure racing to both the corporate and personal worlds of her audience. Robyn is also the founder of Project Athena, a nonprofit organization that helps women who are survivors of medical setbacks live an adventurous dream as part of their recovery. She lives in Cardiff, California. Her new book, "How Winning Works", is published by Harlequin.

Find out more and visit her at www.worldclassteams.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Insights for Learning to Approach Challenges with a Team Mentality May 24, 2012

By mediamogul

Format:Hardcover

I'm a small business owner and have found this book to be an invaluable tool in learning to be a better leader. In the book, Robyn Benincasa shows how to create a "we thinking" mentality that I have applied in my office. We're now looking at things as a team, instead of as a group of individuals. My employees are seeing problems as challenges instead of roadblocks and learning to work together more effectively.

I highly recommend this book for anyone looking to improve their relationships with co-workers, employees, clients, friends or family. A great read from cover to cover and a real page-turner.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable Read March 10, 2013

By Mark

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is very easy to read, the language is straightforward and entertaining. Most business or self-help books tend to get dry and boring, but a lot of the chapters in this book read more like a novel. The stories are of firefighting and adventure racing, so Robyn's background is more exciting than someone who made boardroom changes to improve a company.

Not to say that the lessons in the book don't apply to business or any other team. The application of her 8 Essential Leadership Lessons are made very tangible by her stories - making them easy to understand then apply to your business or team.

I smiled, laughed, and fought back tears during different times reading the book. It is truly inspiring.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "AN EXCELLENT RESOURCE FOR ALL BUSINESS OWNERS!" May 27, 2012

By Geraldine Ahearn TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

This valuable guide will become a favorite among all business owners. The lessons introduced will help every step of the way for challenges met within the office, or on a personal level. Robyn Benincasa provides important information on good leadership, essential tools for decision-making on skills, and how to provide effective relationships among coworkers and clients. The author uses her expertise on leadership through her experience, with an impressive reputation. I highly recommend 'How Winning Works' to all business owners, which is a must-have, and to those who seek skills on leadership for non-business reasons. Easy to read, informative, and extremely useful for small business owners. A great tool to the growth of professional and personal success, which will be an excellent reference in my personal library.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I love this Book June 3, 2012

By Captain Morgan

Format:Hardcover

This book is well written, clear and has directly usable information, I love this book because it is filled with the best first hand examples of what it really takes to be at my best. Robyn is an outstanding public speaker and I have been deeply moved at her presentations and this book delivers the same high standard. This is a must read book in my opinion.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, even better speaker! May 4, 2013

By Sali McCahill

Format:Kindle Edition

I was lucky enough to meet Robyn and hear her speak at a conference. She is so inspirational that I immediately ordered the book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Insperational, Funny and True April 9, 2013

By C. Bass

Format:Kindle Edition

I liked this book because all the core leadership qualities and team building examples were put in context of real world experiences and races. It also showed how each quility could be and should be used in any environment, from the jungles to the board room. I would recomend this book to anyone would would like to learn the qualities of leadership or for someone who needs a refrshers on what leadership looks like

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Read with lots of good take aways January 3, 2013

By Day Rok

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I finished this book in a couple of days. Just didn't want to put it down. The Author does a great job balancing funny and inspiring stories with real life exercises you can practice with your Team. As an executive I try to read at least 3 inspirational/ informational books a month and I can honestly say that This one ranks as one of my recent Favorites. My wife who is not in a management position still loved this book as well and has starting using some of the teaching amongst her peer group.
My Wife and I have been avid triathletes, kayakers and hikers but now thanks to this book have started down the path of adventure racing. Get this book. You will not be sorry.

5.0 out of 5 stars A fun read! December 27, 2012

By Christine Bayer

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Great lessons on leadership and team building. I especially loved Robyn's stories from EcoChallenge and other adventure races. I met her in October 2012 and trekked with her and her Project Athena Team in the Grand Canyon; and I can say that she practices what she preaches! She is an exceptionally kind, compassionate, talented, funny woman. I hope she writes another book about her more recent adventures.