Book excerpt: Are you a Formula 1 buff? Even if you are not, have you had a chance to watch a Formula 1 (F1) race? It is probably the most grueling race in the world. As you are aware, only the best qualify. These drivers are daredevils. They are physically fit and mentally tough. They are deeply passionate about the sport and have nerves of steel. They are backed by great machines, great automobile research and great support teams. There is nothing really that sets one F1 driver apart from the other among the top 10. If that is so, how is it that some of them win consistently? How are F1 drivers like Michael Schumacher in the past and Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen, Lewis Hamilton and Mark Webber in the present so consistent in winning the race every time? What separates winners from those who “almost win”? If this question bothers you, you will find this book interesting. In a race where winning depends on speed and your ability to race ahead of others, what really differentiates winners from others are your SMART STOPS. This includes planned stops as well as unplanned stops. These stops in Formula 1 lingo are called PIT STOPS. Pit stops can make or break a race. "A lot of races are won in the pit," according to IndyCar driver Will Power. Isn’t your work as a manager like the Formula 1 race where you are racing for excellence through the year? If Pit stops differentiate the winners from others, how smart are your pit stops? This book will benefit you and your colleagues if You have to put in disproportionate effort to achieve high performance. It is becoming increasingly difficult to read the market, understand customer preferences, predict competitor moves, shape the organization’s culture and be ready for the next disruptive change in the industry. Your team and you are focused most of the time on action and fire fighting and rue if only you had the time to think and reflect. If you are more often than not taken by surprise by the results of a customer feedback survey or employee satisfaction report or the sudden resignation of an employee or a change in market trends. Heart in heart you know that strategic planning, departmental budgeting and individual goal setting exercises of your organization are a farce. Team level trust and work synergies are missing. Annual performance appraisals create more problems than what you bargained for.