Ceri Evans - 22 July

CONTENTS

In memory of my father, Gwyn, and mother, Joy,

both pioneers in their own way.

Ceris involvement with the All Blacks has allowed the team to grow greater understanding of how we can perform far better under pressure. This has let the team use their abilities to far greater effect and in doing so enhance the All Black legacy.

Steve Hansen, All Blacks Coach

Human performance in Formula One is about more than two drivers its a team of up to 1000 people, all of them elite performers in their own areas. Working with Ceri has helped us shape our ethos, strengthen the resilience of our internal culture and unlock greater performance from the team. Our people are our sustainable source of competitive advantage; Ceris straightforward, practical and humble approach has been an important building block for the success of our team.

Toto Wolff, Team Principal and CEO, MercedesAMG Petronas Motorsport

Performing under pressure is the platform for a successful career. Ceri helped me clear my mind, focus on decisive matters and strengthen my vision for the team. His contributions to the team helped them analyse what we faced and target individual and collective performance. Thank you Ceri for your great contribution.

Arsene Wenger, Manager, Arsenal FC 19962018

Ceris approach is a unique blend of practical experience at the cutting edge of the pressure continuum that goes beyond the intuitive it is scientific, practical and results oriented. He provided me with a more disciplined, clinical and deliberate approach to understanding and dealing with pressure than I had previously encountered; and enabled our leadership team to embrace pressure and operate in an increasingly complex political environment.

Brendan Boyle, Chief Executive, Ministry of Social Development 20112018

Ceri changes lives! Ceris unique ability to take a complex, highly personal and often challenging subject and make it alluring, memorable and actionable is a true gift. The leaders on our programmes have embraced the REDBLUE secret for thriving under pressure and are building more effective organisations, communities and home lives as a result.

Roz McCay, Co-Founder Hiakai CEO programme, Facilitator, NZ Global Women Break Through Leaders programme

Everyone in business wants to be world-leading, but very few are. Ceris Perform Under Pressure programme provides leaders with the framework and tools to shift an organisations performance towards its vision of excellence. Ceri has helped me focus on making decisions that drive positive movement towards this.

Bill Moran, Chair of Sport New Zealand and High Performance Sport NZ

Ceri provided us with the common language and a united approach needed to thrive in investment attraction, a very competitive, pressure-filled environment. He shifted the conversation of high performance behaviour from a sensitive topic to an energising and fun experience.

Dylan Lawrence, General Manager Investment, NZ Trade & Enterprise

I harassed Ceri for a few months until he gave in to working with me as an entrepreneur, and Im glad he did because he changed my life. Ceri brought my attention to unconscious habits that were slowing me down and causing me to fold under pressure. Now Im more aware of my emotional state, make clearer decisions, and my business is performing better too.

Sam Ovens, Entrepreneur

Ceri took an impossibly complex change environment and broke it down to a simple, clear and easy-to-use framework, delivering thinking beyond what we have seen before. He has held me to account and is relentless in his quest for improvement of both himself and our business.

Garry Lund, General Manager, People and Culture, Gough Group

Ceri treated our coaches and 60 amateur teenage rowers vying for national titles with the respect of international athletes. He showed us that pressure is relative and universal, and taught us fun ways to deal with it. Ceris sense of humour and language ensured that his message was relatable his RED/BLUE analogy is still embedded in our squad culture three years on!

Mark Cotham, Director of Rowing, Rangi Ruru Girls School, Christchurch

Ceris clear approach provides tools which can be used by anybody who wants to perform to their very best under pressure. His framework was enlightening and resonated with surgeons, who also face pressure and expectations of high performance.

Andrew Vincent, Orthopaedic Surgeon

Perform Under Pressure was the most impactful and challenging leadership programme we have participated in as an executive team. Ceri armed us with knowledge and tools that have been invaluable in understanding how we each deal with pressure and drive improved performance. The real aha! moment came when we discovered that our performance gap was in how we were working together, allowing us to commit to closing the gap together.

Neal Barclay, CEO, Meridian

A wise adviser, perceptive facilitator and enlightened educator. He has helped me and the teams I work with immensely.

Gilbert Enoka, All Blacks Manager Leadership

We were a young, ambitious and highly successful team already leading our industry, but Ceris approach completely changed our own perception of what good looked like. It was a revelation we found it refreshing, enjoyable and were excited to take it further, compressing months of work into a matter of weeks to regularly achieve timelines that even our own team would call absurd and ridiculous. It stuck ruthless speed became our new normal and the business results (and awards) flowed.

Mark Soper, General Manager, Powershop 20162019

Excellence in any field requires our psychology and physiology to be in harmony. Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Ceri Evans REDBLUE model provides a unique and accessible framework that supports clear thinking and adaptive behaviour under pressure. He builds on contemporary thinking in physiology to explain the neurobiological basis for a counterintuitive mental strategy: challenging ourselves to face the threat and find a solution.

David Paterson, Professor of Physiology, Head of Department, University of Oxford

Te waka taiuhu, mon I whakatau ak, ng ngaru wh.

The prow of the waka will cut a decisive pathway through the stormiest of ocean waves.

In 2015 I played my final game of rugby with the All Blacks. It was our second consecutive Rugby World Cup final victory. No other team had achieved that. We felt a huge expectation but were able to deliver. As captain, I couldnt have wished for a better way to retire.

Roll back the clock to when I was captain in 2007 and it was a very different story. Despite being favourites we had, yet again, failed to win on rugbys biggest stage. Wed even left the tournament earlier than any previous All Blacks team. We hadnt dealt with the pressure and knew that something needed to change.

We looked around for answers and it became evident that Ceri was an obvious choice.

Youve only got to speak to Ceri for a few minutes: he doesnt just tell you how it is, he takes you with him. The things he said and the way he said them struck a chord with me straight away. As well as being a doctor working in forensic psychiatry, hed been a pro-footballer. He made things real.

Ceri explained what happens to the brain under pressure. He showed us examples of how people react differently under pressure and how they go into the RED. It all made sense. He helped us understand that its OK to feel pressure and showed us ways to manage ourselves differently. I learned it wasnt about pretending it doesnt happen, it was about how you deal with it. We started to use the REDBLUE model and straight away I began to see it work.