From a leading international crisis management expert, a breakthrough book about performance under pressure that will change the way you think about stress.

When we experience too much stress, we often feel like shutting down and escaping the source: we 'downshift'. With too little stress, we become apathetic and disengaged. But what happens in the middle zone - when we experience what psychologists call 'positive stress' - and how can we use it to overcome extraordinary barriers and perform at our peak?

From his role as a globally recognised change-maker at the likes of the United Nations, the International Red Cross and the World Bank, Ben Ramalingam has a unique vantage point from which to identify the key principles that can enable anyone to use stress as an opportunity for change. We learn how a switch in mentality helps musicians dazzle huge crowds against all odds; how astronauts focus on originality to overcome life-threatening incidents; and how discovering a sense of purpose allows emergency health workers and aid experts to deal with unprecedented crises.