Relentless by Tim Grover is a book about mindset, pressure and what separates good performers from those who consistently operate at the highest level.
Grover comes at the subject from the sporting side, having worked with some of the world’s best athletes, including Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. While the examples are largely drawn from elite sport, there’s a lot in this book that translates directly into business, leadership and developing high performing teams.
What is Relentless by Tim Grover about?
At its core, Relentless looks at the mindset and behaviours Grover observed in elite performers throughout his career.
One of the central ideas in the book is his classification of performers into three groups: Coolers, Closers and Cleaners. These represent different levels of performance, particularly when the pressure is on.
What I found interesting is that it isn’t simply a discussion about talent. Grover is much more interested in what people do with their ability, how they think, how they prepare and how they respond when things become difficult.
What are Coolers, Closers and Cleaners?
Grover uses Coolers, Closers and Cleaners to describe three different approaches to performance.
In simple terms, Coolers can perform well when things are going well. Closers can step up and deliver when required. Cleaners operate at another level again. They are internally driven, take responsibility and continue to perform regardless of the pressure around them.
It’s an interesting concept when you apply it to business. Most organisations have people with the technical ability to do their job, but technical ability and high performance aren’t necessarily the same thing.
The real test often comes when there is pressure, uncertainty, a difficult decision to make or something goes wrong.
What are Tim Grover’s Relentless 13?
Grover also introduces what he calls the Relentless 13, a collection of traits he consistently observed in the highest performers he worked with.
Rather than focusing purely on skill, these traits look at areas such as internal drive, decision making, confidence, preparation and the ability to perform under pressure.
For business leaders, it raises an important question: what behaviours are we actually developing and rewarding within our teams?
High performance isn’t simply about hiring talented people. Leaders also need to create an environment where people take responsibility, make decisions, continue developing and understand what is expected of them.
How does Relentless apply to business leadership?
Business and elite sport are obviously very different environments, but there are similarities when it comes to performance.
Leaders regularly have to make decisions without having perfect information. Teams have deadlines, expectations and periods of pressure. Businesses experience setbacks and unexpected problems, and people need to be able to respond rather than wait for somebody else to fix things.
That’s where I think Relentless becomes particularly relevant to business. It makes you think about how you personally respond under pressure and what you expect from the people around you.
Is Relentless worth reading for business owners and leaders?
I think so. It’s particularly relevant if you’re interested in leadership, mindset, performance or building a stronger team.
Some of Grover’s approach is deliberately intense, so you don’t necessarily have to agree with everything in the book to get something from it. The value is in challenging yourself to think about what high performance actually looks like in your own environment.
If you’re in a bit of a rut and need something to give you a kick along, it will probably do that too.
Relentless by Tim Grover is a good read for business owners and leaders who want to challenge the way they think about performance, pressure and personal accountability.
At Cardinal Advisors, we work with business owners and leadership teams to turn these types of principles into practical strategies for leadership, team development and sustainable business growth.