“An invaluable operating manual,” says Tony Hsieh, Zappos CEO and author of Delivering Happiness. Using brilliantly simple logic that illuminates the universal truths in common emotional challenges, popular motivational speaker and bestselling author Chip Conley has written “a fresh, original guide to an authentic and fulfilling life.”*

With a foreword by Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos and author of Delivering Happiness

When Chip Conley, dynamic author of the bestselling Peak, suffered a series of devastating personal and professional setbacks, he began using what he came to call “Emotional Equations” (such as Joy = Love – Fear) to help him focus on the variables in life that he could handle, rather than dwelling on the parts he couldn’t, such as the bad economy, death, and taxes.

Using brilliantly simple logic that illuminates the universal truths in common emotional challenges, Emotional Equations offers a way to identify the elements in our lives that we can change, those we can’t, and how to better understand our emotions so they can help us . . . rather than hurt us. Equations like “Despair = Suffering – Meaning” and “Happiness = Wanting What You Have / Having What You Want” have been reviewed for mathematical and psychological accuracy by experts. Now Conley tells his own comeback story and those of other resilient people and inspiring role models who have worked through emotional equations in their own lives. Emotional Equations arms you with practical strategies for turbulent times.

After a long climb to the pinnacle of the hospitality industry, Chip Conley – CEO and founder of Joie de Vivre Hospitality – was rocked to his foundation by a dramatic economic downturn. His company was suddenly undercapitalized and overexposed in the post-dot.com, post 9/11 economy. This desperate situation made Conley reaffirm his belief in psychologist Abraham Maslow’s iconic concept of the Hierarchy of Needs and rely on Maslow’s theory of human motivation to help his business flourish once more.
In Peak, Conley explores how Joie de Vivre – the second largest boutique hotelier in the world ? overcame the storm that hit the travel industry by applying translations of Maslow’s ideas to his company’s winning business practices. Part memoir, part theory, and always practical, accessible, and engaging, Peak offers a behind-the-scenes look at Joe de Vivre’s remarkable transformation.
Throughout this audiobook, Conley provides real-world examples from other companies including Google, Whole Foods Market, Harley-Davidson, and Southwest Airlines, and shows how anyone can bring similar changes to their own work and personal lives. Peak reveals the miracle of human potential and shows what can happen when employees live up to their full potential, customers are completely transformed by the experience they receive, and investors are fulfilled by leveraging the potential of their capital.

Experience is making a comeback. Learn how to repurpose your wisdom.

At age 52, after selling the company he founded and ran as CEO for 24 years, rebel boutique hotelier Chip Conley was looking at an open horizon in midlife. Then he received a call from the young founders of Airbnb, asking him to help grow their disruptive start-up into a global hospitality giant. He had the industry experience, but Conley was lacking in the digital fluency of his 20-something colleagues. He didn’t write code, or have an Uber or Lyft app on his phone, was twice the age of the average Airbnb employee, and would be reporting to a CEO young enough to be his son. Conley quickly discovered that while he’d been hired as a teacher and mentor, he was also in many ways a student and intern. What emerged is the secret to thriving as a mid-life worker: learning to marry wisdom and experience with curiosity, a beginner’s mind, and a willingness to evolve, all hallmarks of the “Modern Elder.”

In a world that venerates the new, bright, and shiny, many of us are left feeling invisible, undervalued, and threatened by the “digital natives” nipping at our heels. But Conley argues that experience is on the brink of a comeback. Because at a time when power is shifting younger, companies are finally waking up to the value of the humility, emotional intelligence, and wisdom that come with age. And while digital skills might have only the shelf life of the latest fad or gadget, the human skills that mid-career workers possess–like good judgment, specialized knowledge, and the ability to collaborate and coach – never expire.

Part manifesto and part playbook, Wisdom@Work ignites an urgent conversation about ageism in the workplace, calling on us to treat age as we would other type of diversity. In the process, Conley liberates the term “elder” from the stigma of “elderly,” and inspires us to embrace wisdom as a path to growing whole, not old. Whether you’ve been forced to make a mid-career change, are choosing to work past retirement age, or are struggling to keep up with the millennials rising up the ranks, Wisdom@Work will help you write your next chapter.