Ping Pong Leadership

18 Principles to Succeed at Any Table in Business, Sports, and Life

Leadership Through a Unique Lens: Ping Pong

Tens of millions of people worldwide enjoy ping pong on some level. And if you’re looking to enhance your leadership skills, ping pong offers surprisingly relevant lessons for success.

Justin Bookey has spent decades in both worlds. As an Emmy-nominated content creator and strategist, he’s worked with leaders at global companies to accomplish their business goals. As a competitive table tennis player, he’s trained with national and world champions and won medals at the US Open.

Those two worlds rarely overlapped—until Bookey realized that the core principles he learned while training to compete at the table also apply to success in business and leadership.

In the 1970s, the leaders of the US and China famously used friendly table tennis matches as a first step in thawing decades of icy relations—an effort dubbed Ping Pong Diplomacy. Ping Pong Leadership takes the next step, showing leaders of all types how to envision and create meaningful change, from small business to the Fortune 500 and broader communities.

Along with exclusive insights from leaders in commerce, culture, and technology, this book distills lessons from a beloved global sport into 18 actionable and unforgettable “Pong Principles.”

For leaders, entrepreneurs, and competitors of all kinds, Ping Pong Leadership is a powerful guide to success at any table.

Add to cart to preorder your copy today!
$29.95
ISBN: 979-8-89138-053-0
Imprint: Amplify Publishing
SKU: 18-1255-01
Categories:Amplify Publishing, Self-Esteem and Personal Success

“At some point, we all face a critical business or leadership challenge, large or small. That’s why every leader will appreciate the ‘pong principles’ in this book. These stories from impressive leaders and innovators will accelerate your ability to reach your business or leadership goals.”

—Jeff Hoffman, Priceline.com cofounder

“Justin Bookey artfully draws the parallels between the game of ping pong and effective leadership strategies. This book is a must-read for anyone looking to elevate their competitive game to the next level!”

—Tawny Banh, two-time table tennis Olympian and four-time US national doubles champion

“Bookey seamlessly weaves together fascinating details about the sport and art of ping pong with actionable advice from some of today’s top thinkers and business leaders. A quick and charming read, served up with plenty of surprising spin.”

—Greg Spence, Emmy-winning producer of Game of Thrones and The Last of Us 

“More than a workplace culture fixture in Silicon Valley startups, ping pong is one of the most accessible and widely played games in the world. In Ping Pong Leadership, Justin Bookey makes reading about his beloved sport fun—even as he reveals its hidden wisdom for life and leadership.”

—Eric Schurenberg, former CEO of Inc. and Fast Company

“Whether you’re on the golf course, at the ping pong table, or any table—if you’re striving for peak performance, there is nothing more important than winning the mental game. Ping Pong Leadership brilliantly captures this connection between success in sports and success in life.”

—Bob Rotella, New York Times bestselling author of How Champions Think

Justin Bookey

Award-winning Content Creator and Strategist and Global Ping Pong Player

Justin Bookey is grateful to have learned from some of the best and brightest in several arenas. As a lawyer, marketing strategist, and content creator, he’s worked directly with leaders at Honda, Disney, Qualcomm, Sony, Allergan, XPRIZE, and more. He’s also trained with national/world champions and Olympians in table tennis. He grew up in Seattle, Washington, playing a lot of ping pong in the family basement with family, friends, and any willing houseguest. He holds a BA in communications (UCSD), an MS in public relations (Boston University), and a law degree (Boston University). He practiced communications law in Washington, DC, for several years, assisting with billion-dollar cable deals and wireless telecom initiatives. He then transitioned into web development. Moving to Los Angeles, Bookey led content strategy projects for global agencies in the frenzy of the Web 1.0 and 2.0 eras, and witnessed dazzling success stories and spectacular crashes. Bookey continued with content creation, earning Emmy nominations for two feature documentaries he produced and Telly, Viddy, and ADDY awards for marketing campaigns he spearheaded.

Apart from his professional life, Bookey found himself repeatedly drawn back to the game of ping pong for fitness, fun, and personal challenge. In LA, he stepped up his training with world-class table tennis coach and Olympian Wei Wang. Since then, he has won medals at the US Open and the US National Championships. Bookey gained exposure to different leadership cultures while studying in India and teaching in Japan. An avid traveler, he has played table tennis on seven continents. He now lives and works in Santa Monica, California, and also runs PongFit, a nonprofit that builds fitness and community through ping pong.

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