Jim is one of the most inspirational and highly sought-after business speakers in Europe. He is the only authority on change and personal development to have put his life on the line to prove his theories.

After starting life as a City lawyer, he moved in-house to become International Legal Counsel at ICL (now Fujitsu) before founding the cultural change consultancy Optimise (now Taming Tigers Group) in the late 90's. His clients have included Apple, Legal and General, BT, AstraZeneca, Barclaycard and the NHS.

In 2003, an audience member bet Jim one pound that he could not prove the power of his Ten Rules for Taming Tigers - by becoming a jockey and riding in his first televised race within 12 months. It was a good challenge as he was 3 stone too heavy to be a jockey and couldn't ride a horse.

Working with the Ten Rules as his guide, he took delivery of his pound on 22 November 2004 on returning to unsaddle from the 12.00 at Southwell. On becoming a jockey Jim says ''it took many years, but at last I have found a place where being short is an advantage.''

Jim advises teams and individuals in some of the UK's leading companies, was elected a fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts in 2008, writes regularly for a range of publications including Finance Week and Personnel Today and is a columnist for the Institute of Leadership and Management's periodical ''The Edge''. Jim is MD of the Taming Tigers Group.

Jim's entertaining and practical speeches and workshops give his audiences a new set of possibilities and responsibilities, change their ideas about what they can achieve and send them out excited about making a difference. He will inspire peak performance - at work or at home and he brings a fresh approach to personal and business communications.

He has great credibility with audiences having not only achieved his sporting goal, but also having worked at board level in business and sales and as a current advisor to many major British and international companies.

Jim is also the author of the book ''Taming Tigers'', the antidote to 'self-help' and a highly practical approach to overcoming fear and doing things you never though you could do. It is also a searingly honest and inspiring account of his year becoming a jockey.

Testimonials for Jim Lawless.
''I have worked with Jim on stage at three high-profile Barclaycard leaders' conferences. Not only is he engaging, challenging, inspiring and very funny but he delivers a practical, compelling model for achieving results which he has risked his life on the racecourse to prove.''
Gary Hoffman, Group Vice Chairman, Barclays Bank plc.

''This was a very important event for my department. Your challenging and inspiring presentation and professional (but hilarious) hosting made the day for us. One of the delegates went straight back and ran a 'Taming Tigers' training session for his own team! No racehorses where involved, thank heavens. ''
Ian Dyson, Finance Director, Marks and Spencer plc

''After hearing Jim's speech, I was truly inspired and started immediately to incorporate the principles learned on how to approach my work, family, and social activities. After 12 months, I have to say that it has changed my life. I have done things I wouldn't have otherwise and most importantly accomplished things that I thought were well beyond my abilities. Everyone should hear Jim's story and ''Taming Tigers'' principles. He delivers them in such a fun way! ''
Jack Bush, Director, Global Pharmaceutical Marketing Intelligence, ALCON Laboratories INC.

''Jim Lawless related Taming the Tiger to our current situation an organisation going through massive change with wit, enthusiasm and challenge.''
Isabel Nisbet, Acting Chief Executive, Ofqual

''His key themes of leadership, change and teamwork were delivered in a powerful yet fun way, but most importantly he gave us the tools to go back to our businesses and make a difference immediately. Everything great looks impossible at first - you just have to tame some tigers''
Frank van de Ven, Vice President EMEA, Life Fitness (SSC) BV

''We were looking for something to motivate and energise our sales force in this challenging environment, and we had high expectations of Taming Tigers. The results were fantastic, feedback from a Questionnaire to 140 salespeople, Taming Tigers scored 75 per cent of the audience rating the session as outstanding and 24 per cent rating it as Excellent.

These are the best scores we have ever seen either for an external or an internal speaker. The benefits are already visible just weeks after the conference. ''
Nick Frazer, General Manager Business Marketing, Business Information, Experian

''Jim is great at showing two things. One, ordinary people can do extraordinary things. Two, the key to delivering this is to 'act now' on the difficult but necessary tasks. He does this in an entertaining and engaging manner''.
Rob Fleming, Market Strategy and Planning Manager, Procter and Gamble.

''. A big thanks to Jim, he reminded me of our own power and of who we really are. ''
Wouter Murrath, Captaris.

''His sessions were fantastic funny, energetic, inspiring and real. ''
Lisa Munford Talent Management - Senior Specialist , UK HR Talent Team, E.ON UK.

''If you want motivation combined with great entertainment value you are on a winner with Jim Lawless. He is an odds on favourite to not only leave you inspired but also chuckling with laughter. ''
Geoff Loader, Director of Communications, Southern Water

Speech Topics
...Taming Tigers - The Ten Rules for Taming Tigers.
...Taming the Leadership Tiger.
...Taming the Sales Tiger.
...Taming the Change Tiger.
...Taming the Communication Tiger.

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Jim Lawless showreel