David Cook is one of the country's top Peak Performance consultants and seminar leaders. He is a frequent speaker for the prestigious Zig Ziglar Corporation and served as "Mental Training Coach" for the 2003 & 1999 World Champion San Antonio Spurs (1996 - 2004). He currently serves as sport psychologist for the Washington Wizards of the NBA. Golf Digest recently named him one of the "Top 10 Sport Psychologists in the World." As past president of the National Sport Psychology Academy he is known as a leading authority in the science of Peak Performance. David has counseled performers from the PGA (over 100 players), NBA (two NBA MVP's), NFL, MLB, Olympics, and collegiate national championship ranks. His business clients have included Exxon Mobil, Sprint, HP/Compaq, Heinz, American Express, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Texas Instruments, Bayer, Interstate Battery, StorageTek, Pitney Bowes, US Filter, State Farm Insurance, and many others. David is President of his San Antonio based Peak Performance firm that bridges the gap between the sports and business arenas. Besides speaking and coaching, he is known for his creative leadership adventure retreats that incorporate golf and/or wilderness adventures in the Texas Hill Country. He is the former Director of Applied Sport and Performance Psychology at the University of Kansas (1984 - 1996) where his peers elected him President of the National Sport Psychology Academy in 1992. During his twelve- year tenure at K.U. he counseled over 1500 athletes and coaches. David also directs the Mindset Academy at the Westin La Cantera Resort, a nationally recognized mental training academy for aspiring competitive golfers. David's articles have been featured in Golf Magazine, Golf Illustrated, and Golf Tips. In 1988 David represented the United States at the International Olympic Academy in Olympia, Greece. David received his undergraduate degree from Baylor University in 1980. He completed his Ph.D. in Sport and Performance Psychology from the University of Virginia in 1984. He is married to Karen and has two daughters. They live in the Hill Country of Texas.

The Links to Excellence Corporate Outing "Building Relationships, Leadership, and Enhancing Job Performance Through Action Learning" An Executive Development and Action Learning Adventure The purpose of this corporate outing is to provide a unique venue for performance enhancement training as well as building teams within an organization or building lasting relationships with strategic clients. During the course of this program relationships will be enhanced, leadership skills of each participant will be honed, and new performance enhancement strategies will be learned and employed. Our unique delivery model incorporates a cutting edge seminar followed by a comprehensive "action-learning" component and culminates with a follow-up debriefing session which ties the day's activities to the real world of business. The action learning component revolves around a uniquely crafted golf adventure which requires team work, crisis and pressure management, mental toughness, creativity, strategic planning, and shared leadership to navigate successfully. This powerful training tool is used to mirror the corporate arena thus providing a solid application experience for the day's learning. Your employees or most valued clients will receive a meaningful and impactful gift in the form of performance enhancement training along with a team building experience, both of which will serve to enhance your bottom line while building relationships. Bonds are built when individuals engage in experiences, which are unique, competitive, challenging, fun, and productive. We have built this program upon that model. The Components of the Outing: The Performance Seminar: The day begins with a seminar entitled Mindset of a Champion: Reaching Your Potential in a World of Constant Change. This unique seminar incorporates illustrations and performance strategies from several of the world's greatest performers and leaders. It has great relevance to the corporate playing field and has been delivered to many Fortune 500 companies including Exxon/Mobil, Southwest Airlines, HP/Compaq, Texas Instruments, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Bayer Corp., State Farm, StorageTek, U.S. Filter, American Express, and others. The program is led by Dr. David Cook, one of the nation's top sport and performance psychology consultants and speakers. The Strategic Planning Session: The Mindset of a Champion seminar leads into the initial team building activity, which features a strategic planning and practice session. The rules of the Mission Impossible golf adventure are distributed allowing each team to evaluate its potential through a "hands-on" trial and error session. Our teaching staff will be available to help beginners and others who want to hone their games for the round. This practice session culminates in each team submitting a sealed performance bid for the upcoming challenge. This bid process forms the basis for the day's competition and provides a bridge to the real world of business. The Action Learning Challenge: The stage has now been set for Mission Impossible: The Ultimate Team Building Golf Challenge. This uniquely crafted action learning experience requires team work, crisis and pressure management, mental toughness, creativity, strategic planning, and shared leadership, all of which are critical elements to success in the corporate arena. While this experience revolves around normal golf new elements are integrated into each hole requiring team members to "think out of the box" to accomplish the mission. To compete successfully each team must call upon the principles taught during the morning's seminar. (It is assumed that most individuals have played golf, however those with little or no previous golfing experience will be able to participate and contribute in this format. The Champion's Roundtable: At the conclusion of the game everyone will gather for dinner (optional) and awards presentation. As in business, the team who turned in the lowest bid and reached or exceeded that bid will determine the champion. This will be followed by The Champion's Roundtable an important debrief and wrap up session led by Dr. Cook. This roundtable session becomes the culminating event of the day. Teams are challenged to develop specific action plans leading to the transfer of the day's learning to the workplace. The day winds down with each team sharing the results of their learning experience with the other teams in a lively interactive format. Links to Excellence Corporate Outing Sample Itinerary I (all day) 8:00 - 10:00 Seminar: The Mindset of a Champion by David Cook, Ph.D. 10:30 - 11:30 Strategic Practice session for the Mission Impossible team scramble. Each team has one hour to strategically practice and plan for the game. Based on the instructions given and the estimated talent for the skills required, each team must submit a formal scoring bid prior to the beginning of the game. The bids will be sealed until the conclusion of the round. As in business, the lowest bidder will determine the winning team, contingent on them meeting or bettering their bid. 11:30 - 12:00 Box lunch and Strategic Planning and Bidding Session 12:00 - 5:00 Mission Impossible Team Scramble... "the ultimate team challenge" 5:e30- 7:00 Group cookout followed by awards and The Champion's Roundtable. The roundtable session is the culminating event of the day. It is an interactive session. Each team will sit together and develop action points from the day's activities which apply directly to business. This will be followed by open discussion between the teams. Sample Itinerary II (half day) 11:30 - 12:30 The Mindset of a Champion presentation along with lunch 12:30 - 1:30 Strategic bidding and practice session 1:30 - 2:00 Transfer to Course 2:00 - 4:30 The Mission Impossible Team Adventure (nine holes) 4:30 - 5:00 Transfer back to the Academy 5:00 - 6:30 Reception, Awards, and The Champions Roundtable debrief