Jim Lawless

Inspirational speaker and author of Taming Tigers

Adventurer / Explorer

A true architect of change, Jim Lawless has devoted the last two decades of his professional life to understanding and delivering transformation, handling uncertainty and risk and creating and operating in ‘no normal’ environments.

Jim Lawless's Videos

What Jim Lawless's Clients Say

Here is some of the feedback from audiences and clients who have worked with Jim.

"When our people work with Taming Tigers they lose their negativity and fear and become more open-minded, relaxed and easy to work with, without taking away their drive and their focus on results."

Tracey Clarke,

HR Director,

North West Europe, Becton Dickinson

"It’s like he has a secret weapon that makes anything possible"

Marco Nones,

Diving Instructor

"We at Apple pride ourselves in thinking differently, that is why we work in partnership with Jim. Our big conference pitches and our key sales presentations have both been inspired by the Lawless touch."

Human Resources Director,

Apple Europe

"Jim was truly inspiring on the day. He had the audience memorised with his fantastic story telling – you could hear a pin drop. The subsequent feedback from delegates has been outstanding!"

John Pitts,

Training Manager,

Volvo

"Jim made a tremendously positive and inspiring impact – exactly what was needed!"

Nick Pounder,

Associate Director Human Resources,

GILEAD

"Having Jim acting on stage is transforming the audience. I have experienced twice how he is able to motivate, enthuse and move a hall full of people within minutes. Jim is THE person you need if you want to introduce creative, out of the box thinking."

Kursten Jung,

LifeCycle Leader,

Roche

"Great fun and massively valuable. Brings out amazing qualities in colleagues that normally are quite reserved"

Stuart Harris,

Software Product Manager,

Apple

"Jim Lawless related to our current situation – an organisation going through massive change – with wit, enthusiasm and challenge."

Isabel Nisbet,

Acting Chief Executive,

OFQUAL

"Working with Jim proved to be challenging and a turning point for our Exec team. It allowed us to step back and examine how we were operating as a team and create a team agreement around how we would step up together."

Ursula Morgenstern,

CEO,

ATOS UK & Ireland

"Our work with Jim and his team has helped us to achieve a strong integration of recent acquisitions, challenge the status quo and build a platform for further transformation with a sense of belief, a sense of energy and a sense of purpose."

Nick Walker,

SVP HR,

Skrill Group

"It exceeded my expectations in so many ways and I wanted to let you know that the unsolicited feedback from participants has been resoundingly positive. A standing ovation is not given lightly by our European Leadership Team – a true testament to the value you brought to our conference and I’m confident that we are ready as a team to both tame and unleash our inner tigers."

Sinead Collins,

HR Director European Cereal & Marketing,

Kellog's

Available for

Jim’s Speaking Topics

Languages:

English

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Jim Lawless's 2025 Biography

Meet Jim Lawless

Record-breaking freediver and voted #1 Motivational Speaker outside of the US in the Global Guru rankings, Jim Lawless has spoken to well over a million people on five continents.

For two decades, Jim’s sole focus has been:

How can we manage uncertainty, transform fast and deliver high performance?
How can we lead to ensure our people manage uncertainty, transform fast and deliver high performance?

Founder and CEO of transformation architects Symmetry.inc, Jim and his team work with leaders globally to deliver transformation to agile, intelligent organisations. His client list ranges from Apple to Microsoft, Diageo to Paysafe Group, fast-growth companies and Olympic Teams.

Jim is the author of the international best seller ‘Taming Tigers – How to do things you never thought you could’ (Random House).

Uniquely, he insists on walking the walk, not just talking the talk. He became a televised jockey, (and lost 25% of his bodyweight), within 12 months of sitting on a horse and became the deepest freediver in British history within 8 months; he is the first Briton to pass the magic 100m barrier.

Both ‘impossible’ transformations were undertaken to test and validate the Rules for Taming Tigers. Both were done alongside his day job – as transformations always are.

Jim is loved internationally for his energy, humour and lasting impact on mindset, and action. He delights with his personal experiences and leaves a highly credible and powerful new vocabulary behind him that lives on in the organisation.

Jim holds a degree in Law and spent the first decade of his career as a commercial solicitor in the City of London and International Legal Counsel with a global tech company. He founded Optimise in 2000 which has evolved into Symmetry today.

Outside of his work, Jim is a dad, friend, helicopter pilot and triathlete.

Jim Lawless's 2025 Talks & Topics

Taming Tigers

Exactly how to do things you never thought you could.

High Performance Teams

High performing teams know why they are so. They have an architecture: proven engineering embedded within a robust design that is unique to the task and team.

Achieving outrageous objectives

The Confusion Zone

How to operate outside the comfort zone, successfully, healthily and happily, in an age of no normal.

Inspirational Leadership in Disruption and Uncertainty

How to create the safety and purpose your people need to operate in uncertainty and to follow you across stormy waters.

Calm

The elite freediver’s mindfulness tools and mental disciplines for handling uncertainty and risk without tension and anxiety.

Breaking through personal boundaries

Jim Lawless's Latest Books

Articles & Podcasts

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