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Business. Self-Improvement. Careers. Nonfiction. HTML:What�??s holding you back? Your hard work is paying off. You are doing well in your field. But there is something standing between you and the next level of achievement. Perhaps one small flaw�??a behavior you barely even recognize�??is the only thing that�??s keeping you from where you want to be. Who can help? Marshall Goldsmith is an expert at helping global leaders overcome their sometimes unconscious annoying habits and attain a higher level of success. His one-on-one coaching comes with a six-figure price tag. But, in this audiobook, you get Marshall�??s great advice without the hefty fee! What is the solution? The Harvard Business Review asked Goldsmith, �??What is the most common problem faced by the executives that you coach?�?� Inside, he answers this question by discussing not only the key beliefs of successful leaders, but also the behaviors that hold them back. He addresses the fundamental problems that often come with success�??and offers ways to attack these problems. Goldsmith outlines twenty habits commonly found in the corporate environment and provides a systematic approach to helping you achieve a posi… (more)
User reviews
"Emotional volatility is not the most reliable leadership tool. When you get angry, you are usually out of control. It’s hard to lead people when
"We can’t see in ourselves what we can see so clearly in others."
Not at all. This book is for people whose overcompetitiveness and self-centeredness are sabotaging their success, who suffer
#1 Winning too much: overcompetitive regarding trivial things
#2 Adding too much value: making suggestions that come across as criticism
#3 Passing judgment
#4 Making destructive comments: gratuitous sarcasm
#5 Starting with no, but, however: dismissing others' ideas while pretending to agree
#6 Telling the world how smart we are
#7 Speaking when angry
#8 Negativity, or "Let me explain why that won't work"
#9 Withholding information: being "too busy" to debrief direct reports
#10 Failing to give recognition
#11 Claiming credit we don't deserve
#12 Making excuses
#13 Clinging to the past
#14 Playing favorites
#15 Refusing to experss regret/apologize
#16 Not listening
#17 Failing to express gratitude
#18 Punishing the messenger
#19 Passing the buck: failing to accept responsibility
#20 An excessive need to be "me": accepting the above flaws as "just the way I am"
The tagline "How Successful People Become Even More Successful" is a trick to get successful people to pick up a book that is going to criticize them right and left.
But not for naught. The second half of the book presents a methodology for breaking these habits, by addressing them head-on. Apologize to others for your past mistakes, ask for and accept their honest feedback, and enlist them to hold you accountable in the future. Give those you supervise explicit permission -- or even incentivize them -- to call you on your flaws. Eventually, the hope is that you'll start recognizing these tendencies before you act on them.
Even if you aren't the "type" this book is trying to re-educate, the first half of the book is valuable because everyone can benefit from a greater awareness of the habits. They are the insidious kind that nobody realizes they have.
Goldsmith
1. Need to win at all costs.
2. Desire to add our (my) two cents to every discussion.
3. Need to rate others and impose our standards on them.
4. Needless sarcasm and cutting remarks that we (I) think make us sound witty and wise.
5. Overuse of "No," "But" or "However."
6. Need to show people we (I) are (am) smarter than they think we (I) are (am.)
7. Use of emotional volatility as a management tool.
8. Need to share our (my) negative thoughts, even if not asked.
9. Refusal to share information in order to exert an advantage.
10. Inability to praise and reward.
11. Annoying way in which we overestimate our (my) contribution to any success.
12. Need to reposition our (my) annoying behavior as a permanent fixture so people excuse us for it.
13. Need to deflect blame from ourselves (myself) and onto events and people from our (my) past.
14. Failure to see that we (I) am treating someone unfairly.
15. Inability to take responsibility for our (my) actions.
16. Act of not listening.
17. Failure to express gratitude.
18. Need to attack the innocent, even though they are usually only trying to help us (me).
19. Need to blame anyone but ourselves (me).
20. Excessive need to be "me."
21. Goal obsession at the expense of a larger mission.
He discusses each of these behaviors, how they are damaging and provides guidance and examples of how to overcome each. I found it very helpful to have the list of behaviors, as I can see myself performing some of them. That probably means I perform most of them, as it is sometimes hard to identify ones own faults. In his executive coaching, Goldsmith uses 360 degree feedback from supervisors, peers, subordinates, spouses and children to help him coach his clients.
I found a couple of the methods he suggests for making changes very useful. I have talked about them on my blog. The most helpful I have employed is the coach or accountability buddy. She and I meet once a week to discuss our goals and ask for a report. This accounting has spurred me to better results than anything has before. I am meeting the intermediate steps to my goals and am feeling better about myself. Having someone to hold me responsible has been great. Doing the same for my buddy has been a rewarding experience as well. I spend time thinking about her roadblocks and ways around them. In the process, I have found solutions for myself.
The other method Goldsmith talks about regularly is paying a penalty for bad behavior. He recommends a cash forfeit for every slip. After a couple hundred dollars, you WILL make a change. He knows. His staff told him about one of his foibles and he made the commitment to them to change and backed it up with money. By lunchtime, he had lost so much money, he hid in his office for the rest of the day to avoid losing more. It works. I haven't used this one yet, but I will keep it in mind should the need arise.
I highly recommend this book. I will probably go back and purchase a hard copy of this book so I can make notes. I know it inspired me quite a few times to make notes while I was running - not an easy thing to do and keep up a pace. It is that kind of book. Read it with a pen and paper. You will find important things to capture.
At my advanced age, I have spent too much time working for myself. Sure, I recognize the importance of teams and team work. But I refer descending from my aerie, joining the team, completing the
Goldsmith, an executive coach, argues in his book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, that success delusion, holds most of us back. We, (read I):
1. Overestimate our (my) contribution to a project.
2. Take credit, partial or complete, for successes that belong to others.
3. Have an elevated opinion of our (my) professional skills and our (my) standing among our (my) peers.
4. Ignore the failures and time-consuming dead-ends we (I) create.
5. Exaggerate our (my) projects’ impact on net profits by discounting the real and hidden costs built into them.
All of these flaws are borne out of success, yet here is where the book becomes interesting. Unlike others, Goldsmith does limit himself to teaching us (me) what to do. He goes the next step. He teaches us (me) what to stop. He does not address flaws of skill, intelligence or personality. No, he addresses challenges in interpersonal behavior, those egregious everyday annoyances that make your (my) workplace more noxious that it needs to be. They are the:
1. Need to win at all costs.
2. Desire to add our (my) two cents to every discussion.
3. Need to rate others and impose our standards on them.
4. Needless sarcasm and cutting remarks that we (I) think make us sound witty and wise.
5. Overuse of “No,” “But” or “However.”
6. Need to show people we (I) are (am) smarter than they think we (I) are (am.)
7. Use of emotional volatility as a management tool.
8. Need to share our (my) negative thoughts, even if not asked.
9. Refusal to share information in order to exert an advantage.
10. Inability to praise and reward.
11. Annoying way in which we overestimate our (my) contribution to any success.
12. Need to reposition our (my) annoying behavior as a permanent fixture so people excuse us for it.
13. Need to deflect blame from ourselves (myself) and onto events and people from our (my) past.
14. Failure to see that we (I) am treating someone unfairly.
15. Inability to take responsibility for our (my) actions.
16. Act of not listening.
17. Failure to express gratitude.
18. Need to attack the innocent, even though they are usually only trying to help us (me).
19. Need to blame anyone but ourselves (me).
20. Excessive need to be “me.”
21. Goal obsession at the expense of a larger mission.
It is too late for me. I am too dysfunction. If there is still hope for you, this book is a witty, well-written start to addressing your unconscious, annoying habits that limit your ability to achieve a higher level of success.
Penned by the Pointed Pundit
January 24, 2007
9:38:12 PM
Marshall does not promise you and easy ride, and he is right. Reading the book is easy enough. Applying the principles is not
Anyone else: steer away.
Also, something else about biz books in general: too
Anyone else: steer away.
Also, something else about biz books in general: too
Your milage may vary ...