See JJL blog index for Dave Rothacker.

---

Product Description

America's most sought-after executive coach shows how to climb the last few rungs of the ladderThe corporate world is filled with executives, men and women who have worked hard for years to reach the upper levels of management. They're intelligent, skilled, and even charismatic. But only a handful of them will ever reach the pinnacle -- and as executive coach Marshall Goldsmith shows in this book, subtle nuances make all the difference. These are small "transactional flaws" performed by one person against another (as simple as not saying thank you enough), which lead to negative perceptions that can hold any executive back. Using Goldsmith's straightforward, jargonfree advice, it's amazingly easy behavior to change.Executives who hire Goldsmith for one-on-one coaching pay $250,000 for the privilege. With this book, his help is available for 1/10,000th of the price.

---

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #330 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-09
• Released on: 2007-01-09
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Goldsmith, an executive coach to the corporate elite, pinpoints 20 bad habits that stifle already successful careers as well as personal goals like succeeding in marriage or as a parent. Most are common behavioral problems, such as speaking when angry, which even the author is prone to do when dealing with a teenage daughter's belly ring. Though Goldsmith deals with touchy-feely material more typical of a self-help book—such as learning to listen or letting go of the past—his approach to curing self-destructive behavior is much harder-edged. For instance, he does not suggest sensitivity training for those prone to voicing morale-deflating sarcasm. His advice is to stop doing it. To stimulate behavior change, he suggests imposing fines (e.g., $10 for each infraction), asserting that monetary penalties can yield results by lunchtime. While Goldsmith's advice applies to everyone, the highly successful audience he targets may be the least likely to seek out his book without a direct order from someone higher up. As he points out, they are apt to attribute their success to their bad behavior. Still, that may allow the less successful to gain ground by improving their people skills first. (Jan. 2)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From AudioFile
To get to the next level, high achievers often need to get over self-aggrandizing beliefs such as thinking that they control everything, believing that all their success is due to their individual efforts, and assuming that future achievements are there for the taking. Narrating his own material, management consultant Marshall Goldsmith sounds so fresh and energetic that his program will motivate listeners to take a personal inventory. However, there are also places where he sounds like he's trying too hard, such as when he delineates the good and bad habits of executives. Nonetheless, all his suggestions about how and what to change are clear, action oriented, and punctuated with examples from his own growth experiences. T.W. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
By now, the CEO as celebrity is old hat. (Just start counting the books from former company heads.) That goes for the executive-recruiter-cum-president-makers. What has yet to be explored--until now--is the celebrity business coach, the individual who helps C-level executives correct flaws, whether invisible or public. A frequent interviewee in major business magazines like Fortune, Goldsmith, with the sage help and advice of his collaborator Reiter, pens a self-help career book, filled with disguised anecdotes and candid dialogue, all soon slated for bestsellerdom. His steps in coaching for success are simple, honest, without artifice: gather feedback from appropriate colleagues and cohorts, determine which behaviors to change (and remember, Goldsmith specifically focuses on behavior, not skills or knowledge), apologize, advertise, listen, thank, follow up, and practice feed-forward. Admittedly, this shrewd organizational psychologist only works with leaders he knows will listen, follow advice, and change--especially considering that he doesn't receive fees until improvements are secure and visible. On the other hand, these are words and processes anyone will benefit from, whether wannabe manager or senior executive. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

---

Customer Reviews

Waste of time
This is the most complete waste of time for anyone who wants to learn anything. It is so bad that I cannot even finish it!

An invitation to obtain "an exquisite sense" of who you are

This book is a "great gift" from Marshall Goldsmith to his reader. How so? In the Coda, he suggests this exercise:

"Imagine that you are 95 years old and ready to die." By then you (i.e. the reader) understand what is really important and what isn't, what matters and what doesn't. "What advice would this wise `old you' have for the `you' who is [receiving the advice]? Take your time and answer the question on two levels: personal advice and professional advice. Jot down a few words that capture what the old you would be saying to the younger you. Once you have written these words down, the rest is simple: Just do whatever you wrote down. Make it your resolution for the rest of the current year, and the next. You have just defined your `there.'"

Everything Goldsmith provides in this volume can help his readers to develop or reactivate what he aptly characterizes as "a built-in GPS mechanism" so that they will "be blessed with [both a map and] an internal compass that orients them automatically. They will [always] make the correct turn and end up where they intended via the most economical route...[because they possess] an exquisite sense of who they are, which translates into perfect pitch about how they come across to others."

It sounds easy, doesn't it? All you have to do is read this book and (like a magic carpet) it will get you from where you are now to where you want to be. On the contrary, for most people who read this book, the challenge is formidable. First, they must accept the fact that Pogo was right: "We have met the enemy and he is us." Then, they must focus on correcting those faults and breaking those habits that currently control their interpersonal behavior. And then they must focus each day, each moment, on avoiding those faults and habits. They cannot do it themselves. With all due respect to the value of Goldsmith's counsel, those who commit to this difficult process of self-improvement must seek the assistance of members of their family as well as associates in their workplace.

Goldsmith identifies twenty of the most common flaws, none of which is a flaw of skill, intelligence, or personality. (That's a key point). "What we're dealing with here are challenges of in interpersonal behavior, often leadership behavior. They are the egregious everyday annoyances that make your workplace more noxious than it needs to be. They don't happen in a vacuum. They are transactional flaws performed by one person against others." Throughout the narrative, Goldsmith cites dozens of real-world examples to illustrate key points but, for obvious reasons, changes the names of those involved. It should be noted that, for several decades, Goldsmith career has primarily involved providing executive coaching services to senior-level executives and he does so on a one-on-one basis. To the extent possible, he establishes the same relationship with each reader. To his credit, he has a clear sense of who he isn't (e.g. a judge of others' behavior) and what he doesn't do (e.g. define anyone else's "there"). As Goldsmith frequently acknowledges, it remains for each reader to determine which flaws are most detrimental to her or his interpersonal relationships. He also points out that many people are either unaware of their faults or unaware of the extent they are resented by others. Hence the importance of continuous feedback from family members and business associates.

The first portion of this review identifies the "there" to which the title refers. It is important to understand that you can get there only if you fully understand both what your "here" is and why. (It may not be where you think it is.) Read the book, then complete the exercise briefly described earlier so that you can obtain "wisdom" that you already possess. "Use that wisdom now. Don't look ahead. Look behind. Look back from your old age at the life you hope to live. Know that you need to be happy now, to enjoy your friends and family, to follow your dreams.

"You are here.
You can get there!
Let the journey begin."

Don't let bad habits hold you back
This is one of the most down to earth, easy to read, and genuinely helpful business books I've read in many years. If you are upper management or even middle management looking to make that next move up, you owe it to yourself to read this engaging book.
Given this book by my boss, I thought "yea, why not". But now I have a couple lists of self cautions on the wall in my office where I can see them every time I'm on the phone or when someone is in my office to talk to me. I've even bought copies for my brothers and best friend.