See JJL blog index for Dave Rothacker.

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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.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #328 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

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Customer Reviews

authentic feedback
The first thing that came to my attention was the title. What was it supposed to mean? What journey was Goldsmith talking about? The vehicles used to transit in life weren't working any more? Why? What are the new mediums?

Exercising leadership has long been referred implicitly to the capacity to command, control and dominate others in making them into what the leaders want from them. It doesn't work like that any more or at least, not to the same extent. People despise being ordered, brushed aside or looked down. Goldsmith wants us to embark on a new way of leading and connecting with others.

And to do that, he takes us to a reverse thinking mindset rarely found in books about leadership. It is one that brings us to look at what we do wrong in our leadership roles so that we really face reality instead of depicting it in rainbow type colors.

His authentic feedback is there for us to improve. For example, a major mistake leaders or managers make has to do with being arrogant, meaning believing that we will succeed no matter what and that the success we encounter is solely due to our unique qualities and even to our own flaws (ex. Overcommitment). Learning a little humility is a first step to changing our behaviour so we can cooperate better with others and achieve more, collectively speaking

Reading the book offered me a range of answers that I didn't anticipate. Moreover, I have successfully applied some of his key lessons. I recommend this book to all clients that I coach.
Edith Luc

Finally
A bad habbit kept me from productivity. This book not only helped identify what kept me stuck but empowered me to adopt new behaviors.
Buy this book and change your future.

Anne Browning Project Coach

What Got You Here Won't Get You There
When I heard the title of this book I thought it surely is a must read. The title was the best part of the book. Concepts are decent but I read this while flying across the Atlantic and wound up just leaving it on the plane for somebody else. Nothing to write home about. Incredible title and the concept triggered a lot in me as a leader however....