Customer Reviews

Mojo: How to Get It, How to Keep It, How to Get It Back if You Lose It

5 star:		(75)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Years ago a consultant I respect said "one of the most important things I have learned in dealing with clients is not finding the right answer but finding a way to communicate the right answer so they accept it"

I have not met Marshall Goldsmith personally but I presume he excels at this type of verbal communication because he has the rare quality to do this with the written word. This is why there is little doubt this book will be a best seller like his earlier book "What Got You Here Won't Get You There."

Here are just 10 excerpts from Mojo that resonated with me.

1. "The good news is that nearly all of the challenges we'll deal with here have simple--although not easy--solutions (there is a difference between simple and easy)." Goldsmith provides these tools in the latter sections of the book.

2. "...but sometimes no matter how positive we feel about what we are doing, we fail at showing it on the outside. We are so focused on completing our task that we assume people can read our hearts and minds. We think our good intentions should be obvious. They can't possibly be misconstrued."

3. "...the Mojo Paradox...Our default response in life is to not experience happiness. Our default response in life is to not experience meaning. Our default response in life is to experience inertia...our most common everyday process-the thing we do more than anything else-is to continue doing what we are already doing."

4. "Very few people achieve positive lasting change without ongoing follow-up."

5. "As you go through your day...evaluate every activity on a 1 to 10 scale...on two simple questions. 1. How much long-term benefit or meaning did I experience from this activity? 2. How much short-term satisfaction or happiness did I experience from this activity?"

6. "One of the greatest obstacles to changing our Mojo is here-in the paralysis we create with the self limiting definitions of who we are."

7. "...we confuse our need to consider ourselves to be smart with our need to be considered effective by the world...One of the most pernicious impulses of successful people is our overwhelming need to prove how smart we are...I say its pernicious because the need to be "the smartest person in the room" often leads to some incredibly stupid behavior."

8. "A company named DDI did some fascinating research that showed the average American spends 15 hours a month criticizing or complaining about their boss."

9. "These four "losing" arguments all have the same results...only lower our Mojo... 1. Let me keep talking... 2. I had it rougher than you... 3. Why did you do that... 4. It's not fair."

10. "If I could write a headline that sums up the last ten years of the American (and other rich country's) workplace-and the next thirty years as well-it would be this: "That Job is Gone!" That's the cold water I'd throw in the face of every man or woman who thinks his or her future can be understood by looking nostalgically to the past."

Goldsmith is a master at integrating and emphasizing his points with stories. He unequivocally states in Chapter 16 "This is a self help book."

I have learned the cost of a self help book is not the price you pay...that cost is simply out of pocket costs. The time you invest in reading and applying what is inside is the real price and this book is well worth your time and effort.

Dr. James T. Brown, PMP PE CSP
Author - The Handbook of Program Management

I was blessed to see Marshall Goldsmith speak in person this week in New York City. After hearing his remarks I couldn't help but dive into his latest book. He has struck gold again. Marshall has pulled together new research (done with his daughter) and all his 30 years of experience in coaching others to give us practical tips on how to succeed (defined as finding meaning and happiness both at work and at home). He blows away some of the age old myths (like the number of hours you work impacts your satisfaction) and replaces them with new inspiring beliefs ('Doing what matters has more impact on your happiness than pursuing stimulating activities'). He also provides specific insights into how you can effect sustained change in your life (which few people are able to do over time)- and thereby thrive (keep your MOJO) in a NOJO ('no joy') world. It is a must read for anyone striving to become better (and happier) in their life.

I have always known when my own mojo was up and when it was down. I never stopped, however, to define it, understand it or know how to modify it in a proactive way Marshall takes that very hard-to-define word and gives it a very specific meaning. He provides his readers with numerous ways to assess themselves. Each of these methods unpeels another mojo layer and provides action steps for the user. His questionnaires are well thought through and practical. They cause the reader to do some very important soul searching.

Marshall gives us all a gift. I can't imagine anyone coming away from this book without leaving markers on many "return to" pages and making some (even small) commitment to change.

Beverly Kaye

This book is amazing. With all the crises, problems, and catastrophic events going on in the world today--who in the business and leadership world takes even a minute to breathe? No one. It's a sad state of affairs when we're all running so fast that we can't even take the time to consider where we might find meaning and happiness. You only live once, and Marshall Goldsmith shows us how to make this life count. This is a wonderful book not just for business people and leaders, but for human beings who are trying to make their lives mean something and who want to be happy. If you don't want to find meaning and happiness, don't buy this book. Thank you Marshall Goldsmith for this wonderful book!

In my executive coaching and consulting work, I sometimes meet people who have their "mojo" compromised or significantly diminished. Lack of or no "mojo" is becoming a huge problem in our difficult economy. Marshall Goldsmith has his finger on the pulse of what really matters in business and in life in his latest book Mojo. This is a must read for anyone who feels their positive spirit is leaving them. Because Mojo is about happiness and fulfillment in life, it's also a must read for anyone who dreams about what their life could be. I highly recommend it!

Mary Key, Ph.D.
Author of CEO Road Rules: Right Focus, Right People, Right Execution

In his latest book, MOJO: How To Get It, How To Keep It, How To Get It Back If You Lose It, Marshall Goldsmith, along with co-author Mark Reiter, has hit another home run. Following on the heels of his blockbuster book What Got You Here, Won't Get You There, he gives us MOJO that dishes up another heaping serving of vintage Goldsmith: Smart, straightforward, and significant stuff for success. Simply put, Marshall, ably filling the shoes of the late Peter Drucker, describes ultimate life goals--Happiness and Meaning--and shows us how MOJO can get us there. Marshall describes this MOJO as "that positive spirit toward what we are doing now that starts from the inside and radiates to the outside." And if you've ever had the opportunity to see Marshall teach, you'll see MOJO in action. This book contains loads of easy-to-read examples, heartfelt stories, original research, and plain old hard-won experience and wisdom. It's the kind of book you want to give to your friends, coworkers and especially to your family members and say: "Here, don't take my word for it (the importance of happiness and meaning in life), read Marshall Goldsmith's newest book!

This is the best, most fully-realized book Marshall Goldsmith has written so far.

I have always appreciated his work and writing as offering excellent tips and insights for the individuals I work with in my coaching practice. He's been the quirky, bemused, brilliant outsider who is able to shift the focus an perspective of those under his "care," - his own clients, we readers, and those around him.

This book is broader, and, frankly, deeper. He focuses on the essential inner drivers that create the outward behaviors. He asks, "Why are successful people successful?" as he always does, but this time, it's in-side out vs. outside-in - that is, how do our values lead our behaviors, our charisma, our power, success, our "juice," our "Mojo." He doesn't judge those values; he notes our need for them as a fact, then offers significant guidance and structure about how to stay connected with them.

And he adds to his normal role of objective observer. It reads like his own journey, as an extremely successful coach, teacher, speaker, author and guide. Marshall is more "in" this book than in other books, and so somehow it felt more real than simply another book of tips. You want to get, or get back Mojo, win the game, fly high and be successful, read this book, and follow its advice. You want to live an awesome life, be happy, purposeful, charismatic and committed....same advice.

At times I felt like Marshall was writing me, specifically. His wording, scenarios, and possibilities continued to lure me to read more. I would challenge any parent to sift through the sage advice Marshall offers for your teenagers. This is not just business, this is life. EXCELLENT WORK MARSHALL!

Another great book by Marshall Goldsmith. The timing of this book could not be much better. Finding meaning and happiness is more difficult during the challenging times. Marshall provides practical tools to help the reader achieve both. MOJO is a book you will really enjoy to read and, more importantly, will refer back to over and over again to get, keep - and at times - regain your MOJO.

Some call it a hot streak, others, momentum, flow or good karma. Marshall Goldsmith, one of America's top executive coaches calls it mojo, and he has written this book to define it, explore the components of it and help us see why we want it, and how to get it.

In an early chapter in the book Goldsmith shares what he calls the Mojo Paradox. It is:

Our default response in life is not to experience happiness. Our default response in life is not to experience meaning. Our default experience in life is to experience inertia.

From this paradox, he moves forward to help us get past that inertia in thoughtful, conscious ways so we can create more happiness, more meaning and more mojo.

The book then explains the four building blocks of Mojo and how to use them in your life. Those blocks are:

Identity
Achievement
Reputation
Acceptance

Often in this space I will recommend books that have a focus more applicable to some people, based on their professional interests. This is not one of those books. If you are interested in having more happiness and a more meaningful life, this book will help you think about that and give you specific ideas about how to make that happen. And it all comes from one of the best executive coaches on the planet. That makes the few dollars spent a darn good investment!

I've read this on my Kindle (Amazon link to Kindle with my with affiliate code) and wish I hadn't - not because I didn't want to read it, but because this is one of those books I would have taken a few notes in the margins and highlighted some sections. This book challenged me to think and reflect and will help me both professionally and personally to get - and keep - my mojo.

It is hard to beat that!