What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful (Hardcover)

by Marshall Goldsmith (Author), Mark Reiter (Author)
Key Phrases: making destructive comments, goal obsession, magic move, Won't Get You There, New York City, Time Warner (more...)

Editorial Reviews

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 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

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; 1 edition (January 9, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401301304
• ISBN-13: 978-1401301309
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (242 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #402 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

249 of 272 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Too Late for Me, January 24, 2007

By	Craig L. Howe "The Pointed Pundit" (Darien, CT United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Had I had access to the ideas in Marshall Goldsmith's book years ago, I would probably be better off.

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 project and returning to the solace of personal contemplation Years ago, I found this works best for me.

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.

59 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You Can Get There From Here, February 1, 2007

By	C. S. Clarke "C.S. Clarke, Ph.D., Psychologist" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"What Go You Here Won't Get You There" is an exceptional book, a powerhouse of information, insight and instruction.

The author addresses a particular audience: successful people who need to make a change to continue to be successful. It difficult to get people in that group to change, since they have reason to think they're pretty darn good anyway. Additionally, It is difficult to convince them that the very skills that got them where they are may be damaging their current success or preventing them from going further. So when he shows you exactly how to pull off such a miracle, you are going to be extremely impressed.

What is more impressive is the lavish detail Goldsmith provides to help you apply, on your own, the same process which he is paid $250,000 to undertake for each executive he coaches. He gives generously, tells all that you need, holds back nothing relevant. He richly illustrates his points with stories and examples that are so right-on-the-dime that you fully understand each point he makes. Yet, the writing is lean and tightly organized, packed into little over 200 pages.

Since you will want to read the book several times in study mode, the author's ability to be succinct is a very handy feature. And you will want to study the book carefully, because you will understand that this could be a real career-changer for you. In fact, it could be a real life-changer for you. The changes he describes are valuable in anyone's career or in their personal lives. They are all about interpersonal relations.

Goldsmith divides the book into four sections. In section one, he discusses why people resist change, what false beliefs obstruct change and how people have overcome those limiting beliefs. In section two, he lists, defines and describes the twenty most common harmful habits in interpersonal relations, with brief illustrations of how to handle them, specifically. In section three, he explains the change process. Exactly. I stand in awe of his eloquence. This is everything-you-ever-needed-to-learn about how to change. About how to make that change visible to others. About how to enlist others in the process of making the right change and making it last. In section four, he enumerates several important "rules" of change and shares various other analyses and insights that help complete your understanding of why and how to make effective, lasting change. This compendium of wisdom shows you how the author does what he does so well. You will be empowered to do the same for yourself.

You don't need to wait until you're wildly successful and need to break bad habits. Start from wherever you are in your progress through life and career and learn how to be powerfully successful in interpersonal relations by avoiding the bad habits or correcting any you may have.

138 of 159 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars His best book yet, January 12, 2007

By	Srikumar S. Rao (Commack, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First, full disclosure: I LOVE Marshall Goldsmith. He is a regular guest speaker at my course "Creativity and Personal Mastery" at both Columbia Business School and London Business School. He generously contributed a blurb for my book "Are YOU Ready to Succeed: Unconventional Strategies for Achieving Personal Mastery in Business and Life". He has given me sage advice many times. He is a good friend and trusted colleague.

Despite our relationship I have not reviewed any of his other books. Most are quite good but I am not sure that I would recommend any with the possible exception of Leader of the Future 1 & 2. (More disclosure - I have a small piece in the latter).

This book is different. Run and get it. I'll tell you why.

Marshall is lean as a rail, bald with a fringe of white hair and he cackles infectiously. If he was in a line up and you were picking persons that you thought would be spellbinding orators, you would pass on him. Yet, clad in his trademark green T-shirt and khaki trousers, he has repeatedly held my entire class in thrall. Many, many persons have told me that they got so much from his talk and thanked me for inviting him.

It is this voice, conversational and common-sensical, that comes through in this book. The same voice comes through in his magazine columns but not in his other books. And it is gold.

His insights are powerful. Here is an example: Have you ever had a subordinate come to you with a great idea? Your eyes light up and you exclaim "Brilliant!" You praise her effusively and suggest ways in which that idea could be made even better. In your mind you are being a supportive boss. Then you sit back and wait for her to follow through. But somehow she doesn't. The excitement and passion are simply not there. You chalk her down as "Lacks implementation effectiveness" and never even consider your own role in this failure. Some variation of this has happened to me many times and I never could figure out why.

What you have done is "added too much value". Your comment of "brilliant" is a judgment and your suggestions for improvement are actually a takeover of her idea. Maybe you improved her original idea by 10% but you reduced her commitment by 50% or more. She no longer feels pride of ownership and this is what is reflected in the lackluster follow on performance.

So what should you do instead? Read the book to find out!!

Here is another example: The entire corporate world is hung up on the notion of feedback. When is the last time you jumped up and down with excitement, singing and dancing, at the thought of receiving 'feedback' from your boss? (You should see Marshall enact this roleplay - he is a SCREAM!!) Feedback brings about anxiety, defensiveness and self-justification. Marshall has a better way - feedforward. In essence the focus is on what needs to be done now to achieve a goal you want to reach instead of what you did right or wrong in the past. Trust me, it works a whole lot better.

There are many, many such insights. I was - and perhaps still am - guilty of "winning too much". I'll bet that you are also. But I am now explicitly aware of it and know that I am better than I was.

The great thing about Marshall's work is that the principles are very easily extrapolable far beyond your worklife. Innumerable persons have become better parents, children and spouses by applying them.

Marshall aims to make you a better manager and a more effective executive. But in the process he also makes you a better human being. And that is why I applaud him so strongly.

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