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What Got You Here Won't Get You There

Author: Marshall Goldsmith
Publisher: Profile Books Ltd
Category: Book

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Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars

8 reviews
Sales Rank: 1984

Media: Paperback
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 0.7

ISBN: 1846681375
EAN: 9781846681370
ASIN: 1846681375

Publication Date: June 12, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new book delivered in the UK in 2-3 days.

Also Available In:

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

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Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

I'm not at all like that . . am I? July 19, 2008

Can you see yourself as others see you? It's very unlikely.

We seldom have any idea at all of how we are coming across to other people and how they actually perceive us. The danger is in those habits we are completely unaware of, yet repeat many times a day. The majority of us are completely unaware of our faults - and worse - how much other people resent them.

Marshall Goldsmith identifies twenty of the most common shortcomings, citing dozens of examples which lead you to recognise the most detrimental of your flaws, and then offers concepts and tools to provide a seven-step procedure to improve and develop a gameplan to get you where you really want to be.

Insightful and thought inspiring 10/10.

5 out of 5 stars

An invitation to obtain "an exquisite sense" of who you are April 18, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

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."

5 out of 5 stars

This book found me!! March 19, 2008
I wasn't looking for it, didn't think I could use it, and thought I had reached a place where I didn't really NEED another book to point out the way to success. I've always respected Marshall Goldsmith for his consistently impressive coaching techniques, but like most people, I'm not the CEO of anything. I liked where my career had taken me, loved what I was doing, felt I had the ideal job, and stopped wondering what my next step would be. So when I saw this book, I was not expecting it to have the impact it did - I knew it was going to be good - but it was so much more than that!

Dr. Goldsmith gave me some very useful insight about things I thought I was clear on but apparently not - no glaring character flaws, but what he calls "behavioural tics" or habits we repeat many times a day in the workplace. The key, he says, is the fact that we seldom have any idea how we are coming across to other people. We tend to view our behaviour in one way, while others see it as something else.

He presents his concepts in such a conversational way that they don't seem preachy, in fact when I picked up the book and started reading, I found myself well into it before I realised that I didn't want to stop and put it down! There aren't many books about self-improvement I think anyone could say that about. The title intrigued me and the content of the book delivered more than it promised. I think it offers something for everyone, from the newest members of the workforce with their eyes on the next rung up the ladder to those who have had many decades to carve out a place for themselves and notice an inkling that there might just be one more step they'd like to take to make it even better.

Buy this book and actually read it. You will emerge from the experience with an appreciation of what you've done to get yourself here and some tools to develop a gameplan that will get you "there." I think this book is great.

5 out of 5 stars

Everyone needs this book November 11, 2007
Whether you are an executive, a manager, or an entrepreneur, if you want to advance in your career and get some enlightenment along the way, this book is for you. In his fun and engaging style, Marshall tells it like it is. If you are successful, you probably have at least a few of the habits that Marshall mentions. That's OK, because using his process you can get them out of your way to accrue even more success.

I am an executive coach who has used this process, both working directly together with Marshall and his clients and with my own clients. I have seen first-hand that it works. Using this process, we have helped people achieve more professional success than they could have anticipated as well as personal success (becoming better spouses, better parents, better friends) that they didn't even know they could ask for. All with far less of the pain that everyone thinks accompanies change. The executives feel the results; the stakeholders see them; and together we measure them.

Marshall's upbeat style and way of thinking and helping people frame the whole notion of behavior change is unique. It's kind of fun. It definitely works. And it will get you where you want to go. As Alan Mulally says, "it rocks!"

5 out of 5 stars

Marshall, you're there! November 1, 2007
I had the pleasure of watching Marshall at the 10th anniversary conference of the Worldwide Association of Business Coaches (WABC) in Vancouver. Experiencing the Feed forward method first hand and watching him perform is not just a pleasure but a sincere privilege as well. This book will be known as a classic, no doubt about it.
Marshall is already there. I couldn't help wondering why then does he need to start this book with six pages of recommendations, not about this book, but about him. He doesn't need that. But as he teaches us: take a deep breath and let it go, just let it go.
The book is just brilliant, a new bible for executive coaches and C-level executives who are smart enough to learn and gain the upper hand in their profession.