Author: Marshall Goldsmith

Publisher: Hyperion

Pub. in: January, 2007

ISBN: 1401301304

Pages: 256

Measurements: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1 inches

Origin of product: USA

Order code: BA00747

Other information: ISBN-13: 978-1401301309

MSL recommends this book as the #1 read on the art and practice of executive coaching. The author Marshall Goldsmith is probably the world's best known executive coach.

Marshall Goldsmith's book is original, and adds strongly to the body of literature dealing with organizational behavior. In fact, Goldsmith has a Ph.D in the subject. When you read a book, you know you are onto something when the author's whole thrust flys in the face of what you the reader personally believe. When this happens, you have to make sure you maintain an open mind. Goldsmith caused me many problems while trying to absorb his information, but that's a good thing.

Not a "feel good" book but very useful

In spite of the title which is both flashy and catchy, this is not a rah, rah, let's go get them feel good book. This one has depth, and there is a lot of meat on the bone. We as readers must be daring enough to work our way through the author's concepts. Goldsmith has credentials though. The Wall Street Journal called him a "top-ten executive educator, while Forbes picked him as one of the five most respected executive coaches. The central theme of this book is simply this:

The central character trait that you believe got you to the position that you currently hold, may very well be the SAME trait, that is holding you back from where you want to be.

We should all read the above central theme again, and again. Goldsmith will hammer us with it throughout his work. He doesn't mention this, but he is taking his basic theory from renowned psychoanalyst Carl Jung. If you are interested, read any of Jung's work regarding the shadow. If you are into personal development, nothing is more powerful than Jung's shadow work.

When you read this book, you will find that it is basically divided into 3 parts:

- PART I

In Part I, the author is laying out the psychological underpinning of the "The "Trouble with Success". This is the section where he hammers home that once you achieve a distinct level of success, you need new skills to get you to the next level, hence the title of the book. Some of the key in this section are:

A) "Here" can be a great place. "There" can be a better place

B) He's dead on accurate when he described Chevy Chase's fading career, and attributed it to "Chase's losing touch with what he was projecting to people."

C) A famous journalist taught him that in a long distinguished career, the most important thing he learned was that, "Put a comma in the wrong place, and the whole sentence is screwed up."

D) "Our delusions become a serious liability when we need to change. We sit there with the same godlike feelings, and when someone tries to make us change our ways, we regard them with unadulterated bafflement."

E) "To successful people, past is always prologue." This is an amazing statement because it is profound.

F) The author does have wonderful humor. In this section he talked about a certain belief and said, "This belief makes about as much sense as inheriting money and thinking you're a self-made man."

- PART II

Part II is an attempt to list 20 habits that hold you back from the top. Let's just mention a few of them.

A) Winning too much - Our need to win overwhelms our common sense. The author believes that it may be built into our DNA, but in the end, it can limit our success

B) Starting "No, but, or however" - In this section, he is saying that whenever somebody says anything, and you respond by beginning a sentence with any of these three words, no, but, or however, you are telling the other person that they are wrong. Goldsmith is taking this from Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), another subject you might want to study.

C) Speaking when angry - It is not possible to predict another person's reaction to anger. People may shut down on you; therefore anger stunts your ability to change.

D) Negativity - It was one of the great lines of the book, but the author said for some people, "Negativity is their default response." Nobody wants to be around anybody who is negative.

E) Failing to give proper recognition - Recognition brings closure, and people need closure. People need the "Emotional payoff that comes with success," and that's recognition.

- Part III & Part IV

Once you know the 20 habits that are holding you back, you need to institute a program that helps you change. What good is knowledge that is not actionable?

Part III and Part IV helps you effectuate change by teaching you 7 behaviors you can institute immediately. The behaviors are:

1) Feedback
2) Apologizing
3) Telling the World, or Advertising
4) Listening
5) Thanking
6) Following Up
7) Practicing Feedforward

Conclusion

Goldsmith the author has given us some original material here. It is not reworked jargon, which some other authors are prone to do. Part III and IV dealing with specific procedures to deal with our issues were not as well done as Part II dealing with the 20 Habits. This is not a negative, as anyone that has ever been through therapy knows. It's always easier to identify the issues we have to deal with than to actually effectuate change. We all know that. In any event, Read this wonderful book, and wish you good luck in your journey.

(From quoting Richard Stoyeck by MSL)

Target readers: Executives, business leaders, managers, HR professionals and executive coaches.