What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful Audio CD – Audiobook, January 23, 2007

If you find yourself at a place in your career where you need to switch from an individual performer to a inspiring leader, this book is for you.

Great book the enlighten you to become a better person, leader, friend, etc. Very engaging and very easy to read, understand and apply.

The skills and attributes that underpin a successful executive career are subtly different than those that will support a successful board career. This book was written for executives but the lessons apply to the boardroom. Possibly they apply even more in that environment. "The higher you go, the more your problems are behavioural" concludes Marshall Goldsmith after some twenty years of coaching senior executives in Fortune 500 companies.Goldsmith coaches people to make simple changes. These simple changes are difficult to make.His message is delivered simple and straight. It is a difficult read because you recognise yourself in the examples of undesirable behaviours. Goldsmith cuts through the clutter with the simple advice that we all do all of these things from time to time; we only need to fix the behaviours that are holding us back.As Goldsmith only deals with successful people he is working to fine-tune an already high performance. This is not a `self-help 1.01' book. It is for people who have become successful while exhibiting certain behaviours but who are now held back by those behaviours. It is hard to change behaviours that are associated with success. This book is not about a quick fix. It is about a long and consistent process that, if followed, will help to build new habits.Board members struggle to gain entry to the coterie of successful directors. Choosing the right habits to build could accelerate acceptance. Choosing the wrong ones could leave you as you are; only more frustrated. The process relies on external feedback and validation to select the behaviours that need changing. This is daunting for board members given the confidential nature of boardrooms and the team-based nature of the role. Having a third party gather the feedback and qualify the participants to provide feedback makes this easier. If you don't have a professional coach to help you extract the value from this book you will need a trustworthy friend who understands boards and boardroom dynamics.The book is a call to action. It is especially relevant for aspiring directors or those at the start of their career. It is also great for those sudden changes in board careers such as taking on a committee chairmanship or moving into a different sector. When you are new you need to be more adept at the behavioural skills to compensate for your lack of track record.It would be exciting to apply this long process to the board performance review to build a lasting improvement in the quality of board interactions.This is a worthwhile book; it is good but not easy. * Julie Garland McLellan is a professional non-executive director, board and governance consultant and mentor. She is the author of "The Director's Dilemma", "All Above Board: Great Governance for the Government Sector" and numerous articles on corporate strategy and governance.

At the 2007 Vistage International Global Conference, Mr. Goldsmith presented a Keynote Speech which piqued my interest in his views on how successful people become even more successful. His book did not disappoint me.Goldsmith writes in a clear and conversational tone. I had the advantage of having heard his voice and so could "hear him speaking" in my head as I read through his material. From the beginning, he sets a no-nonsense tone about what it takes to evaluate where you are and what you need to do to "get there" - a presumably better place. Goldsmith relies heavily on 360 degree feedback from colleagues and direct reports when he is working with an executive. He encourages his readers to do the same and provides tools in the appendices to help in that regard.The book is logically organized and hits all the leadership growth hot buttons: The trouble with success, The 20 habits that hold you back from the top, How we can change for the better and Pulling out the stops. And not to let things get too predictable, the 20 habits turn into 21 and the 21st habit that holds you back from the top is "Goal Obsession."The short list for "how we can change for the better," is: Feedback, apologizing, telling the world of your discoveries, listening, thanking, following up and practicing feedforward (seeking ideas on how to improve the skill you pick to improve; such as asking a colleague for two ideas on "how I can become a better listener."Besides being concise, well organized, and to the point, Goldsmith regales us with wonderful stories from his many years of coaching experience. It seems that there are at least a couple of "nuggets" in each chapter. For example, from the section on "Be Your Own Press Secretary," there is this statement: "If there's one thing we've learned in this noisy media age, it's that simple, un-nuanced messages break through the clutter and hit home with high impact. (I'm not saying that's always a good thing, but it's a fact of life. Deal with it." Another gem I enjoyed was; "As a friend wisely noted, `Forgiveness means letting go of the hope for a better past.' " And on Feedback, Goldsmith had this to say, "It's not hard to see why people don't want to hear negative feedback. Successful people are incredibly delusional about their achievements. Over 95 percent of the members in most successful groups believe that they perform in the top half of their group."This is a must read for any leader who is serious about advancing his or her own career and coaching others along that path. Get it, read it, do it.

There's not much to object to in this book but it's all pretty basic advice. Worth a quick look but be prepared to be potentially disappointed if you are expecting great insights.The core of the book is 20 things that you shouldn't do, such as (paraphrasing):- don't put down others too much to make yourself look good- don't take over other people's ideas- don't be too quick to judge others- don't make destructive comments- don't take the credit for others work (too much)- don't suppress innovation with Nos and ButsA lot of this comes down to treat your colleagues with respect and positivity.

I purchased this book after a senior vice president recommended it as a book to read. It's a great book, with lots of items to think about. I'm not sure if it hard core entrepreneurs would agree with some of the approaches in the book, as I believe working in a large corporate environment is slightly different to being a small medium sized ( business) entrepreneur. It's not a one shoe size fits all approach. However, some good takeaways for those in large corporate institution's. It would be interesting to get some entrepreneurial feedback on some of the concepts mentioned here.

This book is introspective, proving and non judgemental. It forces you to address things to know, but don’t acknowledge. The part where he explains human nature of ‘replaying a showreel of our greatest moments’ cut deep. This book is one I’ll be recommending to my closest circle, and I’ll certainly be implementing the changes.Buy it; you need this book!

The reviewer Birchall pretty much say what I think.I was recently hit from two directions by the same person. They said, "You're the one person that stands out in my mind as someone who's never seemed to reach their full potential." And secondly, "You are actually the worse listener I've ever met. You are dreadful!" Ouch!I found those comments motivational and started to work on changing through using this book. The book is analysis and workshop methods you need. The methods are in the book are not always obvious and certainly not easy fix-ups. But I think having to work at finding the what's and how's better than just being given the routemap.I'd bet everyone has weak areas in their empathy with others and this book will tell you how to self diagnose and then how to start fixing the problems. You might find this book much more interesting (or horrifying) than you thought it would be. I started using the techniques with my wife - now that was interesting...Once you are on the recovery route try "Just Listen"  Just Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely AnyoneJust Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone

I wanted to say "this book is awful, you'd never catch me doing that, I wouldn't dream of it..."And if I did I would be lying. This book is powerful, and makes the strong case for 360 feedback- we all have our blind spots, and sometimes it is worth knowing what they are. Goldsmith knows his quarry, and our common flaws, very well.This book makes the good point that most successful people get where they are on a mixture of ability and spin, and that may take them a long way up the corporate or professional ladder. Classically Western education has been about learning a subject, not about learning to understand yourself and your motivations. What the author adds is an appreciation that all virtues are shadowed by the vices of their excess and their lack. He shows how using 360 feedback on the basis that you don't know how you come across unless you've asked your co-workers and significant customers can help people develop further, increase their insight and their contribution to their work. The workers he assesses may well end up enjoying their work more, and getting promotions.This book is well written, and it is on the great old theme of how we come to know ourselves accurately.I think it would help most people in business and in professions to progress further, and even better to do this with their own and their colleagues sanity and respect intact.