Book Review: What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith

At Autodesk we are participating in a pilot of getAbstract. The getAbstract service is a web site where members can search for topics or specific titles and find 5 page summaries of books. Their motto centers on delivering condensed knowledge.

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Last night as guests of getAbstract, Autodesk VP or Corporate Strategy & Engagement, Jon Pittman (my boss), and I attended dinner with Marshall Goldsmith who is the author of many books on business and management. I prepared myself for the dinner by reading a summary of Marshall's book What Got You Here Won't Get You There. I learned:

• Some of the behaviors that enable people to become successful can inhibit their ultimate rise to the top.
• The higher your level of success, the more destructive your bad habits become.
• When behavioral foibles become behavioral crises, the time has come to change.
• Stopping a bad behavior can be more productive than doing something right.
• Twenty common bad habits can undermine your leadership.
  1. The most common behavioral problem among successful people is the all-consuming need to win, even when winning doesn't matter.
  2. When someone comes to you with an idea and you immediately feel the need to improve it, you are guilty of adding too much value.
  3. Offering an opinion in a business setting is okay, but asking people for their opinions and then making comments about those opinions is not okay.
  4. Many successful people believe they are straight shooters and pride themselves on their candor, but making critical comments or sarcastic remarks is never constructive.
  5. Starting with ‘no,’ ‘but,’ or ‘however’ -- no matter how well intentioned you are -- communicates that you know better.
  6. Many leaders can't resist letting everyone know just how smart they are.
  7. The problem with losing your temper at work is that you also lose control.
  8. Some people’s first response to any input is to point out that it won't work and why.
  9. In the chess game of power in the workplace, withholding information is a favorite, albeit a devious, gambit.
  10. If you want to foster resentment among your co-workers, failing to give recognition will do just that.
  11. Even worse than withholding recognition is claiming credit for someone else's work.
  12. Making excuses, blunt or subtle, is not acceptable.
  13. Clinging to the past is an offshoot of the general tendency to place blame, and it stems from assigning the fault for mistakes to someone or some event that happened years ago.
  14. Managers often say that they want to be challenged, but in reality, it is often the yes-men and -women who get in the boss’s good graces.
  15. Apologizing is very painful for many successful people, because they hate admitting that they were wrong.
  16. The rude habit of not listening sends many negative messages such as, "I don't care enough to pay attention."
  17. To express gratitude, an automatic response to any suggestion should be "Thank you."
  18. Punishing the messenger is the fault of responding with anger when someone tells you something you don't want to hear even if it might be very constructive.
  19. Exceptional leaders take responsibility, not only for themselves, but for the people who work for them.
  20. Failing to transform a failing into a virtue can be the result of feeling that the flaw is an essential part of your make-up.
• The twenty-first bad habit is "goal obsession," which happens when your need to achieve a particular goal overshadows your overall mission.
• You can follow a simple, seven-step procedure to cure a bad workplace habit.
  1. The best method for identifying areas of strength and weakness is "360-degree feedback."
  2. An apology serves three purposes.
     1. It claims responsibility for past mistakes.
     2. It announces your commitment to change.
     3. It works as an agreement between both parties.
  3. Just saying you're sorry for past behavior is not enough. You must announce loudly and clearly, again and again, that you are committed to making a change.
  4. Great leaders listen attentively and make the person they are listening to feel like the most important person in the room.
  5. Conveying sincere gratitude by saying "Thank you" is a talent and an asset.
  6. Real, lasting change cannot occur without follow-up, which allows you to measure your improvement and reminds people that you're working on changing.
  7. Seeking feed forward is a four-step process.
     1. Choose a behavior you would like to change.
     2. Have a one-on-one conversation with someone to explain your desire for making this change.
     3. Ask that person for two suggestions about how you can make the change.
     4. Accept these suggestions as feed forward ideas you will implement.
     Repeat this process over and over with different people.

At dinner we discussed various management topic but it all came down to this - shared responsibility. Employees play a large role for their own learning, engagement, and advancement. Management paves the way, but managers can't force employees to acquire new skills, go the extra mile, or accept jobs with more authority and responsibility. Employees have to want it. Obtaining information via active questions (e.g., "Did you do your best to achieve the goal?" versus "Was the goal achieved?") helps employees recognize their part in organizational success.

Joint responsibility is alive in the lab.