• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Options To Grow

  • About
  • Executive Coaching
    • Leadership Acceleration for Senior Leaders
    • Personal Project Acceleration
  • Blog
    • View All
    • Grow yourself
    • Grow your career
    • Grow your money
    • Books I’ve read
  • Newsletter
  • Contact
  • English
    • Français

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith

November 6, 2022 by Dror Allouche Leave a Comment

I am in a phase of rereading books that have impacted me.

And What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith is one of them.

Marshall’s mission is to help successful people become better.

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith

The Method

He doesn’t deal with strategy, finance, technique, or technology.

He focuses on only one thing: behavior.

Having coached the world’s greatest CEOs, he concluded that the higher you go, the less it’s about technical competencies.

But changing behavior as an adult (even more so when you are successful) is one of the most difficult tasks.

We tend to associate our success with everything we do. Including our bad behaviors.

“I got here by not listening much. It’s certainly because it saves me time.”

Marshall’s role, reinforcing good beliefs and changing bad ones.

He has developed a unique method of stakeholder-based coaching. He interviews the people around (pro and personal), choose with the leader the behavior to be improved based on the feedback, and organizes the follow-up for 12 to 18 months.

(I have been trained and certified by Marshall and his teams in this method. If you’re interested, you can read more here).

The result. The leaders improve.

And finally, the book is for all of us. Because we all have behaviors to change.

4 ideas that stuck with me

1 – Winning too much

Our need to win, when there is something at stake and when there is not. Marshall gives the example of dinner with friends. You argue about which restaurant to select. The group’s way wins and it wasn’t your choice.

The meal and the place are not great.

You have two options, you let it go and try to make the most of the evening. Or you remind everyone, on every occasion, that you were right and they should have listened to you.

How would you have acted?

Discover my Resource guide: The 11 books that have influenced my career the most. (Including my favorite of all categories)

2 – Adding too much value

— That’s a good idea, but it would be even better if you add that element.

“The problem is, you may have improved the content of my idea by 5 percent, but you’ve reduced my commitment to executing it by 50 percent because you’ve taken away my ownership of the idea. My idea is now your idea-and I walk out of your office less enthused about it than when I walked in.”

3 – Starting with No, But, or However…

A disguised way of saying, “I’m right, you’re wrong”.

By reducing their use, you also reduce unnecessary conflicts.

How do you avoid unnecessary discussions? (and make people around you happier)

4 – Feedforward Vs Feedback.

The concept of feedback is as old as time. Marshall found a way to turn it around. Why is this?

When you give feedback:

  • You refer to the past.
  • The person receiving it tends to take it personally.
  • You can’t change anything that has already happened

On the other hand, “Feedforward” asks for a suggestion for the future. I want to improve in this area, give me two ideas that I could put into practice in the future. 

And this method can be used at home too:

  • “What can I do to be a better partner at home?
  • “What can I do to be a better parent? (I tried it with my children, and the answers are interesting)
  • “What can I do to be a better son?

I like the metaphor used by Marshall’s partner Frank Wagner.

The rearview mirror is tiny, the windshield is huge.

TRY FEEDFORWARD INSTEAD OF FEEDBACK

Conclusion

Although the book is initially aimed at executives who are looking to improve themselves. It will be of interest to anyone looking to get better. 

If you liked this post, consider signing up for my newsletter.

**

Related articles:

How To Involve Others And Boost Our Progress (and Our Careers)

The Earned Life By Marshall Goldsmith (Including 4 Practical Ideas For Living YOUR Life)

Triggers By Marshall Goldsmith. (And Two Practical Ideas You Can Implement Today To Help You Do What You Want)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Filed Under: Blog, Grow your career, Grow yourself Tagged With: Books, Grow Your Career

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search

FREE NEWSLETTER.
Expand your personal and professional life.

Hi, I'm Dror. I ran a 9-figure business as an executive and decided to leave corporate at 46, financially independent.
​
I write for ambitious leaders who want to succeed in their careers while enjoying their lives.

Tag Cloud

Books Career Evolution Clarity Coaching Coaching Consistency Creativity Decisions ETF execution Financial independence Focus Grow Emotionally Grow Intellectually Grow Physically Grow Your Career Grow Your Money Grow Yourself ideas Intrapreneur language learning Leadership Learning Leverage Minimalism Money Productivity Responsibility Success

Recent Posts

  • How to Accelerate Your Career by Mastering Uncertainty April 27, 2025
  • How to Develop Your Employees’ Potential: The Ultimate Guide for Leaders April 26, 2025
  • Active Listening: The Key Skill to Accelerate Your Professional Advancement (And How to Develop It) April 20, 2025
  • How to Apply “Start with the End in Mind” to Accelerate Your Career: A 12-Week Guide April 14, 2025
  • Unleash Your Team’s Hidden Potential: The Leader-Coach Guide April 7, 2025

Archives

Footer

Get your Wednesday Weekly Energy update

Disclaimer information

All information posted is merely for informational purposes. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice. Should you decide to act upon any information on this website, you do so at your own risk.

Disclaimer and Privacy Policy

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Disclaimer Affiliate Links

This blog contains affiliate links. I only recommend products and services that I use or have used.
If you go through the affiliate links to make a purchase I will earn a commission. I link these companies and their products because I have enjoyed them and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases. The decision is yours, and whether you decide to buy something is completely up to you.

Copyright © 2025 ·

  • About
  • Executive Coaching
  • Blog
  • Newsletter
  • Contact
  • English
  • English
  • French
%d