Marshall Goldsmith

JANUARY 19, 2011

Just because you sent out an email doesn't mean your staff will get the work done. Your staff won't follow through unless you follow up.

Follow-up 195

Follow-up 195

Marshall Goldsmith

JANUARY 12, 2011

He is incompetent or terribly inconsiderate. Either way, you'll be much better off if you stop trying to change him and focus on yourself.

179

179

Marshall Goldsmith

JANUARY 27, 2011

All of us delude ourselves about our achievements, status, and contributions. We overestimate our contribution, and take credit for successes that belong to others. We have an elevated opinion of our skills and our standing among our peers. We ignore our costly failures and exaggerate our impact on net profits. These delusions are a direct result of success, not failure.

Succession 132

Succession Commitment Motivation Bottom-up 132

Marshall Goldsmith

JANUARY 6, 2011

I spend serious time with people helping them decide what they need to change. The first thing we do is review what they’re doing right. From an organizational perspective that’s valuable because it eliminates certain challenges that don’t need to be addressed. Assuming I have gotten an individual to commit to changing for the better and changing something, I often have a hard time convincing successful people not everything needs improving.

Commitment 121

Commitment Innovation Open-book Resistance 121

Marshall Goldsmith

JANUARY 25, 2011

Once during an executive development session with a group of investment bankers, I was describing the process of helping successful leaders achieve a positive, long-term change in behavior. One banker asked, “How will this stuff help us make more money?” I replied, “This process will help you make more money, but that is not what is most important.” I then got up the nerve to say, “My mission is to help you and the people around you have a happier life.

Objective 119

Objective Long-term Process Execution 119

Marshall Goldsmith

JANUARY 20, 2011

Remember the character Gordon Gekko in the movie Wall Street? Michael Douglas won an Oscar for his portrayal of this rude, larcenous wheeler-dealer. Well, I worked with a real-life investment banker who in some ways could have inspired the Gekko character. As an executive coach, I work with successful people who may need to change some behaviors to achieve the next level of success.

Gordon 115

Gordon Executive Coaching CEO Follow-up 115

Marshall Goldsmith

JANUARY 18, 2011

A key to developing yourself is setting -- and achieving -- meaningful goals for personal change. Often, however, you don't set goals in a way that ensures the follow-through needed to turn great plans into successful outcomes. What is required to produce positive, long-term change in behavior? Why do you often set great goals, yet lose the motivation to achieve them?

Goal 105

Goal Short-term Long-term Crisis 105