Marshall Goldsmith

DECEMBER 21, 2010

When you consider how many hours of organizational time and productivity are lost in the endless retelling of our co-workers’ blunders or the internal stress we generate reliving real or imagined slights, you can appreciate the value of letting go of all of these negative feelings and focusing on the future. Carrying grudges, harboring doubts about a colleague because of perceived missteps in the past, or maintaining a cynical outlook about the selfishness or shortsightedness of everybody around

Definition 135

Definition Stress Advice Course 135

Marshall Goldsmith

OCTOBER 6, 2010

Think you're too smart for silly superstitions? Not so fast. Many execs have irrational beliefs about their success. Here's how to identify your superstitions -- and keep them from getting in your.

Career 134

Career Succession How To 134

Marshall Goldsmith

NOVEMBER 26, 2010

I was recently teaching in a seminar for MBA students at the University of California at Berkeley's Haas School of Business. A young second-year student seemed anxious to talk with me. He finally asked: "I have read your book, What Got You Here Won't Get You There. In the book you talk about classic challenges faced by your clients. I noticed that you never discuss self-confidence problems.

Cost-Benefit Analysis 130

Cost-Benefit Analysis Seminar Learning-by-Doing CEO 130

Marshall Goldsmith

DECEMBER 30, 2010

Two lawyers are sitting at a bar at Spark’s Steakhouse in New York City. (Don’t worry; this isn’t a lawyer joke.) One of them is my friend Tom, and the other is his law partner, Dave. They’re having drinks as they wait for a table to open. They’re in no rush, as Spark’s -- where New York’s rich, powerful and glamorous can be spotted on any given night -- is the kind of place you don’t mind hanging around.

Long-term 130

Long-term Open-book Politics Skills 130

Marshall Goldsmith

NOVEMBER 23, 2010

In analyzing how we spend our time, whether personally or professionally, it can be helpful to consider two dimensions: short-term satisfaction and long-term benefit. Both have value. It can be disappointing to live our lives with no meaning or pleasure in the here and now, just as it can be unfulfilling to live only for today. Questions like, "Does this activity make me happy?

Short-term 120

Short-term Long-term CEO Career 120

Marshall Goldsmith

DECEMBER 10, 2010

Being next in line for the big job, you may understand in a few years what makes it so hard for any leader, including the CEO, to move on. If you have personally been through a departure, you may laugh as you relate to the examples I'm about to give. You may remember how difficult it was to let go. Nearly all of the leaders I have talked to over the years have assured me that they will be different when it's time to move -- that they will have no problem letting go of their jobs.

CEO 119

CEO Advice Sports Power 119

Marshall Goldsmith

NOVEMBER 22, 2010

One of the most common leadership development questions that I hear from executives is, "Why does succession planning feel like such a waste of time?" I do a lot of work on executive coaching and succession with my good friend, Jim Moore. Jim is the former CLO of three major companies. Here are some of our thoughts on how to make leadership succession a more relevant process in your company.

Planning 118

Planning Efficiency Succession Tips 118

Marshall Goldsmith

DECEMBER 23, 2010

Barry Diller, the chairman of IAC/ InterActiveCorp, was at Harvard Business School explaining the rationale behind the mosaic of Web-commerce entities he has assembled at his company, including Hotels.com, Match.com and LendingTree.com. One of the students pointed out these various businesses didn’t seem to come together in a coordinated, synergistic way.

Cooper 117

Cooper Resistance Politics Succession 117

Marshall Goldsmith

DECEMBER 1, 2010

According to Dan Ariely, author of the recently released book Predictably Irrational and the James B. Duke Professor of Behavioral Economics at Duke University, behavioral economics is an important and useful tool for society because it takes into account the irrationality of human nature. I loved this book. and highly recommend it. I've asked Dan to give us his take from a behavioral economics perspective on the current economic situation.

Real Estate 117

Real Estate Health Care Crisis Policies 117

Marshall Goldsmith

NOVEMBER 24, 2010

Marshall: I hear this concern every where I travel these days. Who doesn't? My friend Joe Wheeler, Executive Director of The Service Profit Chain Institute, recently co-authored a book with Harvard Business School Professors James L. Heskett and W. Earl Sasser, Jr. entitled The Ownership Quotient, Putting The Service Profit Chain to Work for Unbeatable Competitive Advantage.

Heskett 117

Heskett Competitive Advantage Health Care Short-term 117

Marshall Goldsmith

DECEMBER 7, 2010

Preparing your successor can be a leader's greatest challenge. If you handle it the right way while you are still at an organization, it can mean that your successor enters to applause while you bow out gracefully. So what do you need to know about coaching so you can ensure a smooth transition? First, let's assume you've done your due diligence on the process with your successor.

Due Diligence 115

Due Diligence CEO Executive Coaching Tactics 115

Marshall Goldsmith

NOVEMBER 29, 2010

In this time of economic uncertainty, the pressure to control costs is at a peak. With hiring freezes and layoffs, companies increasingly are asking themselves how to produce the results they need with limited or decreasing human resources. One innovative firm in the Bay Area, Flexperience, has created a different talent market: experienced professionals who seek flexible work opportunities.

Flextime 115

Flextime ROI Advice Human Capital 115

Marshall Goldsmith

DECEMBER 28, 2010

t major corporations. These documents typically feature boilerplate language to describe the leadership behaviors each company desires. Such chestnuts include “communicates a clear vision,” “helps people develop to their maximum potential” and “avoids playing favorites.” I’ve never seen a profile that offered “effectively sucks up to management” as a preferred leadership characteristic.

Follow-up 110

Follow-up Document Report Analysis 110

Marshall Goldsmith

DECEMBER 14, 2010

Some time ago I was interviewing a very successful CEO. Despite dismal economic news around the world, his business was experiencing record profits. I thought, "It will be nice for me to talk to one executive this week who is in a great mood." Although this gentleman was very grateful for the success of his privately owned corporation, he was sad about the economic devastation faced by many of its employees.

Real Estate 110

Real Estate Long-term Comparison Learning-by-Doing 110

Marshall Goldsmith

NOVEMBER 30, 2010

Marketing is everywhere, but with the ubiquity of slogans and ads, it's easy to forget that there's more to marketing than meets the eye. As a result, it is often one of the first budgets to be cut in economic downturns. However, a successful marketing campaign can be the best way for an organization to reach rapidly disappearing customers, to let people know that the organization is adapting and changing to continue to serve them despite current difficulties, and to stay in people's minds so th

Metrics 110

Metrics Bottom-up Budgeting Marketing 110

Marshall Goldsmith

DECEMBER 2, 2010

Finding, retaining, and developing talent is one of the toughest business challenges executives face. It's made even tougher because many of the practices executives use don't work in today's uncertain environment. With the absence of job security and the likelihood of lifetime employment with one company a thing of the past, the open labor market means you may be investing in talented people who will leave your firm for a competitor.

Attrition 107

Attrition Talent Management Human Capital Supply Chain 107

Marshall Goldsmith

DECEMBER 9, 2010

This can be difficult. At some point in the succession process, you will have to let your successor know that he is next in line. Though the person you are grooming to replace you must be told, there is not tried-and-true formula for choosing the perfect time. I've seen this done many ways. In one instance, the successor was chosen years in advance.

How To 101

How To Team Advice Positioning 101

Marshall Goldsmith

DECEMBER 3, 2010

Leaders who are getting ready to slow down and pass the baton often have a common fear: that they will become lame ducks if they announce their successors in advance. No one wants that to happen. Almost every leader goes through this inner dialogue as part of the challenge of "slowing down." This fear, which often results in postponing the announcement about succession until the last minute, inhibits what could have been a much smoother transition.

Advice 98

Advice CEO Long-term Short-term 98

Marshall Goldsmith

DECEMBER 8, 2010

In most cases, I believe that hiring an executive coach to assist with this process can be very useful. However, you as the leader need to be responsible for the entire process. You know what it takes to be the next leader of your company (or division, or unit, or team) even more than the very best behavioral coach. I'll share a few ideas with you here about the coaching process.

Succession 93

Succession Learning-by-Doing Executive Coaching Tactics 93

Marshall Goldsmith

NOVEMBER 12, 2010

In an interview with BNET, Steven Foster, co-founder and CEO of Lucky Strike Lanes & Lounge, acknowledges that it's difficult to keep an entertainment-based business growing in a recession.

CEO 70

CEO 70

Marshall Goldsmith

AUGUST 25, 2010

Recent research on happiness yields a surprising discovery: the more time a person spends on lightweight "fun," the greater his overall dissatisfaction -- not just at work but at home.

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70

Marshall Goldsmith

DECEMBER 6, 2010

A few years ago, I learned a very important lesson about leadership succession during a coaching assignment. In my work, I get paid only if my clients achieve positive, lasting change in behavior. I did get paid for this assignment, but I found that I would rather not have taken it. A CEO asked me to coach his potential successor, the CFO. It didn't take long before I just felt that the CEO just didn't like the CFO.

CEO 118

CEO CFO Skills Open-book 118

Marshall Goldsmith

DECEMBER 16, 2010

When Bill Clinton published his best-selling memoir in 2004, he knew he would have to deal with the Monica Lewinsky scandal during his second term. He did so by explaining it as a personal failure, a yielding to private demons. “Once people reach the age of accountability, no matter what people do to them, that is not an excuse for any mistakes they make.

360-Degree Feedback 125

360-Degree Feedback Quality Reference Advice 125