What Got You Here Won’t Get You There — Marshall Goldsmith
Core Thesis
Successful people often succeed DESPITE certain behaviors, not because of them. At higher levels, the interpersonal habits that didn’t matter when you were an IC become career-limiting. The challenge isn’t learning new skills — it’s stopping bad habits.
Key Principlesflashcards
What are the most common annoying habits of successful people? (Name at least 5) ? Goldsmith’s 20 habits include:
- Winning too much — needing to win every argument, even when it doesn’t matter
- Adding too much value — “Great idea, but let me improve it…” (which kills ownership)
- Passing judgment — rating everything people say as good/bad
- Starting with “No” / “But” / “However” — unconsciously dismissing others
- Telling the world how smart you are — needing to prove intelligence
- Not listening — the most common complaint about leaders
- Failing to give recognition
- Claiming credit you don’t deserve
- Making excuses — reframing bad behavior as a permanent trait (“I’m just direct”)
- Goal obsession — pursuing a goal so hard you lose sight of the bigger mission
What is “adding too much value” and why is it so dangerous for leaders? ? When a direct report shares an idea and you say “That’s great! But what if we also…” — you’ve just taken 50% of their ownership. Your 5% improvement in the idea costs you 50% of their commitment. As a leader, the marginal improvement from your input is almost NEVER worth the loss of ownership. Sometimes the right answer is just: “Great, go do it.”
What is the “feedforward” technique? ? Instead of giving feedback (which is about the past and triggers defensiveness), try feedforward:
- Pick a behavior you want to change
- Ask someone: “What’s one suggestion for how I can be better at X in the future?”
- Listen. Say “thank you.” Don’t judge, don’t explain, don’t argue. It works because people are less defensive about the future than the past, and it makes asking for help a habit.
Why does Goldsmith say “stop” is more powerful than “start” for leaders? ? At the executive level, the problem is rarely that you need to DO more things. It’s that you need to STOP doing things that are annoying/undermining others. “What should I stop doing?” is a more powerful question than “What should I start doing?” because your bad habits are already costing you, and removing them has immediate impact.
What is “goal obsession” and why is it Goldsmith’s #20 but perhaps most important habit? ? When we are so focused on achieving a goal that we forget WHY we wanted it, or who we hurt along the way. A founder who sacrifices their health and relationships for the company. A leader who hits revenue targets but destroys team morale. The goal is supposed to serve the mission — when the goal BECOMES the mission, something is broken.
Situations
- self-awareness, 1-on-1, receiving-feedback, leadership-growth, executive-presence, team-dynamics, delegation, ego-management