Review: “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There,” by Marshall Goldsmith

This is a business book that needs to be on the shelf of anybody who wants to get better at their job, especially those who may not see a direct path to the next step or who realize that they may not be as successful in their current role as they have been in a past one. It’s a mature wake-up call that asks you to gather feedback from those surrounding you in your workplace and then to act decisively upon it so that they will know you are addressing your shortcomings and that you have heard and appreciated their input, no matter how brutal it was to receive.

Marshall writes with the practiced ease of somebody used to speaking truth to power. He’s a diplomat and a realist who has earned his stripes the hard way - directly coaching executives. He’s come up with a way for stalled careers to start rolling again. While it’s not easy (in fact, it can be downright painful), it is honest and you may even come out a more insightful person for following through on it. The plan to improve starts through the solicitation of 360-degree feedback. At this phase, you gather feedback from your co-workers, management, and direct reports. There are helpful tips for getting to this in as objective manner as possible in the book. You then aggregate the feedback, own up to what you’re going to change in a very public way, and set about fixing it, re-soliciting feedback when it makes sense to do so.

My favorite part of the book was section 2, which is dedicated to “The Twenty Habits That Hold You Back from the Top.” This is basically an excruciating list of flaws wherein any passionate person will see themselves reflected. How many times have I committed habit #5, “starting with ‘no,’ ‘but,’ or ‘however?” Many many times.

When you start a sentence with “no,” “but,” “however,” or any variation thereof, no matter how friendly your tone or how many cute mollifying phrases you throw in to acknowledge the other person’s feelings, the message to the other person is You are wrong. It’s not, “Perhaps you are misinformed.” It’s not, “I disagree with you.” Its bluntly and unequivocally, What you’re saying is wrong, and what I’m saying is right.” Nothing productive can happen after that. The general response from the other person (unless he or she is a saint willing to turn the other cheek) is to dispute your position and fight back. From there, the conversation dissolves into a pointless war. You’re no longer communicating. You’re both trying to win.

How many times have I made excuses, habit #12? I can count one today… I will return to this section of the book with some frequency to attempt to track my progress and ensure that I’m not picking up any new foibles. I get my annual review next week, which includes 360-degree feedback from peers and managers and I can hardly wait to put it to good use!

I originally heard Marshall Goldsmith on the Cranky Middle Manager podcast in January and liked what he had to say. The book does not disappoint. It’s one of the rare business books that doesn’t pound you over the head repeating what it could have made clear in 5 pages. “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There,” is a cogently written and thoughtful set of exercises and self-examinations that will help you get where you need to go.

Updated: Make sure to check out Marshall Goldsmith’s comments to this post below! He’s got a wonderful repository of resource materials available for free on his site. Check it out:

http://www.MarshallGoldsmithLibrary.com