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

Brad Revell -

My Rating: 9 / 10

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: You do not get a better title that explaining exactly what you’re going to get out of a business book. Goldsmith, a seasoned business coach and author takes the reader on a journal to successfully help evolve a person who may have succeeded in the past however wants to develop for the future.

For example, using the theme of this book, the “To-Do” list is not necessarily an area we should focus on. Instead Goldsmith thinks we should focus on your “To Stop” list. This list is a set of behaviours that just do not take you the next level of your career. Typically your behaviours and values are based on self-interest and have worked initially in our career. Yet they have the ability to hamper our career progress in the future.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the set of habits to focus on changing, how to change along with the many examples Goldsmith has experienced throughout his career. Whilst it is a more dated book, the content is still quite relevant in the business world.

Three key takeaways from the book:

  1. The more we believe that our behaviour is a result of our own choices and commitments, the less likely we are to want to change our behaviour.
  2. As a boss you should stop trying to change people who do not want to change. Goldsmith realises this is harsh however argues that some people are unsalvageable.
  3. If you press people to identify the motives behind their self-interest it usually boils down to four items: power, money, status and popularity.