Book Review: What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful

This book review is part of a series that covers the topic of Success Principles, which are the methods and attitudes people utilize to achieve great levels of success and change their lives. These principles are often very easy to apply to your everyday life. Keith Matthew is the Official Guide to Success Principles.nnWhat Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful, by Marshall Goldsmith and Mark Reiter, is a valuable resource for people interested in Success Principles, and it is available through Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.nnFrom Publishers WeeklynGoldsmith, an executive coach to the corporate elite, pinpoints 20 bad habits that stifle already successful careers as well as personal goals like succeeding in marriage or as a parent. Most are common behavioral problems, such as speaking when angry, which even the author is prone to do when dealing with a teenage daughter's belly ring. Though Goldsmith deals with touchy-feely material more typical of a self-help book—such as learning to listen or letting go of the past—his approach to curing self-destructive behavior is much harder-edged. For instance, he does not suggest sensitivity training for those prone to voicing morale-deflating sarcasm. His advice is to stop doing it. To stimulate behavior change, he suggests imposing fines (e.g., $10 for each infraction), asserting that monetary penalties can yield results by lunchtime. While Goldsmith's advice applies to everyone, the highly successful audience he targets may be the least likely to seek out his book without a direct order from someone higher up. As he points out, they are apt to attribute their success to their bad behavior. Still, that may allow the less successful to gain ground by improving their people skills first. (Jan. 2) nCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. nnAbout the AuthornMarshall Goldsmith is corporate America’s preeminent executive coach. Goldsmith has been asked to work with more than eighty CEOs in the world’s top corporations and has helped implement leadership development processes that have impacted more than one million people. Visit his websites: marshallgoldsmith.com and whatgotyouhere.com.nnMark Reiter has collaborated on thirteen previous books. He is also a literary agent in Bronxville, New York.