Quotes from Marshall Goldsmith

We treat effort as a second-class citizen. It's the condolence message we send ourselves when we fail. We say, "I gave it my best shot," or "I get an A for effort." But after a few days, quantifying effort rather than outcome reveals patterns that we'd otherwise miss.

What's more important? Your company or your life?" It was a rhetorical question. I was warning him that, stripped of his identity at the top of a sixty-thousand-employee organization, he was vulnerable to boredom, dislocation, depression. I'd seen it before in ex-CEOs who didn't prepare well for their corporate exit. It would be "irresponsible" if he didn't create a new identity for himself.

If your successor truly wants to become a great CEO, she needs to recognize that there is no "off" switch when she is around the people who she will be leading.

reasonable people can disagree.

If we're satisfied with our life—not necessarily happy or delighted that we've exceeded our wildest expectations, just satisfied—we yield to inertia. We continue doing what we've always done.

What in my life is worth keeping?" The

But simple is far from easy.

There is immeasurable satisfaction—even pleasure—in taking a big risk and fighting a battle you believe in. It's your life, your call. No one else can make it for you. AIWATT

Your people are changing constantly and it's right in front of your eyes. If you don't change accordingly, you may as well be managing with your eyes wide shut. That's the most unforgivable prejudice of all.

we go through life grumbling about what should be at the expense of accepting what is. Within that bubble of delusion, we grant ourselves an autonomy and superiority we have not earned. We imagine how much better the world would be if we had the power to make the decisions. We don't.

Once people reach the age of accountability, no matter what people do to them," he said, "that is not an excuse for any mistakes they make. On the other hand, one does seek to understand why he or she makes the mistakes they make.

The problem begins when this good enough attitude spills beyond our marketplace choices and into the things we say and do.

The danger with this, of course, is that, unchecked, this "we will succeed" attitude leads to staff burnout, high turnover, and a weaker team than the one you started with. His biggest challenge as a leader was avoiding overcommitment.

As a rule, successful human beings tend to overweight our own strengths—and underweight our own weaknesses when evaluating others.

In one of those odd bits of reverse psychology, it seems that the stuff people boast about as their strengths more often than not turn out to be their most egregious weaknesses.

Narcotized by technology, we sacrifice long-term purpose and fulfillment for the short-term dopamine-driven feedback loops created by Facebook and Twitter and Instagram. This is not healthy. As with the pace of change, I don't see a horizon where this societal problem slows down because a majority of us suddenly stop using social media's irresistible tools. Only we can control how profoundly we allow vicarious living to infect our life, one individual at a time.

As a general rule, people in their 20s want to learn on the job. In their 30s they want to advance. And in their 40s they want to rule. No matter what their age, though, understanding their desires is like trying to pin down mercury.

If I change I am "inauthentic." Many of us have a misguided belief that how we behave today not only defines us but represents our fixed and constant selves, the authentic us forever. If we change, we are somehow not being true to who we really are. This belief triggers stubbornness. We refuse to adapt our behavior to new situations because "it isn't me.

Mike thought a minute, and then said, "I'm going to change, and the reason I'm going to change has nothing to do with money and it has nothing to do with this firm. I'm going to change because I have two sons, and if they were receiving this same feedback from you in twenty years, I'd be ashamed.

The only time people actually see that you're not listening to them is when you're displaying extreme impatience. You want them to hurry up and get to the point. People notice that. And they rarely think better of you for it. You may as well be shouting, "Next!" at them.

Why wouldn't you? You have a plan. A plan is a good thing. At that moment, you are functioning as a leader. But later on in the same day, with little to no awareness, you assume a different role. You become the follower, the person who has to execute the leader's wishes. As

The next time you hear yourself saying, "I'm just no good at . . . ," ask yourself, "Why not?

We do not appreciate inertia's power over us. Given the choice, we prefer to do nothing

Basically, there are three things that all good listeners do: They think before they speak; they listen with respect; and they're always gauging their response by asking themselves, "Is it worth it?