What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful (Hardcover)
by Marshall Goldsmith, and Mark Reiter

My boss at Bose, Gustavo Fontana, recommended this book to me after delivering a somewhat stinging–but wholly justified–performance review. The title is telling: the strengths that have helped me to succeed thus far in my career will not carry me any further. It will not be my hand-skills or CAD know-how that will advance my career henseforth; it will have to be my people skills and political savvy. Anyone who knows me, knows that I have neither.

Much like Paco Underhill’s book, this is a very practical and helpful book, written in case-studies from the vantage point of a corporate executive “coach” working with Fortune 500 corporate leaders in various disciplines. It is definitely a shameless self-promotion on the part of Mr. Goldsmith, but a powerfully helpful one none-the-less.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and plan to read it again soon. I hope to go through it with my wife–the ultimate expert on all things “Adam”–in hopes that she can help me apply it in the real world. Highly recommended!