Risk & Business Magazine Gifford Associates Fall 2017 | Page 13

BE LIKE YOUR HEROES
•
Buddha – extremely generous, great
teacher
a reflection of our own behavior
• Warren Bennis taught me by
example that if the answer to the
question, “Do you love what you
do?” is “I don’t know,” it is time to
rethink what you are doing and
perhaps change it.
• Richard Beckhard taught me that
while we may think it would be
great to have enough money to
never work again, we’d never have
to wake up early, go to work, or
meet deadlines again. It is hard
to find fulfillment in what we
won’t have do. We can only find
fulfillment and meaning in what we
will do.
• And, finally, Buddha… Buddha
taught me to do only what he
taught if it works in the context of
my own life. He encouraged people
to listen to his ideas, think about
his suggestions, try out what made
sense – keep doing what worked –
and to just “let go” of what does not
work. This is the essence of my feed
forward coaching.
Finally, Ayse asked us to cross out our
heroes’ names and put in our own name.
Marshall Goldsmith – extremely
generous, great teacher.
Ayse said “That is your heart’s desire
– to be an extremely generous, great
teacher like your heroes. This is the
kind of leader you want to show up as.”
I thought more specifically about what
each person has taught me. Below is the
short list of what I have learned from
them. Each of these people has taught
me so much. This is just a kernel of the
wonderful learnings that they gave to
me so freely.
•
Frances Hesselbein taught me that
listening is an art, and that it is
oftentimes crucial to our success to
“listen first, speak last.”
• Alan Mulally taught me the #1
Greatest Lesson for Coaches – If
you are a coach, make it about your
clients, not about you and your own
ego. • Paul Hersey taught me that
sometimes being too good at
something can hold us back from
being the best we can be, it can
hold us back from investing in
our future and achieving our true
potential. Here is my suggestion for you. Make a
list of your heroes. Next to their names,
write down why they are your heroes.
Now cross out their names and put in
your own name. To the degree possible,
be a leader, manager, coach, person just
like that.
• Peter Drucker taught me one of the
most fundamental concepts that I
use in all of my coaching and client
work – how to effectively influence
decision makers keeping one key
notion in mind. “Every decision
that impacts our lives will be made
by the person who has the power to
make that decision – not the ‘right’
person, or the ‘smartest’ person, or
the ‘best’ person – make peace with
this fact.” After doing this exercise myself and
reflecting on what I learned from my
teachers, I made a decision. I decided
that just like my many teachers before
me, I will give to others what has been
so freely given to me.
•
Bob Tannenbaum taught me that
sometimes it’s easier to see our
problems in others than to see them
in ourselves. Sometimes what really
bothers us about someone else is just
How will I do this? With my new project
100 Coaches. 100 Coaches is my legacy
project. I am going to teach 100 people
everything I know, for free! This is my
chance to honor the many wonderful
teachers and heroes that I have had
over the years and to give to others as
they gave to me. If you would like more
details, please go to marshallgoldsmith.
com/100coachesmarketing +
TRIGGERS: Creating Behavior
That Lasts -Becoming the
Person You Want to Be
by: DR. MARSHALL GOLDSMITH
Filled with revealing and illuminating
stories from his work with some of the most
successful chief executives and power brokers
in the business world, Goldsmith offers a
personal playbook on how to achieve change
in our lives, make it stick, and become the
person we want to be.
BY: MARSHALL
GOLDSMITH, AUTHOR
Dr. Goldsmith is the author or editor of 35
books, which have sold over two million copies,
been translated into 30 languages and become
bestsellers in 12 countries. His two other New
York Times bestsellers are MOJO and What Got
You Here Won’t Get You There - the Harold
Longman Award winner for Business Book
of the Yea r. In February 2016, Amazon.com
recognized the ‘100 Best Leadership & Success
Books’ in their To Read in Your Lifetime series.
The list included classics and newer books -
management and self-help books. Both Triggers
and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
were recognized as being in the top 100 books
ever written in their field. Marshall is only one of
two authors with two books on the list.
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