I recently attended a workshop by Marshall Goldsmith – the author of the world famous book “What got you here won’t get you there”.
The two hour workshop held at IIM Bangalore was profoundly instructional and hugely entertaining, a result of the incredibly spontaneous and often self deprecating humor of the speaker and his ability to engage the audience and
expose individual foibles and frailties, including his own, with wit and sensitivity.
Most importantly Marshall taught his audience to introspect, to seek out feedback that can transform oneself and to ‘let it go’ – this illustrated by an evocative wrist-rolling wave of the hand.
Apart from being a writer, Marshall is also a world famous coach who has trained many iconic CEO’s including Alan Mullaly Chairman of the Ford Motor Corporation.
He told our group a story about how his own model of not charging his clients until the results of his work had been realized and appreciated was learnt by him as a teenager from the man who repaired the roof of his Kentucky home. As he pointed out, professionalism and pride in one’s work are independent of the nature of the work done or its economic rewards.
I was also intrigued to learn from Marshall that his best-selling book ‘ What got you here won’t get you there’ was the 23rd book he wrote. In his own words, he ‘was delighted to have finally written a book that people were actually reading’. I was reminded of the story of King Bruce of Scotland and the spider that inspired him to return to battle.
I left the workshop having acquired a copy of Marshall’s latest book entitled “Mojo” How to get it back” and obtained Marshall’s autograph on it. Along with his autograph is his inscription : ” To Arjun – More Mojo to you!” Here’s to Mojo, and to Marshall’s amazing positive energy being passed on to us through his books and his teachings.