Intersting thoughts...Most successful people possess extraordinary skills;that’s why they do well. But once people attain success, their bad habits or behavioralfoibles move to the forefront. In fact, often, the more successful leaders become, themore their issues relate to their behavior, and the more power a behavioral problem hasto halt their rise or contribute to their downfall.

This book really isn't what I thought it'd be from the title. I was hoping it'd be a guide on how to unstick your career -- how to evaluate opportunities and set career goals.

Not at all. This book is for people whose overcompetitiveness and self-centeredness are sabotaging their success, who suffer from one or more of the following habits:

#1 Winning too much: overcompetitive regarding trivial things
#2 Adding too much value: making suggestions that come across as criticism
#3 Passing judgment
#4 Making destructive comments: gratuitous sarcasm
#5 Starting with no, but, however: dismissing others' ideas while pretending to agree
#6 Telling the world how smart we are
#7 Speaking when angry
#8 Negativity, or "Let me explain why that won't work"
#9 Withholding information: being "too busy" to debrief direct reports
#10 Failing to give recognition
#11 Claiming credit we don't deserve
#12 Making excuses
#13 Clinging to the past
#14 Playing favorites
#15 Refusing to experss regret/apologize
#16 Not listening
#17 Failing to express gratitude
#18 Punishing the messenger
#19 Passing the buck: failing to accept responsibility
#20 An excessive need to be "me": accepting the above flaws as "just the way I am"

The tagline "How Successful People Become Even More Successful" is a trick to get successful people to pick up a book that is going to criticize them right and left.

But not for naught. The second half of the book presents a methodology for breaking these habits, by addressing them head-on. Apologize to others for your past mistakes, ask for and accept their honest feedback, and enlist them to hold you accountable in the future. Give those you supervise explicit permission -- or even incentivize them -- to call you on your flaws. Eventually, the hope is that you'll start recognizing these tendencies before you act on them.

Even if you aren't the "type" this book is trying to re-educate, the first half of the book is valuable because everyone can benefit from a greater awareness of the habits. They are the insidious kind that nobody realizes they have.

This is a worthwhile - even important read if you've been a manager for a while. I recommend buying this in print because it will turn into part of your management reference library - like Drucker's "The Effective Executive". You can also get a lot of the content free at Marshal Goldsmith's web site. ( )

A do-it-yourself coaching book to help you review your career, I'm at a point of frustration and stagnation and found it particularly relevant. ( )

Shows me my faults that are hindering my leadership