2014 has been a fun year for me!
Since early this year, I have posted the Marshall Goldsmith Thinkers50 Blog every week. This blog will run through Spring 2015 (50 written and video blogs for 50 weeks). The last two weeks of 2014, we're taking a "holiday break" from the regular blog to run two special blogs to cap off the year.
As we end the year, I thought it would be interesting to review your favorite blogs (and mine). I would love to hear your thoughts on these articles and videos and any others. If you liked one or two, why? If not, why not? What did you learn? Do you have questions? Ask me! I'll do my best to answer you.
So, let's get started with your top 5 favorites (the most viewed videos).
1.Are You Living in New Age Professional Hell? December 9, 2014.
Do you love what you do or are you living in new-age professional hell? This may be the seminal question of our age.
2.Why Didn't You Get Better? You Didn't Follow Up? August 12, 2014.
More than anything, follow-up makes us change. It gives us the momentum, even the courage, to go beyond understanding what we need to do to change and actually doing what we need to do to change,because in engaging in the follow-up process, we are changing!
3.How to Get Ahead When Life Isn't Fair.
December 16, 2014.
Arguing that "It's not fair!" doesn't change the outcome. It doesn't help our organizations or our families or ourselves. It only lowers our passion. By recognizing this classic trap, we can better determine which battles to fight--and which ones to avoid. At work, and even more so at home, even if we succeed at winning with this whine, it's not worth the cost.
4.You May Not Be in Charge, But You Can Influence the People Who Are. November 4, 2014.
You can make a positive difference, even when you do not have direct line authority. Here are 11 guidelines that will help you do a better job of influencing decision-makers, whether these decision-makers are immediate or upper managers, peers or cross-organizational colleagues.
5.So You've Got Negative Feedback. Here's How You Should Respond. July 29, 2014.
Don't spend hours and hours on it. You want your response to be positive, simple, focused, and fast. Here's how.
My top 5 favorites are a little different. But of course I love all these videos. That's why I created them!
A great blog for the New Year - this blog describes what holds us back, what might keep us from following through on our commitment to change. And how we can overcome it now.
2.You've Changed! Why Didn't Anyone Notice? September 16, 2014.
I love this blog because it reveals the catch of behavioral change - other people have to see a change in us or nothing changes! How do we get them to see that we've changed? It's all outlined here.
3.What Does Uncoachable (and Unchangeable) Look Like? September 2, 2014.
This blog has great advice about selecting clients for coaches and want-to-be coaches. Because even if you are the best coach in the world, if the person you are coaching shouldn't be coached, the coaching isn't going to work. The good news is that the "uncoachables" are easier than you think to spot.
4.Why You Should Always Think Before You Speak. July 15, 2014.
Another great blog for this special time of year when so many of us are stressed finishing year-end projects, shopping for the holidays, preparing for festivities, traveling to distant places, and visiting family and friends. It's always a good idea to think before you speak, and at this time of year, it's critical!
5.Playing Favorites (BTW, Your Dog Is a Suck Up!). May 20, 2014.
Probably one of my all-time favorites not only because I love the content, but I love dogs! They are my favorite suck ups. However, if we aren't careful we can wind up treating people at work like our dogs: rewarding those who heap unthinking, unconditional admiration on us. What behavior do we get in return? A whole lot of people who know how to suck up.
Each of my videos and accompanying articles belongs to a series (playlist). I encourage you to watch all of these videos in their playlists on YouTube. For easy access and playability, I've listed them in order below and provided the link to the series.
Thank you for spending time with me this year! It has been a treat and an honor for me to read your comments and learn from your insights. And, I am very excited for 2015 as my new book Triggers will be published in May/June 2015 by Crown. Beginning early 2015, for a few months prior to its publication, I'll share bits and highlights from the book in my blog. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do, and I look forward to getting to know more of you in 2015!
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Please view the Marshall Goldsmith Thinkers50 Video Blog. I'll post these blogs once a week for the next 50 weeks. The series will incorporate learnings from my 38 years of experience with top executives, as well as material from my previous research, articles and books, including What Got You Here Won't Get You There, MOJO, Coaching for Leadership, and Succession: Are You Ready? The blogs will also include material from my exciting new research on engagement and my upcoming book Triggers (to be published by Crown in 2015).