In a blog post related to achievement, adapted from his new book The Earned Life, the renowned leadership expert and bestselling author Marshall Goldsmith explores how credibility and competence reinforce each other, and need to be made clear to those you want to influence.
Goldsmith writes: “Our experience tells us that being happy doesn’t deliver achievement and, vice versa, achievement doesn’t always deliver happiness. After all, many high achievers are miserable or depressed. In the same way that achievement and happiness are independent variables, earning competence does not automatically guarantee that a person would be recognized for it.”
The harsh lockdown policies in China at the first local outbreak of Covid-19, especially in the sprawling city of Shanghai, created a crisis of credibility for the country’s leader, Xi Jinping, and his zero-covid approach to containing the virus. Anger and anxiety over the Shanghai lockdown posed a rare challenge for China’s powerful propaganda apparatus, which is key to the Communist Party’s ability to stifle dissent.
In The Earned Life Goldsmith uncovers the source of today’s existential crises, including regrets that stem from choices that irrevocably alter our lives, reroute destinies, and haunt our memories. These are particularly timely themes today.
With Goldsmith’s book as a guide, readers can close the gap between what they plan to achieve and what they actually get done—even in a world full of inescapable unfairness and curveballs—and live an earned life that is fulfilling in the long run.
You can read Marshall Goldsmith’s blog here.
About MARSHALL GOLDSMITH
Marshall Goldsmith has been recognized for years as the world’s leading executive coach and the New York Times bestselling author of many books, including What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, Mojo, and Triggers. He received his Ph.D. from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. In his coaching practice, Goldsmith has advised more than 200 major CEOs and their management teams. He and his wife live in Nashville, Tennessee.
About THE EARNED LIFE
In THE EARNED LIFE (Currency Books), Marshall Goldsmith uncovers the source of today’s existential crisis: regret, the kind stemming from choices that irrevocably alter our lives, reroutes destinies, and haunts our memories—particularly timely themes as the pandemic and Great Resignation inspire people to seek meaning in their lives, get unstuck and make changes. With this book as their guide, readers can close the gap between what they plan to achieve and what they actually get done—even in a world full of inescapable unfairness and curveballs—and live an earned life too fulfilling to dwell on the “what ifs.”
If you’d like more information on Marshall Goldsmith, The Earned Life, and his work, please get in touch with Lyda Goldsmith.
