Triggers: Creating Behavior That Lasts--Becoming the Person You Want to Be

Advertising pays: I need to give a shout-out to Jim Kouzes for his posting the cover of Triggers on Facebook. Within thirty minutes of that post, I had ordered my copy! This book deserves a mark that exceeds five stars. This book informed, it educated, it impressed, it entertained, and it induced action. I am in the fourth week of assessing my progress toward six personal, behavioral goals (patience, under-controlling of situations, less judgmental/evaluative, more lovingly supportive of my wife, more at peace, and in less of a hurry). I use the charting process suggested by Marshall, and I have created a weekly scoring sheet on which my wife is to give me grade my progress. Readers might not be impressed with this process, but this is the first time that I have consciously and systematically worked toward important personal/interpersonal goal-improvement. As a licensed user of the MBTI, I have known since 1984 that I have needed to work on some of my ENFJ-behaviors that did not serve me well at times. Marshall’s coaching-in-the-book, his powerful examples of behavior change shared, and the usable resources all combine to compel a reader to take action and make personal progress, so that we might be more effective human beings. After four weeks, this writer is a more peaceful, patient person from the beginning of each day. My wife and I are having more fun. My urge to “drive the bus” all the time has been significantly reduced, and I am in less of a hurry. Marshall’s focus on progress, I think has been key: “Did I do my best to . . .?” Over time, the focus has become a habit, like a good health habit! And, why not?! Yes, I’ll regress on a variable, and I’ll “own it” and simply choose to get back on the horse the next day and go forward. Marshall gets it: He realizes that he cannot be effective unless his clients are! He is exemplary in this regard, and he relentlessly and proactively journeys toward being a better leader/coach. Marshall also models brilliantly, a client-centered/collaborative coaching style as he works with others. He asks the necessary and provocative questions that others need to face if they are to be more effective going forward. There was just one chapter that fell just a tiny bit short, for me personally. Chapter 16, “Behaving Under the Influence of Depletion”, deals with our behaviors and the outcomes of decisions made when our physical/mental/emotional energy is low. In addition to Marshall’s suggestions in this chapter, the reader might benefit from three topics that might help them and others be more personally effective: personality (introverts), mood theory, and general wellness. Introverts need to give extra time for reflection and self-care before entering their after-hours dwellings and interacting with others, even their pets. Introvert Power by Laurie Helgoe is just one book that offers practical suggestions for helping introverts be more personally/interpersonally effective. Helgoe specifically offers proactive ideas for helping deal with the current culture of interruption in our daily lives. For mood theory, The Origin of Everyday Moods by Robert Thayer provides resources and research that can make us aware on an hourly basis whether we are “tired” or “energized”. From that point, we can then determine what our next courses of action need to be to be for greater effectiveness going forward. For example, “extreme” extroverts who are tense-tired near the end of a workday are apt to say or do things that would likely not happen when filled with calm-energy. For overall wellness, Candace Pert’s book, Everything You Need to Feel Good, offers an insightful look at her personal journey regarding the successful resolution of health issues, the latest mind/body-research, and good recommendations regarding websites and authors whose contributions might be beneficial. In Triggers, Marshall Goldsmith did everything possible to make real and positive behavioral differences for his readers. He certainly made differences that I think will be both positive and lasting for me and for those with whom I interact. Thank you, sir!

Triggers is the latest book by Marshall Goldsmith and Mark Reiter, and, if you work the system, one that can change your life. What makes this book so valuable is that the authors explain how we are generally much better planners than executors of our plans; how to recognize the triggers that derail us; and they offer a simple approach of what to do to finally reach our goals: becoming more aware through tracking. You’ve probably observed this in your own life: You know in the morning what your day should look like, but then “triggers” occur, and you get sidetracked. Or, you say you want to reach a specific goal, but then find yourself a good time later – weeks or months – still talking about it, but not having moved any closer to it. Having these kinds of experiences repeatedly erodes your self-esteem and your confidence, because you will eventually think of yourself as incapable, underachieving, and no-good-at-reaching your goals. Naturally you stop trying. Well, after you honestly analyze your behavior and the triggers that derail you, you become more aware and you can develop approaches to counteract them. You’ve also heard “what gets tracked, gets done,” right? And that is what was my favorite take-away: the action steps to get you to reach your goals. Here they are: Write down your objective. Make a list of all of them. (If you’re not willing to do that, don’t even read on.) Figure out when and how, ideally, you’d like to execute on your plan to achieve them. Break down larger goals into smaller ones. Every evening, ask the question, “Did I try my best today to [objective]?” Rank your efforts between 1 and 10. One being “I totally didn’t even try”, and 10 being “Wow, I totally rocked it. I couldn’t have done better!” Reflect: Notice how that feels, determine what led to this result, and decide how you will use what you’ve learned in future efforts. Repeat. What to do when you rank consistently low in working toward achieving a certain goal: Notice how it doesn’t make you feel good. You may decide that you weren’t so interested in achieving that goal in the first place. In that case, you can drop it off of your to-do list and free up space for other, more important goals. You can prioritize it going forward, working around the issues that have stood in the way of your progress. You can build in more accountability (which is often the cause of not reaching one’s goals): Hire a coach. (Goldsmith himself had to hire a coach to reach certain goals, he tells us.) When you rank your efforts high: Notice how great that makes you feel!! You’ve focused on doing well and you’ve accomplished it. Knowing that you can achieve, having given it a good try, will propel you to achieve more of the same-level results, even with some of your other goals. You can remind yourself in the future what you’ve accomplished in the past and be assured that you can tackle the next challenge equally well. What a confidence booster, right?! The book is replete with stories from Goldsmith working with clients, primarily executives; the examples seemed real and relate-able. I liked the audio version of the book so much, I bought the hard cover, too. Some things are worth listening to or reading more than once. And, as is the case with many self-help books, if you don’t consistently apply what you’ve learned, you might as well not have read the book. Triggers offers a systematic approach to obtaining your goals (personal and professional), and you may just want to give it a try.

I adore Marshall Goldsmith's style. I am a coach, and his wisdom is basic, practical and very much appreciated. I have learned insightful and useful concepts from his books, which is worth noting as a lot of books on coaching are stuffed with male ego-ridden drive that I find uncomfortable and hard headed. I am still considering this book's position about environment and trigger, but overall would say it is worthy of reading. Goldsmith has a gentle, firm grasp on the slippery nature of human beings but always seems to offer his observations with compassion. I thoroughly appreciate his approach, authenticity and commitment to a craft that, at it's best is magical and transformative.

I love Triggers! It's elegant, thoughtful and readable. Marshall's gift is in highlighting the disconnect between our intent (and who we think we are); and how we can be experienced by others. Robert Burns, a famous Scottish Poet has written 'O wad some Power the giftie gie us, To see oursels as ithers see us!', which translated means if only we had the gift to see ourselves as others see us… Marshall provides that GPS in Triggers! Take a look at the first few pages entitled 'What Great CEO's and Thought Leaders Have to Say About Triggers and Working with Marshall Goldsmith' … the words and phrases used are an incredible testament to Marshall's work, and preview both the wisdom and the relevance of the chapters to come. Among the many gifts Triggers provides there are some real gems... Marshall highlights that our power is in the choices we make: 'Fate is in the hand we've been dealt. Choice is how we play that hand'. Marshall's observation that we are all skilled at knowing what we need to do, however knowing what to do does not ensure that we will actually do it particularly resonates. Marshall's comment that 'we are superior planners and inferior doers' struck a chord with me personally! Marshall talks about having only a handful of magic moves as a coach, he talks about apologizing, asking for help, showing optimism and concludes that what makes these gestures magical is how effectively they trigger decent behavior in other people and how easy they are to do. This leads into a valuable exploration of the use of 'Active' and 'Engaging' Questions. Question's which disturb thinking and as he describes it help us to move closer to the person we want to be and to have less regret. I love that they start with 'Did I do my best to….' There is such elegance and simplicity in that turn of phrase'. I will leave you with a final thought… Jim Lawrence, CEO, Rothschild, North America writes in Triggers … 'Imagine that for the cost of a book, you can receive personal career guidance from the world's best coach. Marshall Goldsmith is that coach. Triggers is that book!'. I enjoy most of all that Marshall inspires me to stop, to think, and to act. Thank you Marshall!

I read the Kindle edition of this book and then ordered three hard cover copies to give to friends and family. While the book is intended to help managers change their behavior, and most examples are about that environment, the methods presented by Marshall will work on any behavior change issue that has no deep-seated cause that can only be dealt with by a professional therapist. After reading the book, I read some of the current reviews— several of the positive ones and several of the negatives. I can’t really add much to the positive reviews that others haven’t said. However, I will say that, like Marshall, I’ve been teaching managers how to manage for 34 years, and this is an excellent set of tools that, if practiced, should yield positive results. As a friend of mine says, I promise you a 100% guarantee that if you just read the book and don’t apply the methods, you will not get much out of it. So what about the negative reviews? Several say that there is nothing new in the book. That is undoubtedly true. However, such comments simply take a jab at the author and indicate a failure to realize that every generation of readers has to pick up what we older people already know, and it is all new to them. Furthermore, every author presents the same material from his or her perspective, and one presentation may be totally transformative to one reader and another presentation may do the same for a different reader. Another comment was that this book is not as good as Marshall’s previous book, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. This reviewer gave the book a 1. I sense a hidden agenda in this review, but even if I’m wrong, it is like saying that after painting the Mona Lisa, Da Vinci never painted anything worthwhile. Even if this book is not as good (whatever that means to the reviewer) as the previous book, it is still an excellent book for its intended audience. It wasn’t written for fellow psychologists, coaches, or executives who already have a personal coach. It was written for managers who need help and may not have the luxury of a personal coach. I intend to use the book in one of my management seminars for exactly that audience. And I highly recommend it for those of you who need some methods for changing your behavior without having the luxury of even a seminar to attend. If you really want to get the most from the book, form a reading group and practice the methods presented, and help each other by doing your own coaching and support. The worst that can happen is that you won’t change, so you also won’t be any worse off.

“Our greatest challenge is overcoming our own egos” So says the best-selling author and world’s #1 executive coach Marshall Goldsmith in his latest book, Triggers (2015 Crown Business). He’s right. Holding yourself to account and changing your behavior for the better lies at the heart of truly great leadership and, in this sentence, Goldsmith sums up a challenge which many of us face in life as well as in work. In Triggers Goldsmith has honed nearly four decades of work with some of the world’s leading business figures to shine a powerful light of reason on the excuses we make about why we don’t do what we set out to do and how we can overcome this. If you’ve ever set out with a clear plan of action for the day – or even the following hour – yet found yourself inexplicably diverted off course, failing to achieve what you set out to do, then this book is for you. As Goldsmith explains - every day, every moment, we are bombarded by a relentless series of environmental and psychological triggers which conspire to derail us from our intended purpose and we simply take them all in - our egos telling us that there are good enough reasons for the diversion - and accept the failure to achieve as a result. As Goldsmith says: “Triggers can dramatically shape our behavior. Certain situations can provoke even the most rational among us into behaving in ways that are inconsistent with our own self-interest – in business and in life, this can be fatal. The difference between success and failure can be as simple – and as hard – as mastering triggers.” Goldsmith encourages us all to seize control of our behavior by anticipating triggers, accepting responsibility for what distracts us and either avoiding or controlling our response to them in the future. He asks us to measure our success by setting out seven questions about the things we most want to achieve and then measuring, on a daily basis, our success in achieving them. That means accepting no excuses of ourselves and Goldsmith, as always, has outlined a set of tough but highly effective measures, requiring an honest answer of our own beliefs about ourselves that will help us regain control over these triggers and get on becoming the person, or achieving the things, that we aspire to. For anyone who ever aspired to accomplish something important, but was led astray by something seemingly insignificant and inconsequential, Marshall Goldsmith’s “Triggers” could very well be the key to unlocking your true potential.

Interesting book on coaching. Fairly useful to anyone not just executives. Some enlightening points. Good explanation of the change process the author uses but may be too tedious for some. The author explains it doesn't matter to him what his client chooses to change. His job is to explain how to change. As long as the client is improving. The best part of the book is in the next to last chapter and presented more as an "oh by the way". It explains why u should even care about changing and the ultimate process for continuous change. I recommend the book. I caught an interview of the author on TV reviewing the book and wanted to hear more of what he had to say. I enjoyed this book.

Here is why I am loving Triggers and why every every aspiring leader under 35 should read this too: My favorite section is Part Four: No Regrets! The six engaging questions from Chapter 21 are extremely helpful in helping you to identify whats holding you back from unleashing your potential and full force grab holding of your goals. It can also be a really great framework to use in connecting with your teams if you adapt the questions to fit the environment and discussion context. To help the young men and women I coach, I am using the Circle of Engagement with these aspiring young leaders to coach them around discussing their visions for success and reflecting on what it takes to get there. Fantastic! Marshall is one of the busiest thought leaders in the world and one of the most generous. Despite his globetrotting lifestyle, he still makes the time to coach and mentor so many like me who look to him for inspiration and hard core direct feedback. His writing follows this same style of getting straight to the point so you can take action on your passions with smart relevant tools. The first time I met Marshall in 2009, I shared my dream of writing a book...his advice was "Stop whining about it and just do it! And if I do, I'll be there to endorse and support you" It was direct, simple, a necessary gift of feedback and spoke straight to my drive. This is the Marshall we all appreciate, admire and applaud for how he motivates us to see the Triggers that unleash our greatness!

The book includes a series of good examples and guidelines that are REAL and feasibles. I will do my best to aopt the daily questions methodology. This is the fist book ive read that that is 100% clear about the complexity of adult behavorial change

Good book. I was recommended this book by a business coach I know. He loves it. What this book does well is to show how simple small changes done consistently over a period of time can make a big difference over a period of time. It also explains why many behaviours are hard to break, until you realise what lies behind them. Even though this book is essentially, although not exclusively, aimed at business people it has plenty of value to mere mortals like myself. It is not a get rich quick scheme, but a become less wasteful of time guide. Easy to read and follow. Recommended reading.

Detonadores de cambio que funcionan, fáciles de implementar y con aplicación en todos los aspectos de la vida. Muy recomendable.

The best

Appealing in its clarity and practical with examples that speak to anyone, this book encourages positive and constructive self-reflection in order to improve our relationship with ourselves, others and our environment. It comes complete with a 'how-to' guide of placing values and virtues into our day-to-day behaviour which can subsequently alter all our relationships for the better - as long as we follow through.... (In this, I found this book to complement Don Miguel Ruiz's The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom).The morals under-pinning Goldsmith 'Triggers', reach back to Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, which he wrote for his son - rather a long time ago. Bravo!