Dr. Marshall Goldsmith is the author or editor of 35 books,
which have sold more than two million copies, been
translated into 30 languages and become bestsellers in 12
countries. He is also a top-rated executive coach and influential
business thinker. His newest book is Triggers: Creating
Behavior That Lasts – Becoming the Person You Want to Be.
In February 2016, Amazon.com recognized the 100 Best
Leadership and Success Books. Two of Dr. Goldsmith’s books
(Triggers and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There) made this
list. Notably, he is one of only two authors with two books on the
list.
Craig Dowden, Ph.D., recently spoke with Goldsmith about his
latest bestseller and its most important lessons for readers.
Craig Dowden: What motivated you to write Triggers?
Marshall Goldsmith: We all have a good idea of the person we
would like to become: dedicated, hardworking, a great family
member, nice, thoughtful, courteous, in perfect physical condition,
etc. Despite this picture, very few of us actually achieve that ideal. I
was interested in what prevents us from being who we want to be.
leadership
Stop: Apologize and Listen
UNDERSTANDING BEHAVIOURS TO PUSH US FORWARD
By Craig Dowden, Ph.D.
Sensay/Shutterstock.com
CD: That brings us to Triggers.
MG: Exactly. A trigger is any stimulus that impacts behaviour
and can push us towards, or in most cases against, the person
that we want to become. Unfortunately, we seldom understand,
appreciate or anticipate the impact of these triggers as we plan
our lives.
We believe that if we understand, we will do. However, there’s
a huge gap between understanding and doing. When my book,
What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, was the number one selling
business book in America, the number one selling diet book
sold ten times as many copies. Americans keep getting fatter and
fatter while purchasing more and more diet books. You don’t lose
weight because you purchase a diet book. You actually have to go
on a diet.
Another delusion is that we never plan for low probability
events, like a car wreck or somebody getting sick because they
are, by definition, low probability. The problem is there are probably
one million low probability events that can occur, and while
the odds of one occurring are quite slim, the odds of something
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