Sales success often comes in waves. In the wake of a “great sales month,” many salespeople begin to relax assuming that their success will simply continue in the same fashion. What often results, however, is a slump in sales performance. The panic that ensues reinvigorates the salesperson, after which his or her performance begins to rise once again.
If you examine this phenomenon in a context larger than sales performance, you’ll see that complacency and overconfidence can adversely affect all aspects of your success. So, how do you avoid falling prey to the tendency to rest on your laurels? Marshall Goldsmith, in his book What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful, explores some of the bad habits that stifle the continued success of many successful people. He also suggests seven steps to overcome these habits and realize your true potential.
Here’s a summary from Amazon:
“America’s most sought-after executive coach shows how to climb the last few rungs of the ladder.
“The corporate world is filled with executives, men and women who have worked hard for years to reach the upper levels of management. They’re intelligent, skilled, and even charismatic. But only a handful of them will ever reach the pinnacle -- and as executive coach Marshall Goldsmith shows in this book, subtle nuances make all the difference. These are small ‘transactional flaws’ performed by one person against another (as simple as not saying thank you enough), which lead to negative perceptions that can hold any executive back. Using Goldsmith’s straightforward, jargon-free advice, it’s amazingly easy behavior to change.”
