About the Book
A PARABLE OF GROWTH, RESILIENCE, AND SUCCESS
Todd Turner's billion-dollar baby is sinking--fast--and the start-up founder is doing what he's always done: blame other people. That's when a chance encounter with a legendary executive coach teaches him that he'll need to change his actions if he has any hope of turning his business--and life--around. After all, what got him here won't get him there. Will a great coach be what Todd needs to confront reality and step up as a leader? And will the lessons he learns help him take strategic actions to transform his company--and his life?
Drawing on the wisdom of Marshall Goldsmith, the world's most renowned executive coach, Why Can't They Be Like Me? is a parable about growth, resilience, and success in the face of failure. Coauthored with Claire Díaz-Ortiz, it asks the question: How do you change the trajectory of a leader in crisis?
About the Author :
Marshall Goldsmith is the founder of the Marshall Goldsmith Group and 100 Coaches. The inaugural winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award for Leadership by the Institute of Coaching at Harvard Medical School and a Thinkers50 Hall of Fame inductee, he is also a professor of management at the Dartmouth Tuck School of Business and a board member for the Peter Drucker Foundation. He received his PhD from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. In his coaching practice, he has advised more than 200 major CEOs and their management teams. Marshall is the author or editor of more than thirty-five books, including What Got You Here Won't Get You There and The Earned Life: Lose Regret, Choose Fulfillment, written with Mark Reiter.
Claire Díaz-Ortiz, a partner at 100 Coaches, is a celebrated author and leadership expert who was an early employee at Twitter. Wired called her "The Woman Who Got the Pope on Twitter," and Fast Company named her one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business. Claire is the author of ten books that have been translated into eleven languages, including One Minute Mentoring (coauthored with Ken Blanchard). Claire was named to the Thinkers50 Radar list of emerging management thinkers, and holds an MBA and other degrees from Stanford and Oxford.
Review :
"The perfect primer on executive coaching--when you need it, why it works, and how it can transform your life. Why Can't They Be Like Me? shows you exactly what it's like to supercharge your leadership with an excellent executive coach. Feedback is the breakfast of champions--and as this book shows, feedback from the right coach is invaluable."
--Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The One Minute Manager(R)
"This book is a mirror that high achievers can't look away from. It's bold, funny, and painfully real--because the hardest leadership lesson isn't about strategy or execution. It's about you."
--JD Meier, executive coach, author, and former innovation coach to Satya Nadella
"If you want to get a look at the real value of coaching, read Why Can't They Be Like Me? It's a fresh take on how leaders can navigate their blind spots and achieve breakthrough performance. I highly recommend!"
--Alisa Cohn, author of From Start-Up to Grown-Up
"OOOO, that's how it works! A compelling and timeless story that you won't be able to put down on how to grow as a leader through Openness to change, Openness to feedback, Openness to action, and Openness to accountability, by the world's best."
--David Noble, leadership coach and senior advisor to Egon Zehnder and the Institute of Coaching
"A refreshingly real and relevant parable! The book's insight for becoming a coachable leader will help those looking to achieve breakthrough performance. A rare business book that you'll want to read in one sitting!"
--Sanyin Siang, Duke University professor and Thinkers50 Hall of Fame inductee
"A great exploration of what it truly takes to transform as a leader. The book's portrayal of the coaching relationship feels authentic and nuanced, offering readers a clear picture of both the challenges and rewards of executive coaching. Essential reading for any leader considering working with a coach."
--Mark Thompson, New York Times bestselling author, Thinkers50 legend, and world's #1 CEO coach
"This book perfectly captures the isolation and pressure of being a founder and CEO while offering a pathway to growth that feels both practical and profound. I appreciate learning these lessons through the story of Todd, making it an easy read. He represents so many leaders that wonder why their team can't just see things their way. A compelling read that challenges our assumptions about leadership."
--Michelle Tillis Lederman, author of The Connector's Advantage
"This book stands out for its honest portrayal of both the struggles and triumphs of behavioral change. It highlights that the most important relationship is the one we have with ourselves, and often we need others' help to get to know ourselves. Through Todd's story, we see how the right coach at the right time can help transform not only a leader's effectiveness, but also their entire worldview. A must-read for anyone to make the most of executive coaching."
--Molly Tschang, author, founder, and CEO of Say It Skillfully Inc.
"This compelling parable does what the best leadership books do: it holds up a mirror and refuses to let you look away. It brilliantly exposes the uncomfortable truth that success can become our greatest trap--the world's most accomplished leaders are often the most blind to their need for change. Díaz-Ortiz and Goldsmith's raw, honest story will resonate with any leader brave enough to face the crisis within and transform their greatest nemesis into their most powerful ally."
--Connie Dieken, senior executive coach and founder of The Influence Lab
"This book is essential reading for coaches and executives who want a front-row seat to how real transformative coaching takes place. It reveals how change unfolds--not in a straight line, but through a powerful ripple effect that elevates not just the leader being coached, but also everyone around them."
--Jennifer Goldman-Wetzler, PhD, executive coach, and bestselling author of Optimal Outcomes: Free Yourself from Conflict at Work, at Home, and in Life
"Marshall Goldsmith and Claire Díaz-Ortiz have written a terrific short book that anyone even considering being coached--or even simply the coaching-curious--should read. Eminently readable, the compelling story that they tell is a page-turner that teaches as much as it entertains."
--Peter Bregman, CEO of Bregman Partners and bestselling author of 18 Minutes and Leading with Emotional Courage
"What happens when success becomes your biggest obstacle? This masterful story follows a Silicon Valley CEO's humbling transformation through executive coaching. Díaz-Ortiz and Goldsmith deliver a captivating parable about growth, resilience, and becoming truly coachable."
--Claudius A. Hildebrand, leadership coach and coauthor of The Life Cycle of a CEO
"Developing as a leader is hard, especially when you don't have a guide or a coach. Well, Why Can't They Be Like Me? can be your guide, showing how the fresh perspective on the purpose and practicality of powerful executive coaching can help you become the leader you want to be, and the one your people deserve. Enjoy the read, enjoy the journey."
--Chester Elton, bestselling author of The Carrot Principle, Anxiety at Work, and Leading with Gratitude
