Originally published by Dr. Marshall Goldsmith on LinkedIn: Please Read This! For Leaders & Coaches…
A Letter from Marshall Goldsmith
Dear Friends,
I am 67 years old.
It is time for me to give back!
Last year, I was recognized as the Thinkers 50 #1 Leadership Thinker and the #1 Executive Coach in the World. My latest book, Triggers, was a #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller. This year, the editors at Amazon.com listed my books, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There and Triggers as two of the top 100 leadership and success books ever written (in their ‘to read in your lifetime’ series). Over my nearly 40 years in Executive Education, I have had the privilege of working with over 200 major CEOs.
My new project is called 15 Coaches. I am going to teach 15 people everything that I know – for free. This is my small way of honoring the many wonderful teachers and leaders who have so generously helped me – without ever asking for anything in return – people like Frances Hesselbein, Alan Mulally, Paul Hersey, Richard Beckhard, Warren Bennis, Peter Drucker – and many more.
The only ‘fee’ for this mentoring is that the 15 Coaches who are selected have to promise to do the same thing for 15 other people when they get older. My hope is that this pay it forward project may ultimately benefit hundreds, or even thousands, of people.
Applicants for 15 Coaches could be other coaches, consultants, professors, teachers, HR professionals or leaders in any type of organization – anyone who feels that he or she can benefit from what I have learned in my four decades of coaching and teaching. I would love to end up with a diverse group that includes people from around the world and from both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations.
Applications are due October 15th. (Link here.)
Many of the top leaders and thinkers in the world have graciously agreed to work with me on this project. They are donating their valuable time to help our 15 coaches make a positive difference. We will have our first meeting on December 2 (for dinner) through December 4 (ending around 2 PM) in Phoenix, Arizona. We will be joined by several fantastic leaders and thinkers, including Alan Mulally, former CEO of Ford. Alan has been recognized by CEO Magazine as CEO of the Year in the United States and by Fortune Magazine as the #3 Greatest Leader in the World.
Given that we already have over 2,000 applicants, it is obvious that only a small percentage of the people that apply will be selected. As a small ‘thank you’ for applying, all applicants will be able to attend my series of webinars – at no charge – in 2017.