The Cranky Middle Manager Show #312 The Future of the MBA Ken Starkey
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #228 Mojo with Marshall Goldsmith
Posted on 18. Feb, 2010 by Wayne in Podcast
Today Wayne Turmel talks to Marshall Goldsmith about his book “MOJO: How to Get It, How to Keep It,How to Get It Back If You Lose It” We also look at Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans and Henry David Thoreau. This is Marshall’s fourth visit with us, and the man keeps coming back for more.
Dr. Marshall Goldsmith is with us again to talk about his book MOJO and to help ours a little…..
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Show Notes
0:00 Welcome to the show once again. Today we talk about MOJO, and so we dedicate this to the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans- Marie Laveau who got her power less from dark powers than from actually listening and paying attention- lessons to the wise.
4:30 The quote of the week is from Henry David Thoreau. Whether you call it enthusiasm, mojo, flow or anything else without it you’re a dried husk of yourself.
5:20 Welcome back for the fourth time Dr. Marshall Goldsmith. He’s here to talk about Mojo, the subject of much discussion and blues songs. It’s the positive spirit towards what we’re doing now that starts inside and radiates outward. If any group needs to keep their mojo working it’s us.
7:20 We start out with good intentions, why do we lose our mojo? It’s because our default reaction is not to experience happiness or meaning…. it’s to stay in a state of inertia. We also find out that the world’s most famous executive coach has a coach- what’s your excuse?
11:15 Keeping your mojo in line is a discipline. Marshall talks about the Mojo Meter but it’s really two questions: 1) How happy was I (with what was going on) and 2) How meaningful was that (event, interaction)? You can measure both your professional mojo and personal mojo. Very rarely is one in line separate from the other.
13:30 Employee engagement is way down. Instead of having the company try to do it, what can each of us do for ourselves? We have responsibility for the suckage (my word, not Marshall’s).
15:10 Marshall takes a bit of a detour to the Checklist Manifesto and how a little humility would serve us well. He also tells a great story about the US Top Guns…. If it really WAS life and death, how humble would you be?
17:15 The four areas of mojo are Achievement, Identity, Reputation and Acceptance. Is your identity what you think it is and how does it impact your mojo? Your identity might be created, reflected or programmed? Bono is a great example.
20:00 A big part of all this is acceptance. If you can’t accept how things are, you have two choices: Change “it” or change you. Hard to get your mojo working if you fight battles you know you can’t win. Marshall challenges me on my whole mission in life. One of us has a better grip on things than the other. Guess which one is whom.
23:15 One last piece of advice if you feel your mojo slipping: focus on now. Not next week or next year. What can you do to increase happiness at this moment?
Marshall’s Resources
MOJO The Book (includes an app for Blackberry and iPhone)
Other Marshall Goldsmith Cranky Middle Manager Interviews:
What Got You Here Won’t Get You There (Cranky #79)
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