Breathing and asking 'is it worth it?' before speaking helped Fred, the resistant CEO, accept direction from his private equity owners; he made the shift from 'they can't tell me what to do' to respecting the actual power structure and serving as CEO effectively for 12 years.
causalpending
Speaker
Marshall GoldsmithEvidence Quote
“not only can they tell you what to do you know what fred i'm going to tell you exactly what to do... if you do exactly what i tell you i may save your sorry butt... fred you know what he did he he salutes the flag... that was 12 years he was the ceo of that company did a great job”
Source
Lessons from a Life of Leadership | Marshall Goldsmith | Knowledge Project 142— The Knowledge Project PodcastCreated: 8/11/2026, 1:11:16 AM
My Notes
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