Triggers: Creating Behavior That Lasts—Becoming the Person You Want to Be
by Marshall Goldsmith, Mark Reiter
Why You'll Love This
Most self-help tells you what to change — Goldsmith focuses on the invisible forces that stop you from changing at all.
- Great if you want: practical tools for breaking deeply ingrained behavioral patterns
- The experience: brisk and conversational — reads more like a smart coaching session
- The writing: Goldsmith leans on sharp case studies over theory, keeping it grounded
- Skip if: you want deep psychological research rather than practitioner wisdom
About This Book
Why do smart, well-intentioned people keep failing to become who they want to be? Marshall Goldsmith argues it's not a lack of willpower or desire—it's the invisible triggers embedded in our daily environments that hijack our behavior before we even notice. A careless comment, a stressful commute, an unpleasant meeting: each quietly shapes who we become in ways we rarely examine. Goldsmith, one of the world's most sought-after executive coaches, makes the case that lasting change requires understanding the specific situations that provoke us—not just our intentions going into them.
What distinguishes this book as a reading experience is Goldsmith's disarmingly candid voice. He draws on decades of coaching CEOs and leaders, but the lessons land without jargon or condescension. The structure is methodical yet conversational, moving from diagnosis to practical tools—particularly his daily active questions framework—in a way that feels immediately actionable rather than abstract. Co-written with Mark Reiter, the prose stays lean and purposeful throughout, trusting readers to do the deeper work rather than drowning them in theory.