The 12 Bad Habits That Hold Good People Back: Overcoming the Behavior Patterns That Keep You From Getting Ahead

By James Waldroop and Timothy Butler

Book Overview

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to rise effortlessly to the top, while others are stuck in the same job year after year? Have you ever felt you are falling short of your career potential? Have you wondered if some of the things you do-or don't do-at work might be hamstringing your ambitions? In The 12 Bad Habits That Hold Good People Back , James Waldroop and Timothy Butler identify the twelve habits that-whether you are a retail clerk or a law firm partner, work in technology or in a factory-are almost guaranteed to hold you back. The fact is, most people learn their greatest lessons not from their successes but from their mistakes. The 12 Bad Habits That Hold Good People Back offers the flip side to Stephen Covey's approach in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People , zeroing in on the most common behavior that can impede a career. Based on over twenty years of research as business psychologists, the authors claim that the reasons people fail in their jobs are the same everywhere. Only after these detrimental behaviors have been identified can the patterns that limit career advancement be broken. Using real-life accounts of clients they have worked with at Harvard and as executive coaches at such companies as GTE, Sony, GE, and McKinsey & Co., Waldroop and Butler offer invaluable-and in some cases, job-saving-step-by-step advice on how readers can change their behavior to get back on track. For anyone seeking to achieve his or her career ambitions , The 12 Bad Habits That Hold Good People Back is a powerful tool for unleashing true potential.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385498500
• ISBN13: 9780385498500
• Release Date: October 2001
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.74 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.5" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

If you are fired or in a career rut, read this

Some books are Godsent for those who are perplexed and truly want to know the answers to their problems. This is one of them. If you have been recently fired or are in a career rut, and don't completely understand why, then buy this book and read it cover to cover. The odds are VERY high you have more than one of the 12 bad habits which is killing your career.As always, it takes some humility to admit your own flaws and correct...

Complexity and perscipacity

I use the words complexity and perspicacity to discuss this book because the nature of the material the authors write about--the human mind and its behavior--is necessarily complex, while the authors display a very acute sense of those complexities.If you are a well-read, emotionally literate, self-aware person, this book contains many ideas and tools you can use to "get ahead" in business. Its scope, however, is not limited...

A book every manager needs to read

At one time,managers (and the lawyers who represent management,like myself)could be content with one way to handle poor performers---write them up and then fire them.No more,with employees as a company's greatest asset.This book deals with the ones that always drive you nuts---90% of the time they are great employees,but the other 10% of the time they are terrible and harm the organization.The book looks at 12 types,ranging...

Essential Reading, especially in today's tough job climate

Many of us, including myself, spend a huge amount of time and energy trying to "get the job done" not realizing that some of the behavior patterns are making our work lives more stressful, less effective and in some cases making you---or your employee---a difficult person to work with.I picked this up after searching online for a career transition book. The authors, two guys from Harvard, have written a really fantastic guide...

Overcoming Bad Thinking Habits to Improve Career Performance

Think of this book as a psychologically-based opposite to Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The authors are both business psychologists, executive coaches for those with career problems, and directors of MBA career development at Harvard Business School. The book is well illustrated with examples of their concepts, drawn from actual cases they have worked on. I suspect you will recognize people you...