Season IX | EP 4: Marshall Goldsmith. Student of Drucker. World's #1 Executive Coach. Beautiful Thinker. Artwork

The Beautiful Thinkers Project

Join Carolyn Hadlock, founder and President of The Beautiful Thinkers Project as she interviews creatives, founders, creators, leaders, and visionaries to discover what makes beautiful thinking.

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The Beautiful Thinkers Project

Season IX | EP 4: Marshall Goldsmith. Student of Drucker. World's #1 Executive Coach. Beautiful Thinker.

December 19, 2025 • Carolyn Hadlock, Founder/President • Season 9 • Episode 4

What if the biggest risk isn't failure—it's staying down when life knocks you flat? Marshall Goldsmith didn't become the world's #1 executive coach by accident. He sat in the back of Paul Hersey's classroom for months serving coffee for free, studied under Peter Drucker, and learned that credibility must be earned twice: first by doing good work, and second by making sure people know about it.

From IU Kelley School of Business to coaching CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, Marshall reveals why happiness and achievement are independent variables, why your good work will never speak for itself, and why the hungry ghost—always eating but never full—is the trap that catches every high achiever.