Valley Grad Trains Corporate Stars

Marshall Goldsmith credits JCPS teachers with getting him on path to success 

By Mark Hebert

He’s written 51 books, seven of which have been best sellers. He’s taught classes and given speeches in 102 countries and coached some of the most famous company executives in the world. Oh, and he’s accumulated a staggering 11 million frequent flier miles on American Airlines. And for Marshall Goldsmith, it all started at an elementary school in Southwest Jefferson County.       

Goldsmith grew up in a house on Dixie Highway and attended Kosmosdale and Watson Lane Elementary Schools, both of which are no longer school buildings. Goldsmith is proud of his days at both of those Jefferson County Public Schools, one of which (Kosmosdale) Goldsmith recalls only had four classrooms and an outhouse for a bathroom.

“The schools were very good to me,” Goldsmith said. “I had some good teachers who really helped me.”

Goldsmith progressed to Valley High School which, at that time, had students in grades 7-12. He graduated in 1967 and headed to Rose-Hulman University, one of the most prestigious engineering schools in the country, earning his diploma in just three years. He picked up a couple more degrees at Indiana University and UCLA and landed a teaching job at Loyola Marymount University (LMU). When a fellow LMU professor needed someone to fill in at a leadership training event that paid $1,000, Goldsmith quickly volunteered and discovered his calling.

It was the catalyst for a long, successful career as one of the best-known corporate coaches in America, training well known executives like Liz Smith of Bloomin' Brands and Ford Motor Company's Alan Mulally, pictured with Goldsmith.  

While it may sound like Goldsmith was an overachiever who found success from day one, he says that’s not what happened.

“I wasn’t necessarily the best role model as a teenager,” he said with a chuckle. “I think at Valley I may have been the first one picked up by police for being drunk and disorderly at age 14.” 

He says he was always in trouble and, despite being a bright kid, got a D in math his junior year. But with the help of some of his teachers, Goldsmith got straightened out.

“The teachers were patient enough to put up with me and it all worked out with this distinguished career,” he said. “My psychology teacher at Valley got me interested in psychology and now I write these (leadership and self-help) books using what I first learned from her. There were just a lot of positives at Valley.” 

His book “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There” has sold more than one million copies. His latest effort is titled “The Earned Life” and “is a road map for ambitious people seeking a higher purpose” according to the description on Amazon.com. 

Before his executive coaching career took off, Goldsmith was a substitute teacher for a time at Valley and other JCPS schools. He says the teaching experience was “enlightening” and instilled in him “a little humility.”

“I realized there were kids who were just as smart as me, they just didn’t have the opportunities I had,” he said.

Now, Goldsmith flies around the globe giving speeches and helping CEOs better themselves. He gives back to JCPS from time to time, speaking at schools or donating time in other ways. Goldsmith is a member of the Valley High School Hall of Fame.

He currently lives in Nashville with his wife of 48 years.

For more stories about JCPS' Great Grads click here.