The Five Temptations of a CEO: A Leadership Fable

Every CEO understands that "it's lonely at the top." That loneliness contributes to temptations that can cause an otherwise dedicated executive to go down the wrong path. In this leadership fable, Lencioni, president of The Table consulting group in the San Francisco area, stimulates our thinking with an enjoyable story that captivates the reader's attention. Identifying with Andrew, a troubled CEO, isn't difficult at all . . . and may even be a bit uncomfortable. The discomfort dissolves with the learning that comes in page after page.
Working late on the night before an important board meeting, Andrew O'Brien finds himself on a commuter train. Alone. Except for Charlie, who appears to be a janitor. A conversation develops through which Charlie, an unexpected source of wisdom, shares valuable insight and perspectives with Andrew.
The lessons are built around the five temptations that lead CEOs astray. The fable is well-woven and thought-provoking. Following the story, Lencioni presents his model: a summary of why executives fail. A self-assessment concludes the book. Though I wasn't that excited about the self-assessment, the value of the balance of the book overcomes any deficiencies I might see in those few pages.
The Five Temptations are choosing status over results, choosing popularity over accountability, choosing certainty over clarity, choosing harmony over productive conflict, and choosing vulnerability over trust. Lest you think that you can now avoid reading this book because you know the secrets, let me admonish you that merely knowing the words is considerably different than understanding the concepts. That benefit will come with reading the book, then applying the learnings to strengthen your personal performance.
This quick read can make a significant difference in your effectiveness and happiness.

This is one in a series of "leadership fables" in which Patrick Lencioni shares his thoughts about the contemporary business world. His characters are fictitious human beings rather than anthropomorphic animals, such as a tortoise that wins a race against a hare or pigs that lead a revolution to overthrow a tyrant and seize control of his farm.

In his Introduction to this book, Lencioni observes that all chief executives who fail -- and most of them do at one time or another - make the same basic mistake: "Essentially what they are doing is putting the success of their organizations in jeopardy because they are unwilling to face - and overcome - the five temptations of a CEO." Briefly, here's the fictitious situation. Lencioni introduces Andrew O'Brien who is about to complete his first year as CEO of Trinity Systems, a position to which he was promoted after four years with the company. He is about to participate in the first board meeting in which he will be held accountable for the results of an entire fiscal year. "Those results, as he had grown accustomed to saying, were `unspectacular at best.'" He dreads the meeting. Almost immediately, it becomes obvious that Andrew's career is in serious jeopardy...and he knows it as he leaves the office shortly after midnight and takes a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) commuter train to return home.

What then happens allows Lencioni to dramatize for C-suite executives - and especially for CEOs - the importance of recognizing and then resisting the aforementioned temptations. Once aboard the train, Andrew meets and engages in a conversation with Charlie that continues when they are joined by the Bald Man, the Stylish Man, and the Tall Man. As a result of this extended conversation, Andrew has the business equivalent of a religious epiphany: he realizes why his leadership as CEO has been, until now, "unspectacular at best" and also realizes what needs to be accomplished during the board meeting the next morning.

Lencioni adds a nice dramatic touch when there is a brief encounter in the hallway after the board meeting. Andrew sees a maintenance man hanging a photograph, "wearing the same color shirt that Charlie wore the night before... Turning toward the end of the hallway, Andrew saw the old man turn the corner. He yelled `Sir?! Charlie?' The old man did not answer or reappear. Andrew sprinted to the end of the hall, turned the corner, and saw no one." The significance of this moment is best revealed within the narrative, as are the circumstances at Trinity Systems three years later, examined in the final chapter.

At least 8-10 years ago, Lencioni apparently made a conscious decision to address especially important business issues by creating a human context for each rather than merely offering answers to questions or prescribing solutions to problems. To me, this is one of the greatest benefits of a business narrative, in this instance of a leadership fable: Creating a series of real-world situations (albeit portrayed fictitiously) that readers can identify with emotionally as well as rationally. He is a brilliant business thinker but he also possesses the skills of a master raconteur as he introduces a cast of characters, develops conflicts between and among them, and then allows "rising action" to build to a climax that is also best revealed within the narrative. Unexpected plot developments engage the reader even more.

As is Lencioni's custom in each of the other volumes in the series of "leadership fables," he concludes with a section -- "The Model: A Summary of Why Executives Fail" (Pages 111-130) -- whose value-added benefits will help his reader to make effective application of the lessons learned from Andrew's experiences as he struggles with various temptations as well as with the consequences of his decisions...and non-decisions. The questions posed in the self-assessment section are especially well devised. Easy to ask, of course, but difficult to answer.

Those who share my high regard for this volume are urged to check out Patrick Lencioni's other "leadership fables" (especially The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive) as well as Ram Charan's Know-How, Adrian Slywotsky's The Upside, Michael Ray's The Highest Goal, David Maister's Practice What You Preach, Bill George's Authentic Leadership and his more recently published True North, James O'Toole's Creating the Good Life, and Michael Maccoby's Narcissistic Leaders.

Despite the title, this business fable by Lencioni is written for any type of leader. The book challenges the reader to undergo a self-assessment of one's own growth areas. A central theme of the book is that true courage is the ability to accept the responsibility of your own failures in leadership and make the necessary adjustments.

In a nutshell, to overcome the five temptations of a CEO:

Choose results over status,
choose accountability over popularity,
choose clarity over certainty,
choose constructive conflict over harmony, and
choose trust over invulnerability.

By way of criticism, there is a feeling that Lencioni's fables are beginning to become a bit too formulaic. Reading the full text takes less than 2 hours, and one wonders if this would have made a better magazine article than a book. Nevertheless, I have worked for enough poor leaders-and occasionally, been one-to know the value of these lessons.

Hotshot CEO learns effective leadership principles from nutty janitor

Andrew O'Brien, a San Francisco (USA)Bay Area tech CEO, is in a funk: his company is underperforming and the board meeting is coming up the next day. What to do? Poor Andy finds himself working late when he discovers the bridge he must cross to go home is closed. Andrew decides to use the train, which is practically empty except for one nutty janitor called Charlie. After much hesitation and mutual sizing-up the two men finally began to talk, and Andrew soon learns that Charlie is a knowledgeable son of a railroad ex-CEO. It is from this conversation that Andy learns how CEOs like him often fail or succeed. The lessons are that

(1) successful CEOs focus on results,unsuccessful CEOs are egotistical; (2) successful CEOs are accountable, unsuccessful CEOs are popular; (3) successful CEOs seek clarity of efforts, unsuccessful CEOS prefer certainty of outcomes; (4) successful CEOs face conflicts head on, unsuccessful seek appeasement; and (5) successful CEOs are trusting, unsuccessful CEOs are mistrusting.

The book describes effectively the five unsuccessful habits (temptations) CEOs often fall into. I like the book; it demonstrates clearly that the foundations of effective leadership are mundane and nearly all trivial, and it communicates them in ordinary prose. This is another example of "what they don't teach leaders in business school" - a required reading on leadership, for sure.

Voxi Heinrich Amavilah, Author
Modeling Income Determinants in Embedded Economies : Cross-section Applications to US Native American Economies ISBN: 1600210465

Patrick Lencioni is a results zealot. He says that "being the chief executive of an organization is one of the most difficult challenges a person can face in a career. But it is not a complicated one." Use this book (and the worksheet from his website) at a future staff meeting to shed light on the functions of leadership.

It's been 10 years since I first read this book. After reading it again this month, I've moved this 134-page gem onto my "read-once-a-year" short list. It's that good and that important. Patrick Lencioni's best-selling leadership fable showcases the five temptations of a CEO. While the book touches on many of what I call the "20 management buckets," it's really all about the Results Bucket.

Lencioni delivers deadly serious solutions to the five temptations of CEOs. All leaders and managers must: 1) Choose results over status; 2) Choose accountability over popularity; 3) Choose clarity over certainty; 4) Choose conflict over harmony; and 5) Choose trust over invulnerability.

Discussing the second temptation, he writes, "Work for the long-term respect of your direct reports, not for their affection. Don't view them as a support group, but as key employees who must deliver on their commitments if the company is to produce predictable results. And remember, your people aren't going to like you anyway if they ultimately fail."

Note: Lencioni encourages teams to passionately "air their ideological differences" at meetings. He writes, "Tumultuous meetings are often signs of progress. Tame ones are often signs of leaving important issues off the table." Here's a good question to ask at your shop: Does our team culture encourage productive conflict or are we pushovers for harmful harmony?

Lencioni spins a fable to explain why so many CEOs fall into the "Peter Principle," meaning they fail at being CEO when they were outstanding and focused on the way up.

The five temptations he outlines in a very readable fable are: 1. Choosing status over results, 2. Choosing popularity over accountability, 3. Choosing certainty over clarity, 4. Choosing harmony over productive conflict, and 5. Choosing invulnerability over trust. He weaves these temptations into a story that makes his points while keeping the reader's interests. In a clear and thoughtful manner, Lencioni explains why these temptations are the root of leadership evil and failure.

The advice that seems most pertinent is that executives always want to make things difficult. They lean on "it's more complex than that" when addressing an issue such as why sales aren't increasing, or production is lagging, or the market share is going down. Instead, they need to keep it simple and look at things such as "is the company's vision clear?" "Does everyone understand the vision?" And importantly, if the vision is not clear, then what is keeping the executive team from executing on such a fundamental issue as establishing a vision?

Lencioni provides a rather subjective self-assessment at the end of the book. If you are one of those folks who is honest with themselves and is as objective about your own performance as possible, then the assessment may well give you some insight. Also, there is a summary of the five temptations and a model of how to overcome the temptations. They are essentially stated as the opposite of the temptations, so the first would be; Choose accountability over popularity, etc.

This is one of those books that will go on my bookshelf rather than be passed along to friends of the library or some other used book organization. A quick but provocative read. So if you haven't read it, now's the time!

This book was picked up by my employer. I thought that the book will be boring like CEO's meetings. I was nicely surprised. I love to read fiction books. And this book read like a fiction story. It was engaging. It was written in a simple language. The author had a really great idea for it. It has shown author's creativity.
The writer pointed out five temptations. I agree with most of them. But the chapter should remain open. Humans are complex, so there is so much more to it. But I do agree that sometimes solutions are simple.
I was glad that I really have read the book. It gave me ideas and inspired me.
I recommend this book to people who would need a little bit of entertainment. And for sure, it will provide you with the relaxation you need, freeing you from a stressful life.

Patrick Lencioni, from Table Group. As the cover says, this is a fable to ilustrate the five temptations of an executive. It focus on the CEO but in my opinion can be considered for Executives and C-levels in general. It is short and easy reading (1:30h with several interruptions from my kids during the weekend).
the five temptations are Focus on your Status more then focus on company's results, The desire to be popular with your direct subordinates more than accountability, Certainty over clarity, harmony over conflicts and invulnerability over trust.
You may get a pdf with 2 pages to remind you the model. Recommended to short reading but with substance.

Just gone through Patrick Lencioni's first book The 5 Temptations of a CEO. It is a remarkable book on management issues written as a fiction. Thus it is quite enjoyable reading through the story. It is also easy reading. The setting was a bit scary, where the character met strange persons in a midnight train; sort of a twilight zone story. The day after, the CEO found out that these people were all past CEOs of his companies. I wonder why he didn't recognize them in the first instance. May be these CEOs are from ancient era. The fiction did not state whether they were ghosts, or returned from another time, or just old men still enjoying their retirement. From the lesson learnt on the midnight train, the CEO changed and performed differently at the board meeting the next day. But it was too late. The story took a turn and the leading character CEO turned into the phantom advisor himself.

The theme of the story is of course the temptations. They are all on behaviour and culture which are hard to change. There is nothing about strategic decision, competitive advantage and all sort of management theories. The main thrust is that if the CEO can get over the temptations, then the rest are just routine problems.

1st temptation: Choosing status over results - We've seen much of this in the government. CEOs put their concern on their own status at the expense of actual results. The temptation to preserve one's status is strong. An CEO will not like any damage to be done to his status. They choose the easy way out, deliver less, maintain status quo because less results won't hurt in government but mistakes will. To beat the temptation, one needs moral, ethic and real pride in his work achievement. Status will come this way.

2nd temptation: Choosing popularity over accountability - Everyone like to be popular with others. It is also in the Chinese culture, in particular when the subordinate is older, respectable and is an unchallenged expert in his field. Temptation to be popular kept the CEO from telling his staff the real problem and work expectation although dissatisfaction grew, in order not to hurt his feeling and be in confrontation. The staff did not realize the need to improve and was not given the accountability of his work. The irony is that the CEO would not hesitate to fire the subordinate when it got out of hand and inflicted permanent damage to other's career because the subordinate was gone for good and there was not more confrontation, while the timely honest advice did. Just look at our performance appraisals and you will know how hard to avoid this temptation.

3rd temptation: Choosing certainty over clarity - We learn about rational decision making. Right decisions are based on sufficient information, evaluation of alternatives, and the choice of the most advantageous, or least damaging action. In reality, certainty is unreachable. The maximizer will use up all his time choosing. The temptation to be certain in making the right decision is hard to beat, but it will be lead to no decision, wait-and-see decision, muddy decision or unclear decision. The CEO learned that any decision is better than no decision. Wrong decision is not that bad if it can get the organization working, and clarity in the decision enables early correction of any undesirable results. All roads are not straight.

4th temptation: Choosing harmony over positive conflict - Harmony is the ultimate goal in human spirit. It is also the essence of Zen and many religions. Any kind human being will try to maintain harmony around him. The CEO did not regard creating harmony a temptation. He maintained harmony in his organization, during meetings and at work. The phantom advisor reminded the good effect of productive ideological conflict, that hidden issues could only be revealed in conflict, and truth would come out of debate, and keep the organization lively. On the other hand, pure harmony could stifle creativity and hide grievances.

5th temptation: Choosing invulnerability over trust - It is natural survival instinct that one does not want to be weak, wrong or hurt. It is a great temptation that one should feel invulnerable, and in the process creating suspicion and defense. The CEO learned that in order to fight this temptation, he should know how to admit that he was wrong and trust his subordinates in challenging his ideas. Only then the mistake committed by the organization has a chance to be put right.

Lencioni showed that the sequential impact of the principles of the 5 temptations are in reverse order, starting from the 5th. Instilling trust gives executives the confidence to have productive conflict. Fostering conflict gives executive confidence to create clarity. Clarity gives executives the confidence to hold people accountable. Accountability gives executives confidence in expected results. And results are a CEO's ultimate measure of long-term success.

Why do CEOs fail? According to Patrick Lencioni, they fall prey to common temptations that distract them from their only true responsibility: producing results. The temptations, like the tendency to focus on career status over corporate performance, boil down to very human weaknesses. You won't necessarily learn any real success secrets here, but the reminder to keep these dangerous propensities in mind and under control will be valuable to all executives. This book has gotten rave reviews for its powerful simplicity and vivid prose, but we think the slim volume would have been more effective if it were made even slimmer by cutting out the fable that frames the CEO advice. But nevertheless, we [...] recommend this book as fast and easy reading for CEOs or, likelier, for those still climbing the corporate ladder.

This book follows the thread of so many children's books: deliver your message by putting your main character through a series of challenges and let him (seemingly) come to his own conclusions and emerge a better person because of the experience. By using the janitor character, Lencioni was able to paint a metaphor for the individual perception of success. The message became clear that there are lessons to be learned from everyone no matter who you are. Or, in the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Every man I meet is in some way my superior. In that, I learn from him." And really, the mark of a good leader is to pull from as many sources as possible and treat everyone with respect - regardless of their level. That message shone through.

I generally dislike simplified fable books but this one really clicked for me. I run (and co-own) the business side of a 15-person advertising agency. Despite an MBA and 15 years of experience, leadership has been a hard skill to come by. And for entrepreneurs, realistically, if you're not up to speed, who's going to tell you? This book made me think about which weakness I was prey to (Accountability vs. Popularity). I devised systems to short-circuit my weakness: reworked a lot of systems, changed our interview process, made a lot of structural changes. And I still think about it every day. Most business books will inspire YOU but do nothing to change your staff or your organization. Pat Lencioni's quite right, you can't avoid your shortcomings as a leader and ultimately succeed.

This book outlines, in a fable mode, the five temptations of a CEO. The temptations are : - choosing status over results (i.e. wanting to protect own status instead of focusing on bottom-line results) - choosing popularity over accountability - choosing certainty over clarity (i.e. analysis paralysis - always delaying to make key decisions until all facts are gathered) - choosing harmony over healthy conflict (in meetings) - choosing invulnerability ("I am never wrong") over trust ("I too can make mistakes) in the face of subordinates
Although these temptations are valid, they are pretty much common sense. Moreover, I think there are more than 5 temptations; you may add others, e.g. not wanting to delegate, selecting the wrong people, making intuitive decisions not based on any facts, not willing to learn from setbacks, back down in the face of setbacks (instead of facing it with courage) etc.
Overall, I think this book is ok; easy to read and quite interesting. However, I believe it is too expensive for its content.
If you want to find out about key insights from an 'actual', successful CEO, I suggest you read Michael Dell's "Direct From Dell". Here he described his temptations and how he had coped with them.

Nothing succeeds like success in this follow up fable by Patrick. His books work best when they're relevant to your specific situation. In this case if you're in a leadership role and need a little shot in the arm to do the right thing (although I don't imagine many CEO's reading this book). Recommend passing on this rather light fare and looking over Patrik's "5 Dysfunctions of a Team".

Summary - A CEO has just completed a year with very average results. Staying late for the annual meeting he travels home on the subway and meets a homeless man who asks a few pointed questions...

The Five Temptations of a CEO:

1. The desire to protect their career.

2. The desire to be popular.

3. The need to make "correct" decisions.

4. The belief that it is better for people to get along then have conflict.

5. The desire for invulnerability.

Some additional nice quips from the book:

* Overcoming the 5 temptations: Choose results over status, choose accountability over popularity, choose clarity over certainty, choose conflict over harmony, and choose trust over invulnerability.

* Some exec's fear being wrong so much that they only make a decision when absolutely certain of the results.

* The best way to come up with the right decision quickly is to get everyone together and suck all the honest opinions out and come to consensus.

* If no one feels a little pushed out of place then we probably didn't put all of our issues on the table.

Lencioni understands how to deliver a powerful message via fables. This is not your average "how to be" a CEO book. The 5 temptations that most CEO's suffer from are very real and out there affecting leaders all over the world. If you can master these temptations you can and will be a great CEO.

Loved it!

Another well-crafted Lencioni "lesson as fable" book, "The Five Temptations of a CEO" provides an interesting framework for identifying...and making...important managerial decisions. This book is designed to be read in a single sitting and offers both a fable and an overview of the "Five Temptations of a CEO" framework.

The five temptations outlined by Lencioni are simple, but hard to actualize. While these temptations may be considered counterintuitive to some readers, the context of the fable and the detailed explanation of the Model lay out a solid logical framework for why the trade-offs implied by the temptations make sense.

I was thrilled to pick up this management book that not only had excellent principles, but an intriguing and enthralling storyline that kept me interested all the way to the finish. Five Temptations of a CEO proves an easy read-but certainly not lessons easily tossed aside. These are principles I'll keep with me-regardless of what job or leadership position I may occupy.
The story begins with a struggling CEO, Andrew O'Brien, on the eve of a big, year-end board meeting. Strange occurrences lead Andrew to take the metro system home that evening-and it's on the train where he encounters Charlie, a custodial engineer with a wealth of advice.
Andrew learns from Charlie five temptations that every manager, CEO, teacher, parent or coach might face along their way to success. These are basic temptations that seem very simple-and really are simple. Charlie teaches him that its not in looking for solutions in technology, budget, financials and other usual suspects common to a CEO, but in the common, everyday wisdom that every leader must have.
And for those readers who don't appreciate a good story-or who are just used to the textbook style management books-the five temptations are listed in a summary and self-assessment section in the back. But I won't spoil the ending...

I am amazed at some of the negative reviews about this great little book. I guess these negative people are not familiar with what a FABLE is? I think this book hits all of us executives right in the face with what we all struggle with. I think this is a must read (no, you will not feel like you have just read Atlas Shrugged after you are finished) for all execs, or people who aspire to lead organizations. I am excited to read the rest of the collection

In a story fashion, he describes the behaviors that kill CEOs' chances of creating sustainable value. I have my MBA students read this in our "Managing Emerging Growth Companies" class in Boston. It's an easy read for the entire management team. Kenneth H Marks, lead author of The Handbook of Financing Growth: Strategies, Capital Structure, and M&A Transactions (Wiley Finance)

Pat Lencioni delivers a strong message in this book to anyone in a leadership position, not just CEOs. And that message is that when things go wrong, leaders have themselves to blame. And it offers a challenge to all leaders asking whether the have the courage to accept the responsibility of failure and make the necessary adjustments. The book is effective in its story telling, as well as, being a capable tool for self-assessment. The story of Andrew O' Brien, the CEO of a failing company facing his yearly review, was compelling and all too real. I believe everyone has a little Andrew O' Brien in all of us and, at times a lot more of him in us. This book read like a good Hollywood screenplay with a surprise ending. Along with the story, the book also discussed the points that were mentioned in the story and offers a questions and exercises which can be used as self assessment to determine what temptations the reader may be suffering from. As a graduate student, I am so glad that I have found this book because it has helped me discover some potential temptations that I have and I can get an early start on not falling victim to them. I recommend this book highly to everyone who is in a leadership position. And it should be on the course syllabus for any class teaching leadership or management skills. When I'm in a leadership position this book will definitely be required reading for all of my subordinates.

This book was short, sweet, and to the point. Although it is focused on CEO as the prototype, this really points to anyone in a leadership and managrial role. The fable is illustrative, and the flow chart and short didactic at the end spells out the key message. It's worth pulling out and quickly reviewing once or twice a year to check back into your own personal growth and areas that still need improvement

Overall, this book is worth reading. I have read many, many management books and this one is not the best, but it is worth your time. However, I suggest that you borrow it from your library and save your money for books that you will use for future reference. Take a few notes about the key points, and that's all you will need to retain. Some of the key points caused me to reflect on my management style.

The book starts out OK, but as I finished it up, I said to myself "the author had to really stretch to make his ideas into a book instead of a magazine article". The old trick of using large fonts, generous spacing, and a small page format to add bulk to a book is well applied here. In other words, this book is wearing elevator shoes.

what an excellent fable--so accurate for me at least and the self evaluation was a nice touch on bringing the reader into touch with how he/she may very well be perceived...and the author reassuring the reader with his rating of his own temptations. i read the book twice on a sunday, shared it with my senior management on monday and will include it as mandatory reading for them prior to our vision planning session a week later. it reminds me of the One Minute Manager; clever, simple, as in depth as you wish to take it and a poignant look at today's exec mgmt routine. morally challenging, ethically astute, and a current events for our competitive climate or how to build companies, rather, how to fail them. As a former member of TEC i also would have taken this book to that level for my peers.

It is simply a fantastic book. The errors committed by many a modern day businessleader is so well communicated in the form of a fable. After a long time one has come across a practical book for CEOS and future CEOS. missing this book is like missing a trans-atlantic flight. Bad to miss and hard to put down once started.
i strongly recommend this to all middle and senior management folk in this world. All the same it would not harm if the modern day Politician who happen to be ceos of our countries also invested and read it. Am confident that this is going to take the no 1 spot on the best sellars list. move over"who moved my cheese.. u have competion.

Now matter what your position within an organization, soul searching using the fable is incredible. This book touched the areas of human weakness, the ones we never want to acknowledge. The faults that we struggle with each day are cleverly laid out so that we can find peace with them. The toughest temptation was to put this book down before I finished it. As is usual, finding faults within ourselves is tough, admitting to them is a tougher battle. This is a great book.

Lencioni consistently writes the truths of good leadership that, as you read them, seem to be common sense. However, these insights are exactly what today's leaders overlook and need to employ to ensure not only a successful company, business, or non-profit, but a healthy one.

Patrick Lencioni is not just a business man but an aspiring screen writer. He writes a story with the idea of teaching the reader about leadership. The book reminds me of another book I enjoyed, Ken Blanchards, Gung Ho! After Five Temptations takes you through the 'fable' it then summarizes and applies the material to your personal experiences using questions. I also like the way Patrick repeats the lessons throughout the book many times over. It helps with retention. Simple ideas to focus on, difficult to cure. I can't wait to read your other books.

This book is a mildly interesting diversion, suitable for passing the time at the airport or elsewhere. It offers some interesting comments on CEO's failings, mainly around that they put themselves and their own egos and intersts above the company's.
It is written in classic almost formulaeic management-book style: a simple story is given a title with numbers and a simple "law" it is also so basic that it can be applied and expanded to many situations, epsecially if you are gullible. Gives the impression that this was witten entirely for the money.

The book does deliver a message, but one that should be delivered via a short magazine article. It's amazing how someone can stretch a thought so far and create an entire book. I've read countless numbers of books that try elaborate on a list of something...in reality, all you need is the list. If you read the reviews of this book, you've read the book.

The five lessons in this book are well worth noting, but getting there is extremely painful. The lessons in this book are thought-provoking and challenging. Looking at my career, I have falling into a few of these traps myself.

Unfortunately, it reads as if it were written by a 7th grader. Much of this book is painfully awkward dialog. Fortunately it is short so the pain doesn't last long. Just get a running start and plow through it as fast as you can!

Patrick Lencioni has successfully distilled a wide variety of difficult issues that CEOs deal with on a daily basis into five easy-to-remember "temptations." Although told in a deceptively simple fable form, the lessons are timeless and memorable. I look forward to his future books

The authors delivers a great message to any CEO, Manager, Team Leader or even any employee to how and what to watch during his working life. The success is not only for CEO's and Highly Educated individuals. It is for every individual that is aware of success.
Great Job....

The book gives a very interesting and innovative way of portraying the reasons for success or failure of CEO's. Written in a fable format gives the reader a sense of reading a fiction novel thus creating more interest in pursuing the rest of the book.

This book is impossible to put down and Lencioni mixes a healthy dose of reality with a fictitional context. I am ordering this book for every executive in our company. A must read.
-Scott Sorochak VP Bus Dev-DoDots