The Five Temptations of a CEO: A Leadership Fable

"This book provides extraordinary insight into the pitfalls that leaders face when they lose sight of the true measure of success: results. This model is required reading for my staff."
—Eric Schmidt, chairman of the board and CEO, Novell

Any executive can learn how to:

• recognize the mistakes that leaders can make
• avoid errors before they occur
• and much more!

Refreshingly original and utterly compelling, the story of this executive (written to be read in one sitting) will be enjoyed, remembered, and reread for years to come. It serves a timeless and potent reminder that success as a leader can come down to practicing a few simple behaviors—behaviors that are painfully difficult for each of us to master.

"Lencioni delivers a provocative message: CEOs mainly have themselves to blame when things go wrong. If you're a CEO (or any manager for that matter), do you have the courage to face the blame? Doing so could change your future-for the better."
—Dr. Jerry Porras, coauthor, Built to Last; professor, Stanford School of Business

You won't find any dry management rhetoric in this razor-sharp novelette. Apply these riveting lessons in leadership with the self-assessment at the end of the book. It will change your career!

Amazon.com
Imagine running into the ultimate management mentor late one night on an otherwise deserted commuter train, and walking away from the strange encounter with an encapsulated guide to success in the corporate world. That's exactly what screenwriter and business coach Patrick Lencioni has done in The Five Temptations of a CEO: A Leadership Fable, placing his tale in an easy-reading and thought- provoking kind of self-help novel.

Designed to be read in a single sitting, this book uses the unexpected meeting between troubled high-tech honcho Andrew O'Brien and a mysterious old man named Charlie to explore a series of common traps that can unwittingly ensnare any hard-driven executive. Lencioni hones in on the five "temptations" of the workplace: desires to jealously guard career status, consistently remain popular with subordinates, unfailingly make correct decisions, constantly strive for an atmosphere of total harmony, and always appear invulnerable. A discussion of the story's events and their real-world implications follows, as Lencioni shifts from screenwriter mode to business coach to help answer some of the questions he raises. --Howard Rothman

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All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Getting clear on a few things . . ., 2008-08-05
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!


0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Straightforward Framework for Managerial Decision Making, 2008-07-23
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.


0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Good Book, Save Your Money, 2008-07-19
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.


0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

thought-provoking, 2008-06-28
a good, quick read to illustrate some important principles to consider in leading an organization. would recommend to any leader or aspiring leader.


0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Pretty good, 2008-06-23
Nutshell review - A decent book outlining some of the mistakes leaders make. Worthwhile reading and not only for leaders but anyone in a managment position. Written as an easy to absorb story.

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