The Five Temptations of a CEO, 10th Anniversary Edition: A Leadership Fable

by Patrick M. Lencioni

Overview

A commemorative edition of the landmark book from Patrick Lencioni

When it was published ten years ago, The Five Temptations of a CEO was like no other business book that came before. Highly sought-after management consultant Patrick Lencioni deftly told the tale of a young CEO who, facing his first annual board review, knows he is failing, but doesn't know why.

Refreshingly original and utterly compelling, this razor-sharp novelette plus self-assessment (written to be read in one sitting) serves as a timeless and potent reminder that success as a leader can come down to practicing a few simple behaviors that are painfully difficult for each of us to master.

Any executive can learn how to recognize the mistakes that leaders can make and how to avoid them. The lessons in The Five Temptations of a CEO, are as relevant today as ever, and this special anniversary edition celebrates ten years of inspiration and enlightenment with a brand-new introduction and reflections from Lencioni on new challenges in business and leadership that have arisen in the past ten years.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780470918234
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	06/15/2010
Series:	J-B Lencioni Series , #36
Sold by:	JOHN WILEY & SONS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	403 KB

About the Author

PATRICK LENCIONI is president of The Table Group, a San Francisco Bay Area management consulting firm. In addition to his work as an executive coach and consultant, Pat has also written a number of screenplays. Previously he held key positions at Sybase and Oracle. He began his career at Bain & Company. Over the years, Pat has worked with hundreds of executive teams and CEOs-all victims, at one time or another, of the five temptations.

Read an Excerpt

Andrew

Andrew O'Brien hadn't been the last person to leave the offices of Trinity Systems for the past five years. In fact, he hadn't stayed past midnight since taking the job of CEO.

As he stared out the picture window from his office above San Francisco, he wondered how it had come to this.

Tomorrow would be the one-year anniversary of Andrew's promotion. It would also be the first board meeting in which he would be accountable for the results of an entire fiscal year. Those results, as he had grown accustomed to saying, were "unspectacular at best."

But the results didn't bother Andrew as much as his state of mind did. Lately, he wasn't comfortable walking the halls of his company. He didn't feel at ease leading his own executive staff meetings. And certainly he wasn't looking forward to meeting with the board tomorrow. They probably wouldn't be too tough on him, he thought, but they wouldn't be patting him on the back either.

Andrew O'Brien could not deny that he was at a low point in his tenure as CEO, a point he never expected to reach so soon.

And then things got worse.

Table of Contents

Introduction.

The Fable.

The Model: A Summary of Why Executives Fail.

Self- Assessment.

Editorial Reviews

"A must read for all leaders, not just CEOs. Take it from someone whohas been tempted. Better than a personal coach." (Boyd Clark, president and CEO, The Tom Peters Group)

"Pat Lencioni delivers a provocative message: CEOs mainly havethemselves 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, co-author, Built To Last; professor, Stanford School of Business)

"A truly enjoyable story. I found myself immediately trying to decidewhether I had fallen victim to the temptations. I think most executiveswill be able to recognize parts of themselves in this well-written,enlightened book!" (Ellyn McColgan, president, Fidelity Investments Tax Exempt Services Co.)

"This book provides extraordinary insight into the pitfalls that leadersface when they lose sight of the true measure of success-results. Thismodel is required reading for my staff." (Dr. Eric Schmidt, chairman and CEO, Novell Corporation)

From the Publisher

This tape presents the story of Andrew, a CEO, and the five temptations he faces in management. The central part of the work is a quirky dream. Very simplified, the temptations are putting self first, wanting to be liked rather than to lead, making decisions reluctantly, elevating harmony above productive argument, and not trusting subordinates. The author's discussions at the end of the story help clarify the main points, and the narration is nicely done by Boyd Gaines. Some of the ideas are good, but the advice is not consistently insightful. Recommended only for libraries with large management collections.--Mark Guyer, Stark Cty. Dist. Lib., Canton, OH Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

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