The Five Temptations of a CEO: A Leadership Fable | 
 enlarge | Author: Patrick M. Lencioni
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
Category: Book
List Price: $22.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  64 reviews
Sales Rank: 8426
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 160
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.9
ISBN: 0787944335
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
UPC: 723812944330
EAN: 9780787944339
ASIN: 0787944335
Publication Date: September 28, 1998
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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
Product Description
Absorbing, compelling, and utterly memorable, The Five Temptations of a CEO is like no other business book that's come before. Author Patrick Lencioni—noted screenplay writer and sought-after executive coach -- deftly tells the tale of a young CEO who, facing his first annual board review, knows he is failing, but doesn't know why. "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!
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| Customer Reviews: Read 59 more reviews...
Straightforward Framework for Managerial Decision Making July 23, 2008
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.
Good Book, Save Your Money July 19, 2008
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.
thought-provoking June 28, 2008
a good, quick read to illustrate some important principles to consider in leading an organization. would recommend to any leader or aspiring leader.
 Pretty good June 23, 2008
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.
This fable style is very useful in management science teaching May 6, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
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.
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