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

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.

As he stared out the picture window from his office, Andrew O'Brien wondered how it had come to this. Tomorrow would be the one-year anniversary of his promotion to CEO. It would also be the first board meeting where 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."

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

Then things got worse.

In this stunning business fiction debut, Patrick Lencioni delivers a powerful wake-up call to all of us who dare to lead.

Young, ambitious, and overwhelmed Andrew O'Brien personifies a part of every leader as he wanders in search of the elusive silver bullet that will propel him to success. He happens upon an unlikely guide who distills the seemingly infinite list of leadership perils into the five temptations of a CEO. In an intense and often combative exchange, the two debate fundamental issues faced by all leaders-issues involving personal integrity and effectiveness in the ongoing struggle for success. While some of these topics have been bandied about in the leadership literature for years, here they actually begin to make sense.

Refreshingly original and utterly compelling, Andrew's story (written to be read in one sitting) will be enjoyed, remembered, and reread for years to come. It serves as 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.

Library Journal

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.