Book In Your (Re)Views

Written By- Richa Goel

                                                               

We all dream about being successful and being management students want to make it big in the corporate world and the best job that we want to land up at is ‘the C.E.O of a big company’. We all know the advantages and pros of becoming one. So when I came across a book dealing with the temptations of being one, I couldn’t resist it. It was an interesting read and raised some questions which I would like to discuss with you. So here is a book review on the book ‘The Five Temptations of a C.E.O’-a leadership fable by Patrick Lencioni.

The book begins with a troubled protagonist Andrew O’Brien who is the C.E.O of trinity systems for the past year. The next day is the one year anniversary of his promotion and he has to account for the past year’s performance which is not so great before the board. He is nervous and burdened. He leaves his office only to find out that the road he takes for home is closed for repairs. So instead of taking the road which would more time, he plans to go by train. The train is not at all crowded. Well actually there is just one janitor called Charlie sitting across him in the compartment.  He plans to finish his work but is interrupted by Charlie and the conversation begins. Charlie explains the five temptations that every C.E.O has to face in his tenure. 

The first being  ‘choosing status over results’. He states that C.E.O’s tend to be more interested in protecting their career status than making sure that their companies achieve results. They worry more about their level of comfort and status than company’s performance. They are more concerned about their image. The second temptation is ‘choosing popularity over accountability’. C.E.O’s tend to give more importance to be liked by his team rather than holding them accountable or telling them what the actual picture is. This lead to the third temptation which is ‘choosing certainty than clarity’. It is a situation where they don’t wants to be criticized. They are afraid that they may be wrong and they don’t want anybody to tell them that so they stick to what has been said and done. The fourth temptation is ‘to create harmony rather than productive conflicts’. C.E.O’s prefer pleasant and agreeable meetings rather than critical discussions as they think they take up time from the real work but the point is that these conflict meetings lead to best decisions as all the knowledge is out on the table. The fifth and the ultimate temptation is ‘choosing invulnerability over trust’. C.E.O’s are powerful people and being vulnerable around their teams does not seem like a good option. They believe that they lose credibility if their people feel too comfortable challenging their ideas and in return people do not trust their leaders enough to give them an honest opinion.

 Finally after explaining the five temptations Charlie leaves and Andrew seems relieved of the tension of the board meeting and realizes the more important facts . The next day the board meeting is a success and Andrew is honest about a lot of facts about him as well as the organization. Andrew later finds out that Charlie the janitor he met at the train was actually C.E.O of his own company.  But in the end, three years later we find that the company has another new C.E.O and the company is in great shape. When he is being complemented for his work, he explains the board that he did not deserve the credit. It was possible because he had a conversation with Andrew O’ Brien during a train journey.

In conclusion we can say that ultimately C.E.O’s sink to one of the temptations and which leads to their suffering as well as that of the organizations they manage. The book also provides with suggestions and rationales to deal with the five temptations. The book also highlights something more important, it warns that not only does a C.E.O have to avoid these temptations, every individual needs do that. We all have to be clearer about ourselves, our goals, our visions, more trusting towards other people, more open to criticism. We should come in terms with the fact that we can be wrong. Saying the right thing is important even if it means that you have to deal with some tough consequences. Taking bad decisions is better than taking no decisions. Finally, the book is successful in leaving an impression and motivating us to become better individuals that will help us in becoming better managers.