It’s hard to believe that it has been ten years since Patrick Lencioni burst onto the national scene with his best-selling book, The Five Temptations of a CEO. I never will forget reading that book for the first time and learning about the five temptations:

Since this book came out in 1998, Patrick has had even greater success with The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, The Three Signs of a Miserable Job, Death by Meeting, Silos Politics and Turf Wars, and The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive. These books have become business classics—and required reading for Orlando Magic employees—and have lifted Patrick to a highly treasured slot as one of America’s business gurus. You will not want to miss absorbing the many truths and life lessons that he offers.

I have shared the speaking podium with Patrick on a number of occasions. He’s an even better speak than writer, if that is possible. His ability to mesmerize an audience with humor, brutal frankness, and wise counsel makes him a highly sought-after lecturer. I am most impressed, however, with Patrick’s people skills. Despite his awesome success and fame, he remains approachable as he is never too busy or distracted to spend time talking with his fans.

I predict that The Five Temptations of a CEO will have greater success on the second go-round than on the first. If you missed it before be sure to read it thoroughly and then start applying the valuable lessons to your life immediately. Your success as a CEO is guaranteed to reach the highest levels.

Pat Williams
April 2008

I must admit that I find it surprisingly difficult to reflect on the last ten years since the publishing of my first book, The Five Temptations of a CEO. Some of that is just my personality, but most of it is due to the fact that the last decade for me has been a blur.

In the year that the book was published, my wife gave birth to our first children (twin boys), we bought our first home, and a group of friends and I started a little consulting firm called The Table Group. Unbelievably, the nine years that have followed have been busier than the first one.

Since that time, my family has grown (two more boys), as has our consulting firm. I’ve been blessed to write five more books. To my surprise, I’ve also been asked to consult and speak to many wonderful organizations, companies, schools, and of course, churches. And so much of the opportunity I’ve had is due to the success of my first little book, one that was largely an accident.

More than ten years ago, I began consulting to a handful of CEOs from organizations of various sizes and industries. Over time, I began to notice a few consistent behavioral patterns—five actually—that seemed to be causing problems for these leaders, and I did what I do most naturally. I talked about it.

I explained my evolving theory to anyone who was interested, and I learned that people actually thought it made sense. And then one day a client said, “Pat, you should write a book about this.” I initially dismissed the idea as flattery, until that person said, “Well, if you don’t do it, someone else will.” And so I decided to be an author.

Wanting to tap into my interest in screenwriting, I decided to convey my message in the form of a fable. And with the support of my wife and the constant urging of a dear friend, I finally finished the book with generally low expectations that it would ever get published. In fact, my colleagues and I at The Table Group talked about taking the manuscript to Kinko’s and making copies to give to prospective clients.