Patrick Lencioni

Here’s another author whose work adorns the bookshelves of many organization presidents and C-Level leaders (CEO/CFO/CIO). I also find his books in many of the corporate libraries I browse among our clients all over North America … and for good reason.

Lencioni’s books feature fictional characters facing familiar organizational problems. Readers at every level of the organization can relate to complex issues being addressed, the characters facing those issues, and the settings in which they evolve.

Lencioni’s work will never be confused with that of your typical academian. I’m quite certain that’s by design. Each of his eight bestsellers, selling 2.5 million copies in 20 different languages, is a quick and easy read. Readers quickly identify with his fictional characters and welcome his simple solutions to these complex challenges.

A former Bain consultant and HR exec at Oracle, Lencioni, started his business, The Table Group, in 1997 because he felt most consultants ignored organizational health. The name of his firm speaks volumes about the man and his associates. The name is based on their belief that the single most important and effective tool in business, even in this era of technological advancement, remains the table. There is simply no substitute for the basic idea of people sitting down together around a table to resolve the critical issues around their business, whether those issues relate to operations, strategy or teamwork. Yet, how many organizations invest the time and energy to do so in today’s chaotic business environment?

The Table Group is a firm dedicated to helping organizations, and the people who work within them, become “healthier” and more effective. They provide consulting and speaking services, as well as a host of products and tools to leaders who want to improve teamwork, clarity and morale within their companies.

Over the past decade, the firm has worked with a variety of world-class organizations, including Fortune 500 companies, hospitals, churches, schools, military and professional sports organizations.

As a consultant and keynote speaker, he has worked with thousands of senior executives and executive teams in organizations ranging from Fortune 500s and high tech start-ups to universities and non-profits. He has delivered dozens of keynote addresses on leadership, organizational change, teamwork and corporate culture.

He is frequently interviewed for national media including features in the Wall Street Journal and USA Today. Fortune Magazine has listed him as one of “10 new gurus you should know.” He is on numerous advisory boards and sits on the National Board of Directors for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

In addition to his seven successful business books, he has recently applied his management insights to assist overwhelmed families—who, he says, need the same kind of help his clients do. The 3 Big Questions for a Frantic Family: A Leadership Fable about Restoring Sanity to the Most Important Organization in Your World is destined to be his next best seller.