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The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business by Patrick Lencioni
_mac_'s review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
3.75
I'm a big fan of Lencioni, this book is a bit of a compendium of his other work, in a non-fiction form (most of his other work is in the form of "business tales").
If you are familiar with his other work you can safely skip this one, but if you are not, this is a good one to start with, as it will probably let you decide if and what other work from him you would like to read.
If you are familiar with his other work you can safely skip this one, but if you are not, this is a good one to start with, as it will probably let you decide if and what other work from him you would like to read.
the_david_cooke's review against another edition
4.0
I am the Executive Director of a small non-profit I founded by my passion to provide educational resources for parents and family members struggling to navigate their lives around a loved one's addiction. As I was returning from my latest awareness and outreach project, I found myself assessing the direction, sustainability, and scalability of my organization. I returned committed to building a better business model with a clearer sense of purpose and direction. This book has become an excellent resource for this project. Even though I have a small team, myself and a board of directors, the activities in The Advantage remind me of the most critical components of leadership, strategy, structure, and process as I take my organization forward. An excellent resource for anyone looking to build a sustainable business with a focused team to fulfill its core purpose.
wickenden's review against another edition
5.0
Well thought out, clear, and useful for any organization.
michaelmck5's review against another edition
5.0
I believe a lot of businesses suffer from the shortcomings that Lencioni describes as unhealthy issues in organizations. He especially nails the problems many leadership teams have with trust and aversion to meetings. He lays out a solid and practical foundation for what a healthy company is and some very practical ways to improve.
xteenb's review against another edition
5.0
Very easy reading, very easy concepts. But then love is an easy concept, but hard to get right. Creating a healthy workplace is hard work with simple, even common sense steps to take to get there. I'm sure many readers will react with a "duh" followed by "oh wait, I don't really do that. I totally neglected that."
While this is a book about leadership I couldn't help but read it as someone who left a job because of a lack of leadership. It helped me shape a new story for my experience at the U. I kept hitting my head into walls for two reasons. One was that my core value of enhancing the student experience came up against the institution's core value of faculty independence and government. When it came to student (or even university) interests against a single faculty's, the faculty would almost always win.
The second realization was that I had failed to over-communicate. When I began my work there, I spent a lot of time educating leadership and others. Leadership sometimes used my own words because they were so familiar to them. After I stopped lobbying, educating and informing, other voices became louder. And since leadership was not making tactical decisions based solely on reactive impulse, my voice simply never got mind share.
This book also reminded me of how wonderful it is to work on a healthy team. Our team's conflicts used to worry others but never us. We had seen the creative ideas and work that conflict stimulated. We did not worry about who had what role or what responsibility and knew that we could offer comments on a colleague's work. We expected them to do the same with us. We held each other accountable and celebrated reaching our shared goals. It's just too bad that our leadership never took the time to either endorse or condemn our goals. We would have felt more valued either way.
While this is a book about leadership I couldn't help but read it as someone who left a job because of a lack of leadership. It helped me shape a new story for my experience at the U. I kept hitting my head into walls for two reasons. One was that my core value of enhancing the student experience came up against the institution's core value of faculty independence and government. When it came to student (or even university) interests against a single faculty's, the faculty would almost always win.
The second realization was that I had failed to over-communicate. When I began my work there, I spent a lot of time educating leadership and others. Leadership sometimes used my own words because they were so familiar to them. After I stopped lobbying, educating and informing, other voices became louder. And since leadership was not making tactical decisions based solely on reactive impulse, my voice simply never got mind share.
This book also reminded me of how wonderful it is to work on a healthy team. Our team's conflicts used to worry others but never us. We had seen the creative ideas and work that conflict stimulated. We did not worry about who had what role or what responsibility and knew that we could offer comments on a colleague's work. We expected them to do the same with us. We held each other accountable and celebrated reaching our shared goals. It's just too bad that our leadership never took the time to either endorse or condemn our goals. We would have felt more valued either way.
walstonz's review against another edition
4.0
Builds of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. While it covers the five dysfunctions, it adds more insights into the concept of organizational health. I recommend starting with Five Dysfunctions of a Team, as it is more applicable to new managers, but as you move up the leadership ranks and gain experience, this book will give more big picture value.
"Organizational health refers to how well an institution's components fit together so it can function together consistently as a whole."
"The five core ingredients of a good leadership team are trust, constructive conflict, commitment, accountability, and results."
"Employees don't leave if they are getting the levels of gratitude and appreciation they deserve."
"Accountability is about having the courage to confront someone about their deficiencies and stand in the moment and deal with their reaction."
"People will not actively commit to a decision without the opportunity to provide input, ask questions, and understand the rationale behind it."
"Organizational health refers to how well an institution's components fit together so it can function together consistently as a whole."
"The five core ingredients of a good leadership team are trust, constructive conflict, commitment, accountability, and results."
"Employees don't leave if they are getting the levels of gratitude and appreciation they deserve."
"Accountability is about having the courage to confront someone about their deficiencies and stand in the moment and deal with their reaction."
"People will not actively commit to a decision without the opportunity to provide input, ask questions, and understand the rationale behind it."
mattroche's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent structure and system. Every leader should read this.
But the style is a little worn out at this point. Found myself "chunking" the book by the end because Leoncini has not really evolved his style over the 20 years he has been writing and it shows. Nobody says "old wives' tale" anymore, and GE is long past being understood as a company to be emulated.
But the style is a little worn out at this point. Found myself "chunking" the book by the end because Leoncini has not really evolved his style over the 20 years he has been writing and it shows. Nobody says "old wives' tale" anymore, and GE is long past being understood as a company to be emulated.