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.