One of my absolute favorite business authors is Patrick Lencioni. I am the proud owner of all eight of his books, starting with his first, “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” written in 2002. One of my co-workers first introduced me to Lencioni’s writings, saying excitedly, “Here we are! This book is about us!” Sure enough, it was. We learned a lot by reading the book, discussing the ideas brought forward, and seeing the possibility of a better future.
If you haven’t read his work, Lencioni writes in an easy-to-read leadership fable style. He uses the last section of each book to take the key lessons shared in the story and show us real business life applications. By applying all of his philosophies, we can have a blueprint for real leadership.
The most recent book, “The Three Big Questions for a Frantic Family,” takes the same theories used in business leadership and applies them to family life. What is the most important organization in our lives? Family. Who is the leader or on the leadership team? We are. How do we lead that organization successfully? Good question.
The questions Lencioni asks us to consider are important ones. Think about how to apply these basic business leadership functions to your family life:
- Strategizing
- Defining a mission
- Establishing agreed upon values
- Goal setting
- Holding meetings
- Planning
- Discussing outcomes
To read more about Lencioni and his organization, The Table Group, or his writings, click here. In the meantime, you might want to pick up a copy of this book. As the subtitle states, it is “about restoring sanity to the most important organization in your life.” What a positive thought!
