Episode 134: Patrick Lencioni – Naked Consulting: Why It Works

I read Pat’s Leadership Fable, “The Five Dysfunctions Of A Team” many years ago and became a huge fan of his work.  “Getting Naked” is another seminal piece on shedding fear.  You’ll notice on this episode that Pat also has a great wit and sense of humor.  I was learning and laughing throughout the conversation.

Pat Lencioni is the founder of The Table Group and the author of 10 books which have sold nearly 5 million copies and been translated into more than 30 languages. The Wall Street Journal called him “one of the most in demand speakers in America.” He has addressed millions of people at conferences and events around the world over the past 15 years. Pat has written for or been featured in numerous publications including Harvard Business Review, Inc., Fortune, Fast Company, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek.

As CEO, Pat spends his time writing books and articles related to leadership and organizational health, speaking to audiences interested in those topics and consulting to CEOs and their teams.

Episode 134: Patrick Lencioni – Naked Consulting: Why It Works

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The Learning Leader Show

“Getting naked… Being completely transparent has been the key to our success.”

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

  • Humility is the core virtue of sustained excellence
  • A drive for excellence is imperative to be successful – Southwest Airlines
  • Why don’t most leaders do this? They think it’s beneath them
  • How do you not get fooled in the hiring process? Pat answers…
  • “Scare people with sincerity”
  • Why the phrase “it’s just business” is horrible
  • Why his business is called The Table Group
  • It’s important to enjoy each step of growth.  If you don’t enjoy owning one restaurant, you won’t enjoy owning 20 of them
  • Getting naked – Being 100% transparent
  • Don’t sell… Help.  Start to do stuff for a potential client immediately.  Help them from the very beginning before they’ve paid you anything.  They will eventually beg to give you money.
  • Naked Consulting =
    • Don’t be afraid to lose the business
    • Don’t be afraid to be embarrassed – Ask questions
    • Don’t be afraid to feel inferior to your client.  Help them.  Clean the office, carry supplies, do the little things
  • The Ideal Team Player is:
    • Humble
    • Hungry
    • Smart
  • Keynote speech process? Make people an insider.  Make it so they are in on it.  Don’t present, just talk as you normally would.  Be honest.
  • A great learning leader is humble enough to know that she is learning constantly

“The best piece of technology is a table.”

Continue Learning

You may also like these episodes:

Episode 130: Ryan Holiday – What Is Your Greatest Enemy? Your Ego

Episode 127: Adam Grant – How Originals Impact The World

Episode 126: Jayson Gaignard – Mastermind Talks – An event with a lower acceptance rate than Harvard

Episode 114: Cal Newport – Deep Work Is Your Super Power

Did you enjoy the podcast?

This was a jam packed episode full of great content.  Pat Lencioni is leader who is constantly learning in order to help us all live a better life. Who do you know that needs to hear this?  Send them to The Learning Leader Show!

Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell

Bio From TableGroup.com  

Pat Lencioni is the founder of The Table Group and the author of 10 books which have sold nearly 5 million copies and been translated into more than 30 languages. The Wall Street Journal called him “one of the most in demand speakers in America.” He has addressed millions of people at conferences and events around the world over the past 15 years. Pat has written for or been featured in numerous publications including Harvard Business Review, Inc., Fortune, Fast Company, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek.

As CEO, Pat spends his time writing books and articles related to leadership and organizational health, speaking to audiences interested in those topics and consulting to CEOs and their teams.

Prior to founding The Table Group, Pat worked at Bain & Company, Oracle Corporation and Sybase.