by Patrick Lencioni, 2016
Self-help, business-help book on how to be an ideal team player and find and cultivate ideal team players. Wish I’d known this when I was working! We sure got fooled a number of times. As I look back, I can see that if we’d had this model – humble, hungry, and [people] smart – we could have avoided some really unfortunate hires. Adam recommended this book to me. He heard about it from his ‘little friend’ he met at the Christmas Light luncheon.
‘Humble’ – giving credit where credit is due, not caring about ‘status,’ putting others before one’s self. “Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.” C.S. Lewis. At the end of the book, he writes that Jesus is the most compelling example of humility and he hopes people see that humility is the greatest gift and the divine origins of that gift.
‘Hungry’ is the desire to work as shown by being self-motivated, having a healthy work ethic, willing to put in extra time and go the extra mile when it is necessary to get the job done well.
‘Smart’ refers to people-smarts. A person with people-smarts recognizes and praises others, understands how their words and actions affects others and makes adjustments as necessary, listens well to others, and engages others.
It’s fun to think about people I’ve worked with and for and determine what they were lacking in one of these three areas. Also, it’s fun to think about the professional tennis players and see who is an ideal team player. So few of them have all three traits. It’s sobering to think about myself and see where I am lacking.
Adam is an ideal team player. He is truly humble, hungry, and smart. I’m so proud of him! He certainly didn’t get those traits from me!
There are questions to use in the interview process to try and find out if the candidate is humble, hungry, and smart. These are very helpful. For humility, look for genuinely complimenting others, being able to admit mistakes, willing to take on grunt work, sharing credit, acknowledging weaknesses, and readily offering and receiving apologies. For hungry, look for a feeling of personal responsibility for the mission, being willing to contribute after-hours, being willing to do tedious or challenging work.
For smart, look for interactions that show they are aware of others’ feelings, show empathy, show interest in other people’s lives, listen attentively to others, and have an awareness of how their words and actions may affect others and adjusting them accordingly.
Excellent book – told in the style of a novel using an example of a construction company having to change leadership and then hire a bunch of people for two huge projects. Good dialogue and likable characters make the ideas real.