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The message is simple, and makes a lot of sense: companies need a common theme to work towards, and all leaders and employees should tailor their work towards that theme. Basically, imagine the company is in a crisis -- what's actually essential to focus on?

I do feel the book minimizes the human element (i.e. staff members) somewhat -- a moment where the head nurse, who'd started off advocating strongly for what her nurses need to do their jobs, suddenly changes her mind after the leadership team decides on an overarching theme left a bad taste for me. She basically said, "now I see this, I can no longer justify fighting for the stuff my nurses want." And I'm all for finding a shared purpose, but I've seen too often people who aren't on the leadership level work themselves into the ground just for this grand purpose, and while their efforts benefit the company, they themselves receive little of the benefit. Lencioni takes a very executive-centric view, which is totally fair, and probably what executives should be focusing on. And like I said, I fully agree with the need for companies to find a shared purpose, and shared priorities. I would just prefer a much more compassionate approach to leadership, that takes into account the company's people along with the (not necessarily financial) bottom line.

I think part of the frustration for me is that the book suggests that the company decides its main purpose and central goals, but all the operational stuff still needs to continue going on. And again it makes sense -- obviously, you can't stop doing sales and accounting and legal stuff while you focus on the big goal. But I feel that Lencioni missed the mark in not asking leaders to reflect on how these operational goals tie into their big goals. Perhaps it's implied, but the way the fable is framed, it almost seemed like it's all just extra work to pile on to the staff, so they need to keep the trains running on time, so to speak, while still helping the company move to the big goal. Why not take some time to reflect on those operational bits and pieces, and help employees understand how each of those bits actually contributes towards the shared goal?

Still, I like the idea that leaders should all agree on the main goal, and I agree that silos often occur when leaders are engaged in their own turf war, while their staff really just wants to get along and do the work. So there's also a lot within this book that I agree with. Overall, I'm not super sure where I land on the ideas and suggestions Lencioni writes, but the book's making me think on stuff about leadership and company culture.