Book Review: Getting Naked

I just finished reading Getting Naked: A Business Fable About Shedding The Three Fears That Sabotage Client Loyalty by Patrick Lencioni of The Table Group.  If nothing else…Pat has the market on the coolest book title ever!  This is Lencioni’s 8th and most recent leadership fable.  I have read them all and have found each of them to contain something that I can add to my leadership toolbelt.  I especially appreciate the way that Lencioni is able to maintain his status as a best-selling author, internationally sought after speaker, and well-known consultant without compromising his Christian values.  Every one of his books makes it very clear that he does business and leads his team from a biblical perspective.

The whole premise of this book is that you have to be willing to set your own goals aside in favor of what is best for the person or people you are serving.  Lencioni addresses the three main fears that people have in dealing with others and provides strategies for dealing with them.

Here are his thoughts…

  • A Fear of Losing the Business drives a service provider to protect their client base, business opportunities and revenue by censoring feedback and avoiding difficult issues.
    To Overcome: Give Away the Business, Consult Instead of Sell, Tell the Kind Truth, Enter the Danger
  • A Fear of Being Embarrassed impedes a service provider’s ability to provide open, honest insights because they hold back their ideas, hide their mistakes and edit themselves to save face.
    To Overcome: Ask Dumb Questions, Make Dumb Suggestions, Celebrate your Mistakes
  • A Fear of Feeling Inferior challenges a service provider’s assumption that they must preserve their social standing with the client at all costs.
    To Overcome: Honor the Client’s Work, Make Everything about the Client, Do the Dirty Work, Take a Bullet

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