Three Signs of a Miserable Job
by Patrick Lencioni

The latest book by consulting guru Patrick Lencioni takes on one of the most basic premises of all humans: work.  I’ve been a fan of his books ever since I stumbled across The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.  Like all his books, the first 80% is written as he calls “a fable.”  Basically, he puts the principles into the context of a story.  Then, he spends the last 20% reviewing the principles and connecting all the dots.  I almost didn’t write a review of this book for the blog because I didn’t think it related to discipleship.  Then I smacked myself.  Of course how we work is discipleship.  Following Jesus comprises every part of our life and most people spend most of their life at work.  We had all better figure out what it means to be a disciple while we work.  How could I have been so shortsighted!?

Synopsis: Working on the assumption that most people are not fulfilled in their jobs, Lencioni focuses on three signs of job misery (hence the title!)  He identifies them as anonymity, irrelevance, and immeasurement.  Anonymity, as you might well imagine, is not being known as a person by your boss or manager.  Irrelevance is not understanding how your particular job helps fulfill the mission of the company or how it impacts the lives of others (both customers and coworkers).  Immeasurement is not being able to see how successful you are at your job (Lencioni maintains that position and salary do not necessarily reflect your success.) 

On the good side, here are some pluses I found in the book…

• The fictional fables at the beginning of his books work.  While he’s no literary giant, he does an admirable job of teaching in a fictional context.  Also, if you pay close attention to all his books, you’ll see that characters all connect in some way.  The fable also makes the reading see quick.
• While some of his topics seem geared toward a strictly corporate audience, this book applies to virtually everyone who has a job.  Also, it isn’t just for executives.  If you manage anyone at any level (from one person to 1000), you’ll find his principles helpful.
• There are some on-line tools that go along with the book for free here.  I appreciate the fact that paying $15 for the book gets me something on-line as well (unlike authors who charge for all the
•  online tools associated with their books.)
• This book seems to have tremendous application in a ministry setting, especially when it comes to working with volunteers.
• This book is as easy to read as Dr. Seuss (actually, probably easier.)  You can finish the whole thing is a couple of hours.

On the not so good side, here are some things I think would have made the book better…

• The only weakness I really saw was that Lencioni didn’t spend a lot of time helping to connect the theory with the practice.  I’m totally on-board with the three principles, but I’m struggling with how I would implement them both on my team and with my volunteers.  Anonymity and irrelevance are easy to address.  The one I think is difficult is immeasurement.  He gives a few examples, but I would have liked to see much more.
• Just to have a second bullet point, I hated the white cover and dust jacket.  It shows dirt and greasy finger prints (in my case from the popcorn and Doritos.)

In the end, keep this in mind…
The last page of the book is crucial.  It is there that Lencioni talks about ministry a little bit (and admits that he feels like he should have gone into ministry!)  He says, “And I suppose that the real shame is not that more people aren’t working in positions of service to others, but that so many managers haven’t yet realized that they already are” (p. 254.)  God places in this world to shine His light to others and how we work can be the brightest source of God in the lives of those we work with.  I highly recommend this book for anyone who has a job, manages people in any way, or works with volunteers.