Managing a company need not be complicated, and being a CEO should be conceptually simple. True, business leaders face difficult problems and challenges, but they eventually get the results they want. Complications arise when CEOs refuse or fail to focus on the source of the problem. They are distracted by side-issues and get confused because they succumb to one or more of the five temptations that face every business leader.

The author uses a fable to expose the inherent human temptations that create barriers to successful leadership. CEOs, at one time or another, fail to overcome the temptations which are deceptively simple since they are considered human nature. The book sweeps away the confusions that prevent managers from achieving their goal — guiding them away from the pitfalls of the five temptations.