Patrick Lencioni

about humble?”
“Well, use your judgment. You know what someone looks like who isn't humble, right?”
Craig smiled. “Bobby would probably call him a jackass.”
Jeff laughed. “Bobby is remarkably consistent in his language, isn't he?”
Craig asked Jeff another question. “So what kinds of things would you look for, in terms of humility?”
Jeff didn't hesitate. “Like I said, I think it's more about looking for indications that he's not humble. Arrogance. Condescension. Dismissiveness. Self-centeredness.”

head.
“And if a person had a big ego, they'd think this was a strange place to work.”

Humble is pretty obvious. We can't abide big egos. ­Hungry is all about working hard and being passionate about our work. And smart has to do with being

aware of the people around you and dealing with them in a positive, functional way.”

In his classic book, Good To Great, Jim Collins talks about the importance of successful companies getting “the right people on the bus,

humility, hunger, and people smarts.

I refer to these as virtues because the word virtue is a synonym for the nouns quality and asset, but it also connotes the idea of integrity and morality.

Humility, which is the most important of

the three, is certainly a virtue in the deepest sense of the word. Hunger and people smarts fall more into the quality or asset category. So, the word virtue best captures them all.

Humility is the single greatest and most indispensable attribute of being a team player.