At The Table with Patrick Lencioni

Where do you actually do your best and most important work?

Work does not always happen where, when, or how people expect it to happen. In episode 275 of At The Table, Pat Lencioni and Cody Thompson explore why thinking, brainstorming, reflecting, and solving problems should count just as much as the visible activity people typically associate with productivity. They challenge leaders to create cultures that measure people by meaningful contribution and results rather than how busy they appear at their desks.

Topics explored in this episode:
(00:00) Where Does Work Really Happen?
Pat questions whether traditional work hours and office spaces accurately reflect when people are actually doing their most valuable work.
Cody expands the conversation by asking a more fundamental question: what should actually qualify as work?

(03:43) Making Space for Different Kinds of Work
Pat explains why choosing to stay away from the office for an hour of focused creative thinking can sometimes be more productive than immediately sitting at a desk.
Pat and Cody discuss how personality, Working Genius, and the nature of a person's responsibilities can influence where and how that person works best.

(07:27) What Leaders Should Measure
Pat challenges CEOs to consider whether they want employees thinking about their work outside traditional work hours and argues that overly rigid boundaries can discourage that engagement.
Cody pushes the idea further by questioning why computer work and task completion are so often treated as more legitimate than meetings, conversations, and creative thought.

(10:57) The Four Types of Work
Pat introduces a two-by-two framework that divides work into thinking versus doing and collective versus solitary.
The conversation explores why each type of work may require a different setting and why organizations should deliberately create room for thinking rather than defaulting constantly to execution.

(14:32) Effectiveness Over Visible Productivity
Pat argues that healthy cultures can give people more freedom over how they work while still expecting meaningful results.
Pat and Cody conclude that organizations should judge contribution by the work that actually needs to be accomplished rather than whether productivity is visibly demonstrated through desk time and constant activity.

This episode of At The Table with Patrick Lencioni is brought to you by The Table Group: www.tablegroup.com. We teach leaders how to make work more effective and less dysfunctional. We also help their employees be more fulfilled and less miserable.

Subscribe for more content from Patrick Lencioni @PatrickLencioniOfficial

Stay Connected with Patrick Lencioni
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-lencioni-orghealth
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At The Table with Patrick Lencioni
Apple: https://tablegroup.me/apple
Spotify: https://tablegroup.me/sptfy
YouTube: https://tablegroup.me/youtube

Be sure to check out our other podcast, The Working Genius Podcast with Patrick Lencioni, on Apple Podcasts (https://workinggenius.me/apple), Spotify (https://workinggenius.me/sptfy), and YouTube (https://workinggenius.me/wgyt).

Let us know your feedback via podcast@tablegroup.com.

This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co.

Why might physical work become more valuable as AI advances?

Physical, hands-on work may be entering a new era of relevance as artificial intelligence changes the future of desk-based careers. In episode 274 of At The Table, Pat and Cody explore how tangible work can provide economic stability, human connection, visible accomplishment, and opportunities for personal development. They also challenge leaders and parents to consider whether efficiency should always take priority over the dignity, growth, and satisfaction that meaningful work can provide.

Topics explored in this episode:
(00:00) Why Physical Work Is Becoming Cool Again
Pat introduces the growing appeal of physical, present, and tangible work as artificial intelligence begins replacing more computer-based tasks.
Pat and Cody examine how previous generations encouraged young people to pursue white-collar careers rather than jobs involving physical skill or direct service.

(03:40) The Unexpected Value of a Tree Service
Pat shares the story of Rocky Hernandez, who built a successful tree-service business after coming to the United States without a formal education.
Rocky’s son may discover that taking over and expanding the family business offers more opportunity and security than remaining in a high-tech career.

(07:17) The Satisfaction of Visible Results
Cody explains how physical work changes people by requiring them to do difficult things and experience the concrete results of their effort.
Pat broadens the definition of physical work to include teaching, childcare, restaurants, healthcare, customer service, and other careers built around human presence.

(11:36) Work, Entrepreneurship, and Human Dignity
Cody contrasts an automated lawnmower with a 13-year-old neighbor who started a lawn-care business to earn money for a ski pass.
Pat and Cody discuss why decisions about automation are also moral decisions involving personal growth, opportunity, dignity, and the kind of people work helps create.

(15:03) Learning Differently and Building Something Real
Pat considers how technology companies can preserve physical, customer-facing work while artificial intelligence reduces the need for certain technical roles.
Pat and Cody predict changes in higher education and encourage families to recognize the practical wisdom of careers that produce tangible, visible results.

This episode of At The Table with Patrick Lencioni is brought to you by The Table Group: www.tablegroup.com. We teach leaders how to make work more effective and less dysfunctional. We also help their employees be more fulfilled and less miserable.

Subscribe for more content from Patrick Lencioni @PatrickLencioniOfficial

Stay Connected with Patrick Lencioni
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-lencioni-orghealth
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patricklencioniofficial
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@patricklencioniofficial
X: https://x.com/patricklencioni

At The Table with Patrick Lencioni
Apple: https://tablegroup.me/apple
Spotify: https://tablegroup.me/sptfy
YouTube: https://tablegroup.me/youtube

Be sure to check out our other podcast, The Working Genius Podcast with Patrick Lencioni, on Apple Podcasts (https://workinggenius.me/apple), Spotify (https://workinggenius.me/sptfy), and YouTube (https://workinggenius.me/wgyt).

Let us know your feedback via podcast@tablegroup.com.

This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co.

Why can two people leave the same meeting with completely different understandings?

A newcomer’s perspective reveals something experienced professionals often forget: work is far messier and less logical than it appears from the outside. In episode 273 of At The Table, Pat and Cody examine how fear, nonverbal communication, personality differences, and unspoken assumptions cause even healthy teams to misunderstand one another. They also explain how stronger meeting discipline, good intentions, and greater grace can help organizations navigate that messiness and move in the same direction.

Topics explored in this episode:
(00:00) A Newcomer’s View of Work
Pat shares a surprising observation from his son Michael’s first summer working in an office environment.
Michael notices that people can understand their jobs and speak the same language while still missing the deeper meaning behind one another’s words.

(04:31) Why Alignment Is So Difficult
Pat and Cody discuss why even successful companies are filled with the complications and misunderstandings that come with being human.
Organizational health can become a significant competitive advantage, but getting everyone to row in the same direction requires more than frameworks and good intentions.

(09:15) Fear and the Things People Do Not Say
Electronic communication makes misunderstandings more likely, but even face-to-face conversations leave important meaning unspoken.
Employees may withhold concerns because they fear appearing negative, losing relational capital, or being viewed as poor team players.

(13:49) Building Clarity Before the Meeting Ends
Teams can improve alignment by reviewing what they discussed, what they decided, and what needs to be communicated outside the room.
Even disciplined teams should assume that some percentage of the apparent clarity in a meeting may be incomplete or misunderstood.

(18:14) Grace, Good Intentions, and Healthy Organizations
Personality differences can cause people to interpret the same words literally, generally, or metaphorically, creating frustration even among people who trust one another.
Healthy organizations acknowledge the messiness of work while hiring humble, hungry, and smart people who can assume the best and work through misunderstandings.

This episode of At The Table with Patrick Lencioni is brought to you by The Table Group: https://www.tablegroup.com. We teach leaders how to make work more effective and less dysfunctional. We also help their employees be more fulfilled and less miserable.

Subscribe for more content from Patrick Lencioni @PatrickLencioniOfficial

Stay Connected with Patrick Lencioni
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-lencioni-orghealth
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patricklencioniofficial
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@patricklencioniofficial
X: https://x.com/patricklencioni

At The Table with Patrick Lencioni
Apple: https://tablegroup.me/apple
Spotify: https://tablegroup.me/sptfy
YouTube: https://tablegroup.me/youtube

Be sure to check out our other podcast, The Working Genius Podcast with Patrick Lencioni, on Apple Podcasts (https://workinggenius.me/apple), Spotify (https://workinggenius.me/sptfy), and YouTube (https://workinggenius.me/wgyt).

Let us know your feedback via podcast@tablegroup.com.

This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co.

What happens when your business starts treating profit as the goal instead of the indicator?

In episode 272 of At The Table, Pat and Cody challenge one of the most common assumptions in business: that maximizing profit should be the goal. They argue that profit is essential, but when leaders treat it as a company's purpose, they risk harming customers, employees, products, and culture. Leaders are invited to decide what is enough, invest in what matters, and build organizations that create value beyond the bottom line.

Topics explored in this episode:
(00:00) The Assumption Behind Profit
Pat introduces the problem with assuming that maximizing profit is the goal of business.
Cody points out how natural that assumption feels, even for people who have never studied business formally.

(03:00) Winning Without Running Up the Score
Pat compares business to football, explaining that the goal is to win, not to score as many points as possible.
Cody expands the analogy by explaining why eliminating competition can hurt innovation, customers, and the overall game.

(07:27) Value Beyond the Spreadsheet
Cody distinguishes between maximizing profit and creating value for customers, employees, and the broader organization.
Pat explains why some business decisions, like giving away bread at a restaurant, may create long-term value even if they do not show up neatly on a spreadsheet.

(10:29) The Damage of Extracting Too Much
Pat describes how companies can burn goodwill with customers when they constantly squeeze them for more revenue.
Cody and Pat discuss planned obsolescence, AI, and the danger of replacing human value with decisions driven only by financial gain.

(15:48) Purpose, Ownership, and Enough
Pat connects the conversation to The Advantage and the importance of knowing why a business exists.
Pat and Cody explain how The Table Group has chosen longevity, peace, and a healthy work experience over chasing maximum growth and profit.

This episode of At The Table with Patrick Lencioni is brought to you by The Table Group: www.tablegroup.com. We teach leaders how to make work more effective and less dysfunctional. We also help their employees be more fulfilled and less miserable.

Subscribe for more content from Patrick Lencioni @PatrickLencioniOfficial

Stay Connected with Patrick Lencioni
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-lencioni-orghealth
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patricklencioniofficial
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@patricklencioniofficial
X: https://x.com/patricklencioni

At The Table with Patrick Lencioni
Apple: https://tablegroup.me/apple
Spotify: https://tablegroup.me/sptfy
YouTube: https://tablegroup.me/youtube

Be sure to check out our other podcast, The Working Genius Podcast with Patrick Lencioni, on Apple Podcasts (https://workinggenius.me/apple), Spotify (https://workinggenius.me/sptfy), and YouTube (https://workinggenius.me/wgyt).

Let us know your feedback via podcast@tablegroup.com.

This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co.

What would happen if your team was challenged to do something ridiculous on purpose?

In episode 271 of At The Table, Pat, Cody, and Matthew share the story of a risky, creative experiment from The Table Group’s annual consulting conference in Franklin, Tennessee. After giving teams one hour and $400 to create something ridiculous, outlandish, and loosely connected to organizational health, they watched their consultants produce original songs, recognize an ideal team player, rent an eight-foot tree, and even paint The Table Group office. The conversation reveals how time constraints, trust, risk, and freedom can unlock creativity in ways that careful planning often cannot.

Topics explored in this episode:
(00:00) The Power Of Limited Time
Pat introduces the idea that limiting time can actually increase innovation, creativity, and execution.
Cody explains the purpose of The Table Group’s annual consulting conference and how the team wanted to create a short but meaningful offsite experience.

(04:03) One Hour, $400, And A Ridiculous Challenge
Pat and Cody describe the challenge: teams had one hour, $400, and a goal to create the most ridiculous, creative idea possible.
They reflect on how quickly the consultants moved through the Working Genius process, from wonder and invention to discernment, galvanizing, enablement, and tenacity.

(05:47) Recognizing An Ideal Team Player
One team went to the hotel manager, taught the Ideal Team Player model, and asked her to identify someone on staff who embodied humble, hungry, and smart.
The team honored the chosen employee with gifts, cake, and a standing ovation from the consultants.

(08:03) Songs, Trees, And Creative Chaos
Another team found a musician at a coffee shop and paid her to write and perform an original song about The Table Group in one hour.
A different team rented an eight-foot tree as a callback to the “Plant Your Friggin Tree” episode and turned it into a memorable symbol of action and urgency.

(13:25) The Office Painting Risk
One team secretly entered The Table Group office and painted Matt’s podcast room red with references to the Five Dysfunctions, the Advantage model, and the Ideal Team Player.
Pat, Cody, and Matt reflect on how the experiment proved that trust, risk, fun, and people-centered experiences can make business conversations more effective.

This episode of At The Table with Patrick Lencioni is brought to you by The Table Group: https://www.tablegroup.com. We teach leaders how to make work more effective and less dysfunctional. We also help their employees be more fulfilled and less miserable.

Register for “Why Your Spouse Acts That Way” here: workinggenius.com/marriage

Subscribe for more content from Patrick Lencioni @PatrickLencioniOfficial

Stay Connected with Patrick Lencioni
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-lencioni-orghealth
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patricklencioniofficial
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@patricklencioniofficial
X: https://x.com/patricklencioni

At The Table with Patrick Lencioni
Apple: https://tablegroup.me/apple
Spotify: https://tablegroup.me/sptfy
YouTube: https://tablegroup.me/youtube

Be sure to check out our other podcast, The Working Genius Podcast with Patrick Lencioni, on Apple Podcasts (https://workinggenius.me/apple), Spotify (https://workinggenius.me/sptfy), and YouTube (https://workinggenius.me/wgyt).

Let us know your feedback via podcast@tablegroup.com.

This episode was produced by Story On Media: https://www.storyon.co.