 Zorn's lemma in a finite poset

Consider the following finite set of subsets, ordered by subset containment:Every nonempty chain in a partial order has a greatest element within that chain in a partial order, hence an upper bound in $P$. For the empty chain in a partial order, choose $\varnothing \in P$. Thus the hypothesis of Zorn's lemma holds. The two maximal elements are $\{a,b\}$ and $\{b,c\}$: neither is a proper subset of another member of $P$. There is no greatest element, because it would have to contain both, and no member of $P$ contains $\{a,b,c\}$.

For the chain in a partial order $C=\{\varnothing ,\{b\}\}$, the member $\{b\}$ is already an upper bound, although it is not a maximal element of $P$. Both orange members are also upper bounds for $C$. A chain in a partial order need not have a unique upper bound, and the upper bound used to check the hypothesis need not be the eventual maximal element.

The restriction to chains in a partial order matters. The subset $\{\{a\},\{c\}\}\subseteq P$ has no upper bound in $P$, but its two members are incomparable, so it is not a chain in a partial order. Requiring every subset of $P$ to have an upper bound would be much stronger: taking that subset to be $P$ itself would force a greatest element.