I was with an organization going through very stressful times. The CEO/president/founder stood up in a company meeting and told of another stressful period for the company. He went to the documentation manager who happened to be working late one night and told him of the problems. The manager looked at him and point blank and said problems and attitudes usually start at the top and flow down to the lower levels. The CEO took it to heart and tried to be the change the organization needed.

What a great lesson the CEO learned, and the company has lead their field since the 80’s due to this attitude that change can be made. In this case, the CEO, as being the leader of the company, made the change in himself and his attitude that flowed throughout the organization to continue as leaders in their market.