Summary: Leaders Eat Last

So goes the leader, so goes the culture – what the leader does always sets the tone for the culture and the organization.

Integrity matters – it is the essence of great leadership. If you have leaders that are willing to fess up when they make a mistake and always tell the truth come what may, you grow the Circle of Safety. People trust the leadership because they have demonstrated their unwavering commitment to be truthful. The more you tell the truth even when doing so will embarrass you, the more integrity you'll have and the wider your Circle of Safety becomes.
Choose your friends well – because they matter as well. When you spend time with people, not only do you get to know their genuine intentions better but you also build opportunities to cooperate wherever feasible. The simple fact is enemies fight but friends find ways to cooperate. A good illustration of this dynamic is the current generation of politicians. In the old days, those elected to Congress would move to Washington where they would rub shoulders with their counterparts socially. It was then easier for them to work out compromises. Today's generation of politicians fly to Washington on a Tuesday and then back to their districts on Thursday so they can get busy fund raising. They don't really get to know their counterparts anymore and the result has been the gridlock and partisan politics which marks politics today. Everyone is busy gearing up for reelection at the expense of making progress for the common good.
Remember the challenge is to lead the people, not the numbers – and this is why your values count. In the good old days, companies existed to serve their customers. That has since been replaced by the concept companies should instead maximize shareholder value.

For all the organizations that have suffered from Destructive Abundance, there is a clear pattern that provides lessons for the rest of us. In nearly all those organizations, the abundances weren't managed properly. There was almost always a leader who didn't take their responsibility as a leader to heart. Destructive Abundance almost always follows when challenge is replaced by temptation.”
- Simon Sinek