Apparently it’s an old Sicilian saying, tied into Mafia Godfather culture – “The fish rots from the head down”. It’s application to business should be obvious. As the owner of your business you are responsible for the culture of your company. When you employ people they look to you for their example of behaviour. If you exhibit leadership traits such as self-responsibility, courage, compassion, passion, determination and positivity, these will be the traits your team look to copy. If you are negative, blaming, stressful, unwilling to take risks or step outside your comfort zone … well, you know how your people will behave. Moral of the story – be the person you’d like your best employee to be, lead by example … and keep your fish in the freezer!
From the desk of liber8yourbusiness. Small business mentors and experts in exit strategies. Wellington, New Zealand.