Executive committee chairman of the Primerica Corporation and chairman of the board of directors of the Institute for Educational Leadership stresses how difficult change is for all organizations and how, in the business as well as education worlds, external forces have compelled responses. The similarities and differences in the management and leadership issues facing school leaders are addressed. Three educational issues exemplify the main idea that when external challenges and pressure are particularly powerful, the adversarial relationship that often exists within institutions begins to moderate, and rapproachment that once was considered nearly impossible becomes a reality. These issues are (1) demography of the public schools; (2) effective schools research; and (3) teachers and their environment. (SI)