The character edge - Robert L. Caslen

True leadership is about character - this is the key to winning 'the right way'.

In a world where we're bombarded by messages of 'winning at any cost', dishonest politicians, CEOs committing fraud, disgraced military commanders and cheating athletes, integrity matters more than ever. The Character Edge explains the powerful role character plays in trust, culture and leadership, and offers readers tools to exercise and strengthen their own.

Reaching from the battlefield to the classroom and beyond, former superintendent of West Point Robert Caslen and professor of psychology Dr. Michael Matthews, explore the vital link between strong character and strong leadership, and explain why the latter cannot exist without the former.

'Caslen and Matthews show how and why this fundamental inner architecture of leadership can - and must - be built.' Jim Collins, bestselling author of Good to Great.

Lieutenant General Robert L. Caslen, Jr. is the 29th president of the University of South Carolina. Caslen is a retired Army lieutenant general and former superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point. After retiring from the Army in 2018, Caslen became the senior counsel to the president at the University of Central Florida. Caslen grew up in Vermont, worked in his family's ski lodge, and then was recruited to play football at West Point. Along with his bachelor's degree from West Point, Caslen holds an MBA in finance from Long Island University and a master's in industrial engineering from Kansas State University. He and his wife, Shelly, have been married for forty-two years and have three sons and four grandchildren.

The Character Edge is inspiring and practical in equal measure, drawing upon both scientific research and personal experience in how, and why, to develop strengths of heart, mind and gut. Only Mike Matthews and Bob Caslen could have written it. This will surely be an instant classic!
Angela Duckworth, CEO of the Character Lab and bestselling author of Grit

Few great leaders have charismatic personality, but all have character that inspires. Caslen and Matthews show how and why this fundamental inner architecture of leadership can - and must - be built.
Jim Collins, author of Good to Great and co-author of Built to Last

In The Character Edge, Caslen and Matthews offer the definitive guide to how individuals and organizations may build and utilize positive character to flourish and win. Corporations who 'get' this message excel, those that do not will fail in the long run
Indra Nooyi, former chairman and CEO of PepsiCo

What determines the importance and long-lasting impact of leadership? Lieutenant general and former West Point superintendent Caslen and psychologist Matthews examine the qualities of character that make a leader worth following . . . [their] combined experience culminates in a fascinating study of leadership
Booklist

If you ever aspire to effective leadership, whether at the tactical or strategic level, you'll soon learn that the most important ingredient in effective leadership is character. Bob Caslen and Mike Matthews have captured this truth in both theory and application with moving and insightful stories and personal experiences. This book will both challenge you and motivate you to lead a life of integrity and honor, and in so doing, inspire the men and women you lead to the highest achievements they never thought possible. Bob and Mike have something very, very important here. I hope it goes viral in a big way.
Admiral William H. McRaven, US Navy (Retired), and bestselling author of Make Your Bed: 10 Life Lessons from a Navy SEAL