Orrin, Great post! I can't tell you how much your Tri-Lateral Leadership Ledger has helped me focus my leadership journey. Growing concurrently in all 3 of those areas has really opened up a lot of doors for me over the past year or so since I read your book. The article on character is definately going to be a valuable learning resource as well. Thank you for sharing! I have learned through reading and studying that character is a real issue, that has real consequences. This article has made me go to my files and pull out a memorable conversation I was blessed to have with John Maxwell. Many of the readers on this blog already know I had a real priveledge to have John Maxwell come in and speak at a conference I put on a couple of years ago. I have never shared with any of the readers my conversation because I did not want to come across as boastful, but one particular question I asked and the answer he gave fits so well into this post. Prior to the conference I spent weeks preparing questions with the hope I could get some one on one time with him. Then my chance came to spend about 2 hours with him directly and one of the questions I had for him was based on his book the "21 Indispensable Qualities of Leader." I asked him "Out of the 21 Qualities, what is the most important quality an aspiring leader can have?" His answer was simply "Character". Now at the time I was so new in my leadership journey that it didn't make much sense to me. So in my naiveness I asked "Why?" His answer to my question was when I really began to take note as to why character is the foundation of leadership. Here is the following transcript from my conversation with him after I asked the question why: "Matt I have seen the way you have carried yourself at this conference and you have great charisma with other people. That is a gift you have been blessed with as a young aspiring leader. Charisma is valuable to leadership, but unfortunately the effects of charisma are only temporary. Strong charisma will get you in the door with people, but it can never sustain your influence by itself. When it comes to lasting influence, nothing is more important than character." He went on further to say "Character is essential to ensuring that your leadership will always go the distance." I asked him "what is the difference between my reputation and my character?" (you can tell I was very naive:) He said "Your character is way more important than any reputation you will ever receive. If you decide to develop your leadership skills, you will always experience pushback from people. Remember that your reputation is based on external perceptions, and it can be swayed due to an allegation or unfortunate circumstance. However, character is built on internal decisions, and it remains rock solid amidst shifting situations." I thought that was unbelievable advice!! Finally he ended the answer to my questions by taking more about character. He wrote about these 4 points in his book the "21 Indispensable Qualities of Leader", but brought them to life during our discussion. He said " a person that is strong in character benefits themselves in 4 major ways." In his great teaching style he gave me these 4 points that I will always remember. 1. CHARACTER SETS YOU APART. 2. CHARACTER CREATES TRUST. 3. CHARACTER COMMUNICATES CONSISTENCY. 4. CHARACTER PROMOTES POTENTIAL. - He said "When a leader's character is strong, people trust him, and they trust his ability to release their potential because he has taken steps to reach his own." Needless to say I understood the importance of character. Reflecting on his answers to those "character questions," I always new character was important, but I never knew why or what it did for me. I said this earlier, but I want to say it again: I did not bring up this conversation to put a spotlight on me. I posted this post to add to the topic of this article. Great topic Orrin! Thanks, Matt