Return on Character

Preface

Shortly after this book is published, I will celebrate my seventy-fifth birthday. For nearly forty years, I have served as an adviser and confidant to executive leaders in both large and small organizations. Most often, my clients have been chief executive officers.

Early on in this work, I was struck by how most of my clients were very principled, and yet they demonstrated so little concern for the common good. They weren’t hostile to the idea, just focused only on what was good for their specific business.

I also was surprised by how little insight most of my clients had about the real levers for creating value. The executives I advised typically undervalued methods for inspiring and energizing the workforce and overvalued strategic ...