From Management Mess-Ups, by Mark Eppler:
Norman Schwarzkopf, the charismatic general who led coalition forces in Desert Storm, once defined leasdership as a potent combination of strategy and character. "If you have to be without one," he said, "be without strategy." Schwarzkopf understood the importance of Robert Frost's admonition to "occupy the land with character."
While it's important to have a viable plan (strategy), it's vital to remember that belief in the plan is often dependent on belief in the planner. That belief is shaped, more than anything else, by how that person comports herself day-by-day.
Generally speaking, the first thing people think about when they think of character is what I like to call the HIT list: honesty, integrity and truth-telling.
