Joseph P. Franklin - Building Leaders the West Point Way

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT
BUILDING LEADERS THE WEST POINT WAY

I have known Joe Franklin since the late 1970s when I coached at West Point and he was the Commandant of Cadets. General Joe is well-known by the many people whose lives he has touched as a truly thoughtful, approachable, and compassionate human being. He has written a very readable book, using examples drawn from his personal experience to illustrate key principles of leadership, a subject I have studied and practiced for most of my adult life. His simple, honest, easy-to-understand text is a welcome addition to the references available to leaders, young and old alike. This book will definitely help you become a better leader. The General is one of the best ever!

MIKE COACH K KRYZEWSKI
Duke University Basketball Coach

Major General Franklins Building Leaders the West Point Way can propel anyone to a level of achievement known well by many of his most successful students and graduates of West Point... even me.

JAMES V. KIMSEY
Founding CEO and Chairman Emeritus
America Online, Inc.

General Joe has written a terrific guide for young leaders in all walks of life, military and civilian. Building Leaders the West PointWay: Ten Principles from the Nations Most Powerful Leadership Lab can teach us volumes about leadership and how it can be adapted to every walk of life. This book is indeed a powerful tool from one of West Points most admired and successful leaders. I encourage everyone to saddle up with Joe as he instructs us on becoming better leaders and better people.

THOMAS B. DYER
Chairman Emeritus, Association of Graduates
United States Military Academy, West Point, NY

Leadership, according to Joe Franklin, comes from common sense and accumulated wisdom. Trouble is common sense doesnt turn out to be all that common, and wisdom can be elusively hard to accumulate. A handy solution to that dilemma is this fascinating book. No mechanical how-to manual, its brimming with easily relatable, personal experiences and thoughtful observations. In the process, it provides any number of keen insights into what leadership is really all about. Theres something valuable here for everyone.

PETER M. DAWKINS
Brigadier General, U.S. Army (Retired)
Vice Chairman, Citigroup Global Wealth Management

For sure in the Armed Forces, physical courage and strength are important, but what struck me most of all about General Joes excellent book is the extent to which the virtues of leadership are also the virtues of any good, well-rounded human being: approachability, responsibility, and integrity; compassion, vision, and faith. What West Point ultimately does is allow and encourage all cadets to be the best that they can bewith the knowledge that being the best means living by the highest standards. Joe also makes the point that each of usto a greater or lesser extenthas the ability within us to do that.

WILLIAM H. ROEDY
Vice Chairman, MTV Networks, and
President, MTV Networks International

Copyright 2007 by General Joseph P. Franklin

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee. Thomas Nelson is a trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Thomas Nelson, Inc. titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Franklin, Joseph P.
Building leaders the West Point way : ten principles from the nations most
powerful leadership lab / Joseph P. Franklin with Joe Layden.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7852-2164-7 (hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-7852-2164-6 (hardcover)
1. Leadership. I. Layden, Joe. II. Title.
HM1261.F73 2007
303.3'4dc22

2006038452

Printed in the United States of America
07 08 09 10 QWM 5 4 3 2 1

Leading soldiers in Americas army was a privilege I could not have imagined as a youth. To then become a senior executive in our nations business circles gave added dimension to a life already full. All of these experiences, opportunities, and achievements, the hard work done and warm relationships shared, would have never come to pass without the support of seniors, peers, and subordinates who served with me throughout the years. They are the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines whose names are too many to list here, but they are represented today by the men and women who risk their lives every hour of every day to defend our freedom.

I am one of those upon whom fortune smiled. My wife, Connie, and I have been blessed with good health, and wonderful children and grandchildren to love and cherish. Our life together has been greatly enriched by lifelong friends from many corners of the earth. Those are, truly, the foundation stones of a life that allowed me to be the best I could be.

For all these good fortunes, I offer thanks every day to the men and women who serve our country, and to my family, who made it possible for me to serve them.

CONTENTS

General H. Norman Schwarzkopf

Looking Ahead

I first met Joe Franklin in 1953, when we were cadets at West Point. Although not physically imposing, he was sufficiently gifted to make his mark at the Academy. Not only did he win varsity letters in football and golf, a unique achievement in any mans book, he also won the heavyweight wrestling championship of the Cadet Corps.

Now with all those athletic awards, one might conclude that here was just another typical jock who could compete in sports but not much else. But I also remember Joes graduationone year before minewhen he walked across the dais, near the top of his class academically, to receive his diploma and commission from President Dwight D. Eisenhower. To anyone who was paying attention, this was a young officer with the potential to reach for the stars.

As happens so often in army careers, Joe and I subsequently found ourselves together in teaching assignments at the Military Academy, battalion commands in Vietnam, and staff positions in the Pentagon. It was not hard to keep track of Joe during those years. His thoughtful style of leadership and interpersonal skills soon put him ahead of his peers as our careers progressed from company grade duties to general officer responsibilities. At each level, his ability to look ahead, adapt to change, and lead others to get the job done earned him the opportunity to reach higher. When we spoke of Joe Franklin in those days, it was with respect for his integrity and quiet determination and with affection for his approachability and compassion. His genuine care for others, subordinates and peers alike, set him apart as one of the armys top leaders in our day.

So now he has shared his thoughts about those years of leadership in this book: Building Leaders the West Point Way: TenPrinciples from the Nations Most Powerful Leadership Lab. These are important lessons for nascent leaders, whether they be in the ranks of the military or the offices of corporate America. I especially like the way this book makes the point that leadership is caught, more than it is taught.

What impresses me most, and what I think makes this such a useful book, is how it applies directly to the individual reader. It is a book that describes real-life lessons from the authors personal experience that anyone can adapt to his own personality and skill set. As Joe says, you dont have to be seven feet tall or eat nails for breakfast. You can take each of these principles, adjust it to your own situation, and you will find that it really works for you. Taken together, these ten principles form the building blocks for a successful career in leadership in every walk of lifebe it the military, profit or nonprofit corporations, teaching, or coachingyou name it.