On Character

I read this book the day after I read Admiral William H. McRaven’s Conquering Crisis. Admiral McRaven and General Stanley McChrystal are two of my favorite leaders and authors, and they both share the same rare combination of real world gravitas and practical wisdom you can apply immediately. This is the second Note I’ve created on one of General McChrystal’s books, and On Character is exactly what the subtitle promises, a collection of sharp, thoughtful essays on the choices that define a life, organized into three parts: Conviction, Discipline, and Character. McChrystal gives us a simple equation that is as elegant as it is demanding, Character = Convictions x Discipline, meaning if you lack either deeply held beliefs or the discipline to live up to them, the product is zero. Big Ideas we explore include character as convictions multiplied by discipline, your life take two, obsession as the price of the exceptional, what a hero really is, and closing the gap with the final roll call.