Robert L. Dilenschneider. Character: Life Lessons in Courage, Integrity, and Leadership. Citadel, 2025.

Let us now praise famous men… (Sirach 44:1 KJV)

Character is another in a series of motivational or inspirational books by public relations guru Robert Dilenschneider. Like his earlier Decisions and Nailing It, this is an account of the lives of a number of influential people and how they succeeded. In this case, we learn of thirty-one people who made a difference in no small part because of their character. The book is divided into ten sections enumerating important character traits.

Such character traits include integrity, resilience, leadership, loyalty, and transparency. In some cases we get examples of what these terms mean in such things as loyalty illustrated by John Wooden, famed coach of the UCLA basketball team, and integrity, as shown by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

In other cases the traits are shown by how people used these traits in distinctive ways: Steve Jobs and Walt Disney in innovation, for example. There were many people working in computer innovations in the seventies and eighties, what made Jobs’ work stand out? There were hundreds of film animators in the nineteen thirties, how did Walt and Roy Disney distinguish themselves?

A few of the personalities here are from the nineteenth century including Susan B. Anthony and Florence Nightingale. Most are noted people from the twentieth century such as those mentioned above and leaders like Dwight Eisenhower (uniquely a military, political, and academic leader) or athletes like Arthur Ashe and Lou Gehrig.

A few of these people Dilenschneider had met personally. It seems that he developed an interesting personal relationship with Colin Powell, who gave him much useful career advice. A few like Powell are probably best known from what they did in the current century.

Character lists Anwar Sadat under leadership, though in my mind he could be listed under courage, resilience, or breaking barriers. I recall seeing him in a television interview. He was talking about the time he was in prison when Egypt was still Anglo-Egyptian. The only book in his cell was a Bible, which he read. He said it helped him understand Christianity and Judaism, but he also said something else. He said that after reading it, he believed Jesus was the Son of God.

At the time, the observation did not mean all that much to me, other than him saying he saw some legitimacy to Christianity. “We are all children of God, aren’t we?” I thought back then. Muslims consider Jesus (Isa) a prophet, don’t they?

Now I realize that was a radical observation from someone who represented a Muslim nation. The Quran claims of its god:

Far be it from his transcendent majesty that He should have a son…It befitteth not the Majesty of God that He should take unto Himself a son.

I realize now that a Muslim claiming God had a son would be considered heretical if not blasphemous. Was Sadat a latter day Naaman? It might even be an additional reason why the Muslim Brotherhood wanted him dead.

This reader noted the section on transparency. Dilenschneider tells us that there is a term from computer graphics and word processing WYSIWYG (“wizzy wig”), “What you see is what you get.” That is a rare and notable character trait. People can trust those who have such transparency. He names Washington Post publisher Katherine Graham, actor Jimmy Stewart, and Notre Dame University president Theodore Hesburgh.

Transparency seems to be missing from much journalism today. Acting as a profession of being paid to pretend goes against transparency. Recent investigations into certain colleges seem to suggest that at least some college presidents are less than forthright about what is going on in their institutions. It is truly refreshing to read about some who go against the typical grain in their chosen professions. Indeed, Dilenschneider quotes Graham: “News is what someone wants suppressed. The rest is advertising” (147). I wonder how she would see today’s Washington Post…

Character delineates three people involved in politics as examples of integrity. We have already noted P. M. Thatcher. He also notes Ambassador and Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Moynihan recognizes that we live in a less than perfect world, but integrity can make it better.

Am I embarrassed to speak for a less than perfect democracy? Not one bit. Find me a better one. Do I suppose there are societies which are free from sin? No, I don’t. Do I think ours is, on balance, incomparably the most hopeful set of human relations the world has? Yes, I do. (128)

In 1993 Moynihan observed:

The Soviet Union came apart along ethnic lines. The most important factor in this breakup was the disinclination of Slavic Ukraine to continue under a regime dominated by Slavic Russia. (129)

Hmm…Dilenschneider observes that this is still significant today.

One section that seemed weaker than the others was on transcendence. That is one term that the book does not really define. The single person used to illustrate it is the late billionaire banker S. P. Hinduja. Now, he is an interesting person to study, helped his family business to thrive, and donated money to various charities.

I am not sure how this is all transcendent, except that he was Hindu, and in the West the common form of Hinduism is Transcendental Meditation. Still, his life does provide an interesting profile. I wonder if tolerance might be a more appropriate term for his character. If any of the profiles were transcendent, it would be that of Mother Teresa, whom the book uses as an example of leadership.

Still, Character follows the pattern of the other Dilenschneider inspirational books mentioned above. All three would make very good graduation gifts. The author no doubt uses them in motivational seminars or speeches that he gives. Famous people can be examples for good or evil. Certainly these sketches show how we ordinary schlubs can learn from others, even if we never become household names like Walt Disney or President Eisenhower.