Major General Joseph P. Franklin, USA (ret.), graduated from West Point in 1955 with a commission in the US Army Corps of Engineers. He earned master's degrees in civil engineering and nuclear engineering from MIT, taught the first nuclear engineering course at West Point, commanded a combat engineer battalion in Vietnam, and worked as executive assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon. Franklin was commandant of cadets at West Point from 1979 to 1982. After his promotion to major general, he served as chief of the Joint US Military Group and senior US defense representative in Spain. In 1993 he was elected chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Frequency Electronics and is presently on the board of directors of RKO Pictures, Inc. In 2007, Franklin received West Point's Distinguished Graduate award, noting his outstanding career and fine example of the Academy's Duty, Honor, Country motto. Major General Joseph P. Franklin is the author of Building Leaders the West Point Way: Ten Principles from the Nation's Most Powerful Leadership Lab.

According to the book description of Building Leaders the West Point Way: Ten Principles from the Nation's Most Powerful Leadership Lab, “Major General Joseph P. Franklin (ret.) believes almost everything that he is as an adult can be traced back to his days at West Point, where he was not only a cadet but an instructor, football coach, and eventually Commandant of Cadets. U.S. Military Academy graduates are found at the highest levels in every walk of life: military, education, business, medicine, law, and government. "But," says Franklin, "you don't have to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy to embrace its ideals or to benefit from the wisdom that is taught there. Competent, even inspiring, leadership is within the grasp of nearly everyone." The principles of leadership-including Duty, Honor, Faith, Courage, Perseverance, Confidence, Approachability, Adaptability, Compassion, and Vision-can be internalized and polished to one's own level of expertise and ambition.”

Mike Kryzewski, Duke University Basketball Coach said of Building Leaders the West Point Way: Ten Principles from the Nation's Most Powerful Leadership Lab, “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!”