Rob Asghar is an author and management consultant based in Los Angeles. Rob's been a longtime player in what’s been dubbed the “USC revolution.” This describes a period in which, despite sweeping change and economic stresses along the higher education landscape, USC made spectacular progress in education, innovation, globalization, student quality, reputation, community service and patient care. He served as a close aide and adviser to two major architects of the USC revolution: the late Warren Bennis, widely regarded as the father of modern management studies; and former university president Steven Sample, one of the world’s most effective and versatile leaders.

Over 20 years working alongside some of the world’s greatest practitioners and theorists of management, Asghar developed his own unique philosophy of leadership: one that rises above the wishful dreaming of many management experts and the short-term thinking and narcissism of many big-time leaders. Asghar teaches aspiring and practicing leaders to think big—but also to think clearly and honestly, for the long-term good of their organizations and their personal legacies.

Rob is the author of "Leadership Is Hell: How to Manage Well and Escape with Your Soul" (Figueroa Press, 2014), with all book royalties benefitting college scholarships for underprivileged urban schoolchildren. He is also a featured contributor to Forbes.com. His essays and commentaries have also been published by the Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, Los Angeles Times, the Johns Hopkins SAIS Review of International Affairs, CNN.com, Asia Times, Foreign Policy and dozens of other publications around the world.