The Institute for Excellence and Ethics (IEE) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the development and dissemination of research-based tools and strategies for building intentional cultures of excellence and ethics in education, athletics, home, and workplace settings. The following five emphases and recommended actions are offered are presented in this article as the viewpoint of the author drawn from the IEE's diverse experiences- including mistakes and missteps, perceived breakthroughs and persistent brick walls, and the ongoing quandaries and quagmires in the elusive goal of sustainability and enduring impact in character development and education. From those experiences the author concludes that character education must: (1) develop moral "and" performance character; (2) attend to ethical conscience "and" conscience of craft; (3) educate for conscience "and" competence; (4) ensure that character is caught "and" taught; and (5) measure character performance assessment "and" grade point average.