Rudolph W. Giuliani on Leadership
He faced the camera, his poise one of confidence, giving me, a viewer, a sense that he was in charge of the post-9/11 cleanup operation—and what an operation that was. That was my first impression of Mayor Rudy Giuliani of New York City as I watched my TV in Darlington, England. Subsequent views of the same man confirmed my impression that here was a man of competence, a leader, someone inspiring confidence in the stark face of deep trauma, a trauma that was felt by not only New Yorkers, but by people all round the world.
Fast forward nearly two decades: When I saw a secondhand book by Rudolph W. Giuliani in a thrift store in Greenville, I was tempted to buy it, but thought of the many other books at home clamoring for my attention. But I yielded and went back a week later and purchased a copy: Leadership
Written in three parts, the table of contents asserts several propositions about leadership, as below, which the author then engagingly develops in just under 400 pages.
1 September 11, 2001
2 First Things First
3 Prepare Relentlessly
4 Everyone’s Accountable, All of the Time
5 Surround Yourself with Great People
6 Reflect, Then Decide
7 Underpromise and Overdeliver
8 Develop and Communicate Strong Belief
9 Be Your Own Man
10 Loyalty: The Vital Virtue
11 Weddings Discretionary, Funerals Mandatory
12 Stand up to Bullies
13 Study. Read. Learn Independently
14 Organize Around a Purpose
15 Bribe Only Those Who Will Stay Bribed
16 Recovery
Giuliani’s childhood was shaped by strong Roman Catholic values, a love for history, an optimistic sense of what it is possible to achieve in this world, and, at times, being egged on to a good display of streetwise behaviors that helped him in his adult years to face down bullies and crooks.
The author’s can-do spirit breathes optimism through the book. At times, I found myself disagreeing with some of his faith values—I am protestant to the core—but I found myself loving his sincerity and zeal for faith as he knows it, and especially his commitment to a Judeo-Christian worldview and its outworking in the form of faith, family, and a good, solid work ethic—typical of a classical conservative. His treatment of the so-called squeegee men in NY is classic—Charge them for jaywalking, was his take on it. Nobody had thought of that!
At times a little self-congratulatory, Giuliani nevertheless charms the reader with his love for life, his love for doing the right thing, and for being a fighter to this end. And there is much in this book for ordinary people who are striving for excellence even within their own relatively minor circles. There is a feast in the chapter titles alone. I read this book over the course of a few months in bite sizes at occasional times of the month—in waiting rooms, waiting for a kettle to boil, and at other spare moments. The takeaways, for me, are largely in the propositions in the table of contents. There are many action points to be derived from these. I’ve seen too much blithering leadership in my circles—whether church, publishing, or charity work—over the years. Would that many leaders and prospective leaders would take on board some of Giuliani’s ideas and principles!
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I first met Professor Edgar Andrews in 1999. I recall him, distinguished, articulate, erudite—in many ways, just what you might expect a professor to be. At the time, he was chairman of Evangelical Times and Evangelical Press. I had just relocated to England and was finding my feet in a new climate, adjusting to a new work situation, meeting new friends, discovering the joys of navigating around English traffic roundabouts (“Who gives way to whom, or do you just pray and take a chance?”) and experiencing many other new things. Our pathways would cross at occasional board meetings and when he would come to the Faverdale office in Darlington to oversee the production of the monthly paper.
I have worked with Edgar in lightly editing, reformatting, and republishing his most helpful book on Galatians (EP Books used to have it in the Welwyn Commentary Series—though Great Writing Publications it is titled Free in Christ—The Message of Galatians for Today) (more about that in another blog entry another time) and it’s on my radar soon to have his excellent commentary on Hebrews—A Glorious High Throne—back in print, also in the Great Writing Publications imprint.
The cover design of the book caught my eye as well as the title. “Who Moved My Cheese?” it asked. It was a slender volume, no more than 96 pages as I recall, and it told the story of a number of mice that had to face change in life. The longstanding supply of cheese from which they have helped themselves is no more. “What is to be done in securing more cheese?” is the challenge facing these four mice. Written as a parable that takes place in a maze, the story engagingly describes Sniff and Scurry, and their associates, Hem and Haw, and how they go about finding more cheese. Spencer Johnson’s intention is to introduce readers to the concept of positive change and how to cope with it. The book makes for engaging reading.
The “Big A” has changed a lot of things. At one time, nobody took Amazon too seriously, but not so anymore. Amazon’s ability to operate on a relatively low overhead and to have negotiated specially preferential, volume-related relationships with shippers has dealt the death knell to many vendors who had maybe become comfortable with the status quo. The reality is that people’s buying habits have changed and continue to do so. Most people today are quite relaxed in making online purchases.
One of the many things I get to enjoy is working with gifted authors.
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