Leadership, by former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, is a very interesting book on a business level, as well as a historical level.
As you might imagine, the first chapter covers Giuliani’s leadership on 9/11 and the days and months that followed.
The proceeding chapters go on to cover Rudy’s two terms as NYC mayor, as he sought to run the city as a business, and ended up with impressive results.
Leadership has some really helpful lessons in business, or even for heading a family or coaching a ball team.
The advice from Rudy is summarized in basic ideas for the chapter titles, and then he goes into detail for each premise and how he applied it in real life.
I lived in the New York City area throughout Rudy Giuliani’s terms as mayors, so I was very familiar with a lot of the examples cited throughout the 1990’s. I think the content will be very instructive and interesting to folks from all over who might not be aware of the details of problems Rudy encountered and his solutions.
One item that struck me was how lots of leaders have little plaques on their desks with inspirational sayings, and his was more to the point: “I’m Responsible.”
Whether he received accolades or criticisms, he took rightful responsibility.
My favorite piece of advice, which can certainly be used in personal and professional life, is “Weddings Discretionary, Funerals Mandatory.”
I think anybody who has ever experienced loss can relate to the significance of that practice, especially in the wake of 9/11 when Rudy Giuliani placed a priority on honoring the victims.
Other parts of Rudy’s Leadership that particularly resonated with me were chapter 5 (“Surround Yourself with Great People”) and chapter 12 (“Stand Up to Bullies”) – two very important things for a successful leader, and another dozen detailed in this book.
Also, Leadership is particularly illuminating and important for anybody tracking the 2008 U.S. Presidential race.