I just finished Rudolph W. Giuliani's book Leadership. I think one word describes it all to me...VERBOSE! I don't guess I should have been surprised knowing he was a lawyer. His stories and examples were full of detail. Whether you like Giuliani or not, you can't say that the Mayor of one of the largest cities in the world hasn't learned a thing or two about leadership.There were a few good things I took away from reading this book, but in comparison to other books on leadership, it was a lot different. He discusses a lot events that took place during his time in office as Mayor of New York to support different leadership traits.
Two things that stood out to me as I read...
- "Do what's possible, try what's not". There are many occasions people don't do the things possible because they don't think it will amount to much. Then on the other hand, people don't try what is impossible because they are afraid of failing. This statement stood out to me because it changes your way of thinking about tasks everyday.
- Giuliani also kept a sign on his desk that said "I'm responsible". That could mean a lot of things to people, but the more I thought about it, I am (and could be) responsible for more than what I am currently. If I take the mentality of being responsible for everything, I am taking an initiative to influence more.
Thanks for the note, Ben - both Cliff and I really appreciate it. Things did go well yesterday - he's coming in for his third interview today! We'll see where this goes - and just keep trusting :)
ReplyDeleteIt is a very good book. I listened to it a couple years ago when taking a weekend just to get away and think. I remember taking away a point about preparation. I can't remember specifically what he said, but it had to do with his preparation as a lawyer and how that carried over to his time as mayor. It really impacted me b/c I'm not the best at preparation and tend to "gut" things a little to often.
ReplyDeleteHis recall of the events surrounding 9/11 were pretty impressive.