Thursday, October 10, 2002
You betcha, he’s ‘America’s Mayor’ - THE COMMENTARY
By Joseph Planta
VANCOUVER -- On the heels of his new book Leadership being released, Rudy Giuliani has been making the rounds on talk shows and the sort. He’s selling a book sure, but I’m sure any talk show wouldn’t mind having the former mayor of New York City as their guest.
When David Letterman made his return to television just after the events of September 11th, he praised Giuliani and said something remarkable about a man so much in the forefront of that tragic day. Choking back tears, Letterman said that because of Giuliani’s call for New Yorkers to get back to their lives, the late night comedy show on CBS returned. (Incidentally, with great class and taste.) Letterman went on about the then mayor calling him the embodiment of courage. For a while I wondered if he was in fact deserving of such hyperbole. If you’ll cast your minds prior to September 11th, Giuliani was making major news of a less dignified sense, as his marriage to Donna Hanover collapsed and he was taking up with Judith Nathan, a pharmaceutical sales manager. Even after September 11th, I wondered if he was as great a man as everyone seemed to say he was.
With the perspective that only the passing of time can give, Rudy Giuliani is as good as it gets. He is a leader of remarkable skill. His actions post-September 11th have demonstrated that he rose to the occasion, whereby allowing New Yorkers who were violated so, the same chance to act as bold and brave in the face of such tragedy. I guess we will never know what would have happened had it been a different mayor, but clearly Rudy Giuliani gave so much and contributed greatly to the process of healing.
Rudy Giuliani’s accomplishments prior to September 11th, 2001 are nothing to scoff at either. As a prosecuting district attorney he paralysed the Mafia in the Big Apple. In his book Leadership, besides crediting Ronald Reagan as a good leader, he notes that Mafia boss, the late John Gotti was one leader he came to admire too. This, coming from a DA who worked hard to nail Gotti back in the 1980s. He tells the story of why he came to admire Gotti so. Seems that one day Gotti had been shot at. The next day rather than dining at his favourite café in the back somewhere, Gotti opted to take a table outside right near the curb. This measure of defiance according to Giuliani, was “to show everybody he wasn’t afraid.” The lesson in leadership learned from the mob capo is this: great leaders must undertake acts of courage to inspire those they lead. “If you show you are unafraid, they will not feel afraid.”
The image for me, was where after the first planes hit the former World Trade Center, we saw Giuliani walking the streets of New York, amongst the mayhem, surrounded by aides. They kept briefing him, sometimes he clutched a mask to beat the dust, and often he’d yell to passerbys on the street to ‘come with them’. A leader sure, but like his people, even when he didn’t know what was happening, he proved he was still in control, doing anything he could for those he served so well.
The only interview show I saw with the former mayor as the guest was his appearance last Friday on the Imus in the Morning program. Imus asked him about his beloved New York Yankees, prodded him on his new hairdo (seems he’s ditched that dreadful comb-over), and tried to get definites on whether he’d seek higher elected office (the presidency in 2008 seems to be the most logical race for him). Where I found the former mayor most pensive was when the I-Man asked him whether or not he thought he was going to die on September 11th. Giuliani thought for a moment and conceded that the thought did cross his mind. Albeit briefly. That long walk, it seems, put his life in danger. However he put the thought away, if only for the important job that there was to be done. Perhaps a bit of Gotti rubbing off, but it was pure Giuliani.
Other lessons taught in his book Leadership worth noting:
“Prepare relentlessly. Don’t assume a damn thing.”
On losing the mayoralty election in 1989 by a mere 40,000 votes, Giuliani didn’t merely sit on his hands and sulk. No, he went on to learn everything he could on the governance of New York City. One lecture he heard by one Professor George Killing on the theory of crime fighting, helped Giuliani formulate his own policies. Once he became mayor, New York’s crime rate was slashed by 60%.
“Set goals. Measure. Revise.”
Giuliani has been praised for his efforts in collecting data on crime. That has helped him and his staff mark patterns, and from that reassess policies. His success in governing New York is a testament to such a formulated system.
“Stand up to bullies.”
He made UN diplomats pay their parking fines. He stood up to legal aid lawyers who wanted to strike and they backed down. Ditto for transit workers. Giuliani notes: “One of the best reasons to let bullies know you won’t back down from a fight is so that it doesn’t get to that point often.”
The I-Man is a tad short on intellectual capabilities. However he noted after Giuliani’s appearance that besides being ‘America’s Mayor,’ he was their Churchill. Usually I’d scoff at such gushing, but considering what Giuliani has done, and the manner and tone he’s done it, Imus’ assessment isn’t a bad one. Rudolph Giuliani is a hell of a good leader.
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An archive of Joseph Planta's previous columns can be found by clicking HERE .