Rudolph Giuliani, mayor of New York City from 1994-2001, was thrust onto the world stage on September 11, 2001, in the wake of the attaccks on the World Trade Center. In Leadership, he describes how the lessons of his premayoral career and the everyday trials of running New York prepared him to confront this crisis. Here is a brief excerpt:
Great leaders lead by ideas. ...
It's up to a leader to instill confidence, to believe in his judgment and in his people even when they no longer believe in themselves. Sometimes, the optimism of a leader is grounded in something only he knows—the situation isn't as dire as people think for reasons that will eventually become clear. But sometimes the leader has to be optimistic simply because if he isn't nobody else will be.
And you've got at least to try to fight back, no matter how daunting the odds.
Rudolph W. Giuliani with Ken Kurson, Leadership (New York: Miramax Books, 2002), pp. 171, 298.
