Leadership, autobiography by Rudolph Giuliani: on Government Reform

Rudy Giuliani: Applied "reinventing government" to New York City

The ideas about "reinventing government" found in the book of the same name by David Osborne and Ted Gaebler proved extremely useful: as much as possible, I tried to run the city as a business, using business principles to impose accountability on government. Objective, measurable indicators of success allow governments to be accountable, and I relentlessly pursued that idea.

I am not above using good ideas that originate from places on might not expect me to mine. I expanded several programs that [Democratic mayors] had implemented.

Rudy Giuliani: Debates on campaign finance reform miss the point on honesty

In politics, there is an outcry whenever an officeholder who has received campaign contributions from a particular industry supports a position perceived as favorable to that industry. The implication is that, say, the tobacco industry's contribution "bought" the official's support or at least bought access. I would be the last to say it never happens, but much more common is a company choosing to support those it views as sympathetic to its interests. At any given moment in my administration, someone who supported me was angry because I didn't do what they hoped I would do. If they withdraw their support, you don't want them around anyway. There's no one thing you can do to establish the principle. All you can do is keep making decisions based on what you believe, and by your example, you will demonstrate your independence.