Leadership, autobiography by Rudolph Giuliani: on Principles & Values

Ronald Reagan: Built morale so people believed things could be accomplished

Institutions with high esprit de corps, and high morale, can be enormously productive; but if the leader is not careful, there are pitfalls. Morale is not an end in itself; it is designed to create better performance. It cannot be an after-thought--it ha to be central to everything you do as a leader.

When Carter was president, the prevailing mood was malaise. Nobody could run the country, you just did the best you could not to make it worse. When Reagan became president, all of a sudden people started to believe things could be accomplished. The Soviet Union could be stared down and spoken about in plain language, unions could be forced to behave responsibly, taxes could be reduced in the hope that individuals would make smarter decisions for their dollars than the federal government. The feeling was that the president was very much in charge. Reagan understood that much of that was optimism. It did not mean that leaders ran around cheerful all the time, but that they found ways to build morale.

Source: Leadership, autobiography by Rudolph Giuliani, p.120-121 Oct 1, 2002

Rudy Giuliani: Dropped out of 2000 Senate race to put his health first

On April 26, 2000, I heard words nobody wants to hear: "Your biopsy results are positive." I had prostrate cancer. Nineteen years earlier, my dad died of the disease. In my case, detection came as the result of a physical.

Contemplating a decision about dropping out of the race for the Senate was clouding my decision about how to deal with cancer. Without realizing it, I was trying to evaluate my treatment options with one eye on the Senate race. I had a gnawing feeling that it was wrong to allow the Senate race, as important as I thought it was, to affect decisions about my health.

A friend crystallized my thinking when he said to put my health first. As soon as I agreed with that priority, other decisions fell into place. My first decision was that I would include hormones in my treatment. On May 19th, I went to get the Lupron injection. Later that day, I announced that I was not going to run for the Senate.

Source: Leadership, autobiography by Rudolph Giuliani, p.129-135 Oct 1, 2002

Rudy Giuliani: Considered medicine & priesthood before entering law

For the first 18 years of my life, I had two vocations in mind--medicine or the priesthood. Both satisfied a feeling that had been growing in my whole life: that to be happy and fulfilled, I had to help others. Although neither of my parents were particularly devout, they both felt deeply the Church's message of experiencing grace by giving to others.

If I was going to become a priest, I was going to help the most underprivileged I could find. But then I realized I had a problem: my budding interest in the opposite sex was something that wouldn't be suppressed. I thought, maybe I am just not ready.

In college, I entered the pre-med program. But as much as I liked learning biology, I liked ideas better. I turned away from medicine; and as by this time I was already dating, I knew that religious vocation was not for me. In its place, I began to view my love of debate as pointing toward a new calling--to the law, where I could indulge that enthusiasm to the full.

Source: Leadership, autobiography by Rudolph Giuliani, p.172-173 Oct 1, 2002

Rudy Giuliani: Endorsed Democrat Mario Cuomo for NY Governor in 1994

A leader must not let critics set the agenda. One of the toughest decisions I ever made involved my endorsement of Mario Cuomo in his 1994 campaign for re-election as Governor of New York. The reasons were complicated, but there was one important consideration that did not come into my decision. After I announced my support, I became a hero to the liberal media. They printed articles about how I was backing a Democrat, how unique and independent. My approval ratings were among the highest I ever had. I never fooled myself about that. I knew that the only reason the papers suddenly loved me was that, this time, doing what I thought was the right thing happened to be the prevailing view in the media. The second I arrived at a result they didn't like, I'd be right back in the editorial doghouse. Source: Leadership, autobiography by Rudolph Giuliani, p.225 Oct 1, 2002

*The above quotations are from Leadership, autobiography by Rudolph Giuliani with Ken Kurson.* Click here for definitions & background information on Principles & Values. Click here for more quotes by Rudy Giuliani on Principles & Values.
*2008 Presidential contenders on Principles & Values:*
*Republicans:* Chmn.John Cox Mayor Rudy Giuliani Gov.Mike Huckabee Rep.Duncan Hunter Sen.John McCain Rep.Ron Paul Gov.Mitt Romney Sen.Fred Thompson	*Democrats:* Sen.Hillary Clinton Sen.John Edwards Sen.Mike Gravel Rep.Dennis Kucinich Sen.Barack Obama	*Third Parties:* Green: Rep.Cynthia McKinney Socialist: Brian Moore Independent: Mayor Mike Bloomberg
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