Leadership in Challenging Times
Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani gave the Tuesday morning keynote to Interphex attendees on a topic that he is surely qualified to speak on--leadership in challenging times. Former federal prosecutor turned mayor, Giuliani gained fame for the way he handled the crisis of the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks. Knowing his audience, he challenged the pharmaceutical insiders to practice leadership and acknowledge the importance of what they each do for their companies and for society.
Giuliani boiled his thoughts on leadership down into seven principles. Seven is not only a good number, but it fits well into a 45 minute presentation. The thing that absolutely baffled me was the number of mobile phones that rang. Even after he made two comments and told a joke about phones still more rings were heard. More annoying still were the number of people who actually answered them. The guy behind me talked for a minute or two--though thankfully not with the "cell phone voice."
At any rate, Giuliani's excellent seven principles (with a kicker) on leadership in challenging times:
First-Have a set of beliefs. Know what you believe. Ideas are enourmously important in leadership. His examples were Ronald Reagan and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Second-Optimism. "You should be optimistic anyway, you'll have more fun." Offer solutions, not only criticism. Think success.
Third-Ethics. The second principle is so powerful because people really want to follow an optimistic person that it can be used for evil as well as good. So leaders need to know right from wrong and use your powers for good.
Fourth-Courage. Courage is not the absence of fear, but the acknowledgement of the presence of fear and being able to overcome it. This applies to every part of life from handling disease to leading a business.
Fifth-Relentless preparation. Not everything can be anticipated in complex endeavors, but if you are well prepared you can use the plans already developed to move quickly to meet the new and unanticipated challenges.
Sixth-Teamwork. After graduating from law school, Giuliani clerked for a federal judge. The judge once asked the clerks to tell him what all federal judges have in common. They're all cranky? No, he responded, they are all either Republicans or Democrats and are selected by the President in office at the time. Trouble is, some of them after a period of time come to the belief that they've been selected by God. [Do you know any leaders like that? Local board members? Bosses?]
Seventh-Communication. You have to get your ideas out, explain them. Scared about communicating? If you have done the thinking of the first six, just talk about that. It will just come naturally from that.
But...given all that, most of all you've got to care about what you're doing.
Well said.
3:30:51 PM 
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