HRS RECOMMENDED READING
"Everyone Needs A Mentor" ~ by David Clutterbuck
"Shackleton’s Way" ~ by Margot Morrell and Stephanie Capparell
"The New Alchemists" ~ by Charles Handy
by
Sharon Hunt
by Rudolf W Giuliani and Ken Kurson
The enormous losses resulting from September 11 suffered by Giuliani and his close friends are simply heartbreaking. For example, in his 39 years' service in the Fire Department, Fire Chief Raymond Downey committed several acts of extreme bravery and saved countless lives; he had been married to the same woman for 40 years, fathered 5 children and had 7 grandchildren. Tragically, Downey perished that day along with 342 other fire-fighters.
However, the largest part of the book focuses on Giuliani as a leader. He shows himself to be a compassionate man with a high regard for bravery, innovative and prepared to stand up and face tough situations - such as the way he dealt with New York's 'squeezy men', the people who clean windscreens while cars are stationary at traffic lights and then demand money.
Giuliani was also responsible for the introduction of Compstat, a new system for recording crime in New York City which provides information about the way patterns of crime develop in certain areas. This proved so successful that it won Harvard's Innovation in Government award. But anyone who failed to go along with the new system faced Giuliani's wrath and made to understand it was time to retire or face demotion. Nor was Giuliani afraid of courting controversy. In his first term as mayor he introduced a system which required the recipients of welfare payments to work, reflecting his belief that they needed the dignity that comes from work. Thus 'taxpayers felt their funds weren't being thrown into the East River and everyone in the city got cleaner parks'.
Although Giuliani trained as a lawyer, he admits that when he ran for Mayor he still had to learn the art of speechmaking and to 'communicate directly and with emotional honesty'. He gives full and detailed accounts of his many achievements while in office, but is open about his weaknesses. Out of gratitude to those who helped him along the way, Giuliani dedicated this book to 'All the people whom I leaned on and learned from'.