New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani spoke at Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum Monday about his six principles of leadership and how they relate to young people.
"Most of the time in college, I don't think you display leadership, you just learn about it," Giuliani said. "This is the time to really acquire the basic knowledge that you're going to use for the rest of your life. And I was taught one of the best ways to learn leadership was to copy it from other people."
The first principle of leadership is to have a strong set of beliefs.
Giuliani said President Ronald Reagan was one of his role models. He said Reagan had a strong belief system and stuck by his beliefs.
"He didn't let public opinion polls push him around," Giuliani said. "He determined where he wanted things to go. He did the best that he could to move in that direction. And of all the political leaders in the last 40 or 50 years, I think he is the best example young people can have for how to be a leader."
The second rule, Giuliani said, is to be an optimist.
He said people follow those who offer hope. He recalled the moment when he learned he had prostate cancer. He said he had a realization a few days after the news.
"I was in danger, real danger, before I knew I had prostate cancer," Giuliani said. "When I was told I had prostate cancer, I was a lucky man."
He said he was lucky because he knew about the cancer and had an opportunity to do something about it.
Giuliani's third principle is to have courage.
"You don't make any great changes without taking a risk," Giuliani said. When in stressful situations, he said, focus on simple things that can be easily accomplished.
"My father taught me a lesson when I was very young that I use whenever I'm in a simple crisis or emergency situation," Giuliani said. "The lesson that he taught me was that if you're in the middle of an emergency--he used to say a fire--if you're ever in a fire, he said, remain calm. And if you're not calm, pretend you're calm because you'll be able to think better if you remain calm."
He told the audience if they were afraid of something, they should put that energy into his fourth principle: relentless preparation.
The fifth rule is teamwork. He said the audience should ask of themselves, "What are my weaknesses?" and then find people who can help them.
"The final principle of leadership is communication," Giuliani said. "A leader, after all, in many cases, is a teacher and a motivator."
Though it was not listed among his six principles, Giuliani also stressed, "If you want to be a leader, you have to love people. You have to care about them."
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
