Rudy on Leadership: The Small Stuff

Notes on Leadership from America's Mayor:

Always Sweat The Small Stuff

• God is in the details.
• Understanding how something works is not only a leader's responsibility; it also makes him or her better able to let people do their jobs. If they don't have to explain the basics of what they need and why they need it every time they request more funds or different resources, then they are freer to pursue strategies beyond simply spending what they're given.
• No leader can know everything about a system. A confident one won't hesitate to seek advice -- publicly and privately -- from those more expert in an area affecting the enterprise.
• "Sweat the Small Stuff" is the essence of the Broken Windows theory: a seemingly minor matter like broken windows in abandoned buildings leads directly to a more serious deterioration of neighborhoods. Someone who wouldn't normally throw a rock at an intact building is less reluctant to break a second window in a building that already has one broken. And someone emboldened by all the second broken windows may do even worse damage if he senses that no one is around to prevent lawlessness.
• One might suppose that attending to the details would assume less importance during times of crisis, but the reverse is true.
• The best way to assure that your staff, and others who rely on you at such times, feel that someone is leading the way is to show that you're as focused as ever on the details.
• Thomas De Quincey: "If once a man indulges himself in murder, very soon he comes to think little of robbing; and from robbing, he comes next to drinking and Sabbath-breaking, and from that to incivility and procrastination."

It should be said that I do not endorse Rudy Giuliani for the 2008 Republican Presidential nomination. If you've been to the site before, it should be clear to you that I'm a Fred Thompson supporter. I simply am enjoying Rudy Giuliani's book on Leadership.

Joe