Giuliani Rallies NEMRA Reps With Speech On Leadership

Feb. 25, 2005
Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City, addressed the 1,660 attendees of the National Electrical Manufacturers’ Representative Association’s (NEMRA) 35th annual conference in New York City last week.

Whether it was leading his constituents and the nation through the aftermath of Sept.11, 2001, or personally facing the threat of a life-threatening disease, Rudy Giuliani leaned heavily on the principals of leadership that he’s developed during a career of public service.

The former mayor of New York City, who was also a federal prosecutor and is now mentioned as a possible future presidential and senatorial candidate, addressed the 1,660 attendees of the National Electrical Manufacturers’ Representative Association’s (NEMRA) 35th annual conference in New York City last week.

Looking back at what he, the city and the nation faced following the attacks of 9-11, Giuliani said, “I had been through every problem imaginable — airplane crashes, high-rise fires and hostage situations, but I never went through anything like that before in my life.”

According to Giuliani, the six principals of leadership that saw him through that and other crises in his life are:

Strong beliefs. “If you don’t have strong personnel beliefs, you can’t lead anyone,” he said. Citing former President Reagan as an example, Giuliani noted, “Reagan stood for something. He held two strong beliefs: Communism is evil, and it should be confronted. His contemporaries felt it was too dangerous to confront communism. Reagan said confront it and you can liberate people.”

Optimism. “Imagine what would happen if I said, ‘Things are lousy and they’re going to get worse — follow me.’ No one would follow that kind of person. Most of New York City and the whole country follow hopes, dreams and the fulfillment of dreams. That’s the magnet of dreamers. Reagan was considered a hopeless optimist and that’s why people followed him.”

Courage. “Courage is not the absence of fear,” said the former mayor. “Rather, courage is the ability to manage fear in order to do what you must do.” He added that the question remains, “Should we be afraid of terrorists? Sure, we should, that fear will allow us to better prepare and to push government and private institutions to do more to face the possibility of terrorism in the future. At the same time, however, we should go ahead and live our lives and not allow terrorists to interfere with our lives.”

Relentless preparation. Giuliani noted that his career as an attorney taught him that cases are won during the preparation performed in the office, not in the courtroom. He recalled that as he approached the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, “I froze and realized we had never faced anything like this before — we didn’t have a written plan to follow. But then, we began acting and everything we did grew out of a plan — situations we had faced before. If you prepare for even the unanticipated, you’re ready.”

Teamwork. “Success has nothing to do with an individual, rather it’s all about the team working together,” maintained Giuliani. “If you are a leader, success is all about them (i.e., the team), and not me.” In creating an effective team, he said, “You have to ask the question, ‘What are my weaknesses and how do I balance those weaknesses with the strengths of others around me?’”

Communication. “If you properly possess the first five principals of leadership, then communications is just talking to people,” Giuliani said. “Some leaders are fiery, others are understated, but communications is just getting out of your mind the things you want others to do.”

In closing, Giuliani said, “When things are going wrong, leaders can’t hide. You must be there — you must be seen. Mistakes will always be made, but you’ll get through the worst situations.”

The day before Giuliani took the podium, conference attendees heard a panel of manufacturers and independent reps at NEMRA’s Manufacturers’ Group (NMG) in a forum entitled “Leadership and Development for the Next Generation.”

Setting the stage for the discussion, moderator Robert Wendover, managing director of The Center for Generational Studies, Aurora, Colo., defined the four generations that make up today’s work force. According to Wendover, those generations are:

Matures: born prior to 1946

Baby Boomers: born between 1946-64

Generation X: born between 1965-80

Millennials: born between 1981-99

The consultant emphasized how a number of variables (e.g., economy, war, technology, communications, diversity) influence each of these generations and create challenges for working with them effectively. Once Wendover set the stage for discussion, manufacturer and rep panel members took over.

Willis Milner, United Electrical Sales, Orlando, Fla., said, “We have four generations working in the agency. The differences in those generations present challenges to management. I’d say that, in general, the oldest of our employees live to work, while the youngest work to live. We’ve had to work through those issues that could cause problems. Individuals who span those generations work well and work hard together. While younger people are most focused on today, they do respond to things such as group insurance and 401(k) programs.”

Among the younger members of the panel was Jeff Sherman, electrical marketing manager, PW Eagle, Eugene, Ore. According to Sherman, “Younger people, including myself, tend to employ a more professional versus personal attitude toward customer relationships. We like to work 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., without devoting a lot of time to socializing. In addition, we’re skeptical about trusting outsiders, we’re quick to adopt technology to solve problems, and we’re easily frustrated with ‘baby boomers’ who don’t want to change the way they do things.”

Other members of the panel were: Kelly Boyd, ElectroRep Inc., Sausalito, Calif.; Tom Fisher, Fishco & Associates, St. Louis; John Hoffman, The Wiremold Co., West Hartford, Conn.; and Gary Norris, Ilsco, Cincinnati.