Right or Left, Giuliani Pleases

Oct. 30, 2008

America’s Mayor, Rudy Giuliani, had the crowd enraptured at ISC East in New York as he spanned his life’s career from defense attorney to the 107th mayor of the city of New York.

For those who haven’t heard him speak before, he focused on crisis management in his speech “Effective Crisis Management: A Commitment to Preparation.†Sponsored by Rapid Response, interestingly enough, Giuliani said nothing could have prepared him for the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, even though he did his best to be prepared.

“Relentless preparation, that’s how you prepare for a crisis,†he told the audience. “But no matter how much you prepare, something unanticipated will happen,†Giuliani said. He recounted how when he first traveled to the World Trade Center he thought a small plane had hit the structure. He was told by the fire chief to be prepared for objects falling from overhead—and didn’t realize until he arrived that the objects were people diving out of the burning building.

“I knew it was bad—but it was totally unexpected. It was something totally different from anything I’ve experienced before.†He urged the audience to be prepared for the unexpected, to keep preparing, and to expect another attack, because it will come.

We can’t ever let our guard down, and it was obvious from his talk that Giuliani’s life had forever changed, as had everyone else’s after 9/11.

“It’s not over yet. If you think it’s over, then you are taking a big risk. They [terrorists] are still planning to kill us in spectacular ways.â€

-Deborah O'Mara