Hollywood Mafia Industry and Corporate America share operational similarities. Let’s take the scenario: Al Capone in charge of General Motors or Jack Welch in charge of the Bonnono crime family (one of the most powerful families of the original five New York mob families). Larger than life, the film reproduces reality, inspires and models it. I am one of those who likes to learn from everything I do, whether it is watching television or reading a book. The following letter reveals how American business and organized crime are in the same operational mode.
At the center of any relationship, there are certain rules and values. Going to work for the mob, as many of us know it, is similar to putting on your suit and going to work for GM. The only underlying difference is that of the rules by which each entity operates. The mob is in business for one reason and only one reason, and that is profitability. The corporation is in business for one and one reason only, which is profitability. Eliminate everything that makes you feel good, delicate and delicate things. In reality, this feeling good, sensitive and sensitive thing is just a tool to achieve the ultimate purpose of existence. Core Purpose, as we have learned, is your company’s raison d’être! Well, I beg to differ; the central purpose of the existence of any entity is to fulfill its personal agenda. What is different are the means used to meet these needs. The corporation exists for a purpose and so does the mob. Both are a set of organized entities that are governed by a set of rules driven by the values of the founding members.
There are more ways the mob is similar to corporate America, but I won’t please you, reader, with all these similarities and analyzes. What I want you to learn from this letter is that you can learn from every little thing you do and what others do. You can learn from what you see on television and you can learn from what you hear on the radio. But you must learn the right kind of things. Learning right from wrong is important, but the most important thing is to answer the question why? Why don’t I agree with what I just saw and why do I agree with what I just saw? Similarly, mob activities may be something you disagree with, but have you considered the question of why you disagree with these activities? In most cases, you will not agree to these activities because you are afraid or because your moral value system does not allow you to participate in such activities. But we must learn to differentiate activities from their desired goals.
As mentioned above, there are many ways to reach the same goal. You can run to the finish line or walk, you can even run and walk. In fact there are numerous combinations that you can put together to achieve your goal of reaching the goal. Similarly, the American mob or organized crime and corporations have similar goals but different means of reaching them. Both have a product or service, both have clients, both have leaders, both have a board of directors, both have a distribution system, both have a collection process, and both have shareholders and stakeholders.
By now, you must be curious what the similarities are between the mob and American companies. Below I have listed and briefly explained how the mob is similar to some of the largest corporations in the world.
Loyalty and honesty:
These are characteristics that are part of both entities. Whether they respect each other is another matter, but the fact that both US companies and the mob look for loyal and honest employees provides a basis for considering this similarity.
Rules vs. Policy and procedures:
The mafia has rules by which it operates and to which its members must adhere. The corporation has policies and procedures that it must follow and that company employees must adhere to.
Top derived strategy:
In both a corporation and the mob, strategy stems from the top. The CEO and his executives decided where the corporation should go. In a mob family, the decision comes from the Godfather and his board of directors. In the mob, the key decision makers are the Don, the sub-boss, and the councilor.
Power and association policy:
The individuals of a mob or a corporation work to achieve power through politics and association. In a corporate setting, if you like them and are well connected, you are sure to move up the ladder quickly. In the mafia, if you are loved and well associated, you are a man, a good friend.
Ranks vs. Titles:
In the mob, ranks are important; they determine who you are and the extent of your authority. The same is the case with a corporation, where titles determine the importance of an individual along with the extent of his authority.
Those mentioned above are just some of the main similarities between a major crime family and a large corporation. The different thing about the mafia is what fascinates me.
The heads of these mob families are mostly uneducated people, if we look at their academic background from the eyes of the general public. Most of them have little schooling, but they can profitably run a large organization in an environment where their existence is considered illegal. Members of the mafia operate openly in the free market system and in places where communism is still practiced. Plus, they thrive in both environments. The mafia and its leaders are focused on results and objectives. They use whatever they have at their disposal to achieve these goals. This may sound “BAD” or “WRONG” to many of us, but consider what we know and have learned so far. All the mafia does is operate in a different environment governed by a different set of rules. It is still a business like a corporation.
Of course, some people might be thinking that value systems are different and that is what makes the mob operate the way it does. In fact, the values shared by the mafia and most corporations are the same, the rule of the game is different. The mob values fair treatment of its employees, the mob values giving back to its community, the mob creates jobs for the unemployed, benefits society by keeping law enforcement on their feet. In fact, I would say that the mob supports the huge budgets and workforce of many law enforcement agencies. The mafia, which is considered evil, also invests in American companies. But in my opinion, the most important job the mob does is to bring the organization into an anything goes environment. What I have learned about how the mob operates may be different than what you could learn. I have summarized my learning below:
1. Trust is earned, not given
2. Sorry but don’t forget
3. Without energy, you will swim with the sharks.
4. Learn the game of deception and learn when to use it
5. Focus not on the results, but on achieving the goal
6. Do what you do best, hire for the rest
7. Always give more than you receive
8. Remember the people who favored you.
9. Forgive those who tried to hurt you. (You never know when you might need someone. Once in power, the people who hated you the most suddenly become your best friends, and in most cases these people are the most loyal to you as they have the most to try)
10. Choose your fights (you always live to fight another day)
11. Just say what needs to be said and be frank