Hollywood Mafia Industry and Corporate America share operational similarities. Take the stage: Al Capone running General Motors or Jack Welch running the Bonnono crime family (one of the most powerful of the original five New York mob families). Larger than life, the film replicates, inspires and shapes reality. I am a person who likes to learn from everything he does, whether it is watching television or reading a book. The following letter brings to light how corporate America and organized crime are in the same operating mode.
At the core of any relationship, there are certain rules and values. Going to work for the mob, as many of us know it, is akin to putting on a suit and going to work for GM. The only notable difference is that of the rules by which each entity operates. The mob is in business for one reason and one reason only, and that is profitability. The corporation is in business for one and one reason only, and that is profitability. Cut everything that makes you feel good, the delicate things. Actually, this feeling of feeling good is just a tool to achieve the ultimate purpose of existence. The main purpose, as we have learned, is the reason for being of your company! Well, sorry to disagree; the central purpose of the existence of any entity is to fulfill its personal agenda. What is different is the means used to achieve these needs. The corporation exists for a purpose and so does the mafia. Both are a set of organized entities that are governed by a set of rules driven by the values of the founding member.
There is more than one way the mob is similar to corporate America, but I am not going to spoil the reader with all these similarities and analyses. What I want you to take away 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 more important is answering the question why? Why don’t I agree with what I just saw and why do I agree with what I just saw? Likewise, mob activities may be something you don’t agree with, but have you considered the question why you don’t agree 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 make to achieve your goal of reaching the goal. Similarly, the mafia or organized crime and corporate America have similar goals but different means of reaching them. Both have a product or service, both have customers, 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 as to what the similarities are between the mob and corporate America. Below I have listed and briefly explained how the mafia 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 question, but the fact that both corporate America and the mafia look for employees who are loyal and honest 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 to which the company’s employees must adhere.
Strategy derived from the top:
Whether in a corporation or in the mafia, strategy is derived from the top. The CEO and his executives decided where the corporation should go. In a mafia family, the decision comes from the Godfather and his board of directors. In the Mafia, the key decision makers are the Don, the sub-don, and the council.
Power politics and association:
Individuals in a mafia or corporation work to achieve power through politics and association. In a corporate setting, if you like them and are well connected, you’re bound to rise quickly. In the mob, if you like them and associate well with you, you’re a man, a Goodfella.
Ranks against titles:
In the mob, ranks are important; they determine who you are and the extent of your authority. The same is true of a corporation, where titles determine the importance of an individual along with the extent of his authority.
The ones mentioned above are just some important similarities between a big crime family and a big corporation. What is different about the mafia is what fascinates me.
The heads of these mafia families are mostly uneducated people, if we look at their educational background from the eyes of the general public. Most of them have little schooling, but are capable of running a large organization profitably in an environment where their existence is considered against the law. Mafia members openly operate in the free market system and in places where communism is still practiced. What’s more, they flourish in both environments. The Mafia and its leaders are focused on results and goals. They use all the means at their disposal to achieve these goals. This may sound “WRONG” or “WRONG” to many of us, but consider what we know and have learned so far. All the mob 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 the value systems are different and that’s what makes the mob operate the way it does. In fact, the values shared by the mafia and most corporations are the same, the rules of the game are different. The mob values fair treatment of their employees, the mob values giving back to their community, the mob creates jobs for the unemployed, benefits society by keeping law enforcement on their toes. In fact, I would argue that the mob supports the huge budgets and workforces of many law enforcement agencies. The mob that is considered evil also invests in Corporate America. But in my opinion, the most important job the Mafia does is to bring the organization into an environment where anything goes. What I have learned about how the mob operates might be different from what I could learn. I have summarized my learning below:
1. Trust is earned, not given
2. Forgive but don’t forget
3. Without power, you will swim with the sharks
4. Learn the game of deception and learn when to use it
5. Focus not on results, but on achieving the goal
6. Do what you do best, hire for the rest
7. Always give more than you take
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 ones who are most loyal to you, since they have more to prove)
10. Pick and choose your fights (You always live to fight another day)
11. Just say what needs to be said and be forceful