Top 10 Mafia Leadership Lessons - Recognition
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People like money, but they also like recognition
I won’t try to kid anyone here: of course mafiosi want money. In fact, the central purpose of the Mafia is to move and produce money. Families exist to create multi-million dollar fortunes. Really successful Mafia leaders become filthy rich, and they do whatever they think will work. Anything goes, from drug dealing to illegal gambling to other illegal schemes. In fact, some dons have been known to be extremely good businessmen in totally legitimate ventures.
While all that is true, it is also true that they also work for the cachet of being called ‘capo’ instead of being just a gopher, or don instead of capo. Not only will this bring them more money, but also a better reputation and standing. Those kinds of promotions do a lot for the egos of many people. Just being referred to with a different title, or being recognized in front of a group, does wonders for their self-esteems.
In the same way, leaders in other areas of life can apply this lesson. In fact, many of today’s most successful businesses have applied it and have seen its fruits. Money-based bonuses and awards have been shown to be ineffective in terms of self-realization. The productivity of employees who are recognized in other ways, on the other hand, has increased dramatically. Sometimes all that is necessary to spice up your leadership is to call someone ‘don’ instead of ‘wise guy’. It can do wonders.
July 15th, 2007 at 10:36 pm
Hi Ivan…Not sure if you’ve seen it, but the book Leadership Soprano’s Style covered this ground. Even though I think your “Mafia Leadership Lessons” is an interesting exercise, I have to say that I’m not a great fan of the mafia reference, any more than I’m a fan of citing Hitler as a leader. Leadership has to do with putting a set of values into action and creating a world more consistant with those values. So even though Hitler and Tony Soprano “got things done” I don’t share their values and would never follow them–and neither would anyone that I care to share my life with; therefore, I’d never hold them, or their ilk, up as examples for the rest of us.
Can we learn from their tactics? Sure. But ultimately, as far as leadership goes, we can’t seperate the tactic from the tactician.
July 17th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
I certainly understand what you’re saying, Steve. I wouldn’t follow Hitler either, and it definitely has to do with the fact that his values or the Mafia’s aren’t in sync with mine. Leadership is much more than merely ‘getting things done’, and I certainly hope that the message I’m conveying isn’t that I admire the Mafia. Nevertheless, I’m working on an article about the importance of “accountability” in leadership, and will be devoid of any reference to the Mafia, Hitler, or anything similar. In fact, if it turns out to be long enough, it may be offered as a free e-book. Thanks for your comment!