the art of leading

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Alliances

In 1929 a group of crime organizations attended a special meeting. In this meeting were the most powerful crime bosses in the US, among them Meyer Lansky, Al Capone, Albert Anastasia, Johnny Torrio, Frank Costello, and Lucky Luciano. What came out of this meeting, as revealed by Senate hearings in the 1950’s, was the birth of the National Crime Syndicate. Luciano and Lansky, who are recognized by many as the main founders, proposed this organization as a multi-ethnic alliance that was to deal with common problems. It obviously was much more than that. They had a thirst for power that would only be quenched by a Mafia Empire. Nevertheless, they identified some common issues that were better dealt with by forgetting temporarily about their differences, such as foreign ‘intrusion’ in their schemes. With this mindset, the Italian mobsters were able to take advantage of the Jewish Lansky’s contacts with Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, African-American gangsters were protected by Italians, and so on.

Today’s leaders should use this example to form their own alliances. Napoleon Hill, in his classic book Think and Grow Rich, calls this concept the Mastermind Group. The basic idea of this is to take advantage of the ideas and expertise of others. It is common to realize that ideas come more freely when they are being discussed in a group than when you’re alone. I certainly do not have a scientific explanation for this. But I am certain that when talking about alliances and mastermind groups, 1 head + 1 head = 10 heads.

This lesson, as can be seen, has two similar variances: the alliance and the mastermind. What the American Mafia did with the National Crime Syndicate was an alliance. They used each group’s resources to the advantage of everyone involved, to strive for one common goal. The mastermind is more of a ‘brainstorming’ alliance. In this variation, groups may discuss certain issues or ideas which later on will perhaps be used to strive for individual goals. Use both approaches. Perhaps your organization has great ideas but can’t make them reality because of scarce resources. In this case, you may ally yourself with another organization which has the resources, and both could share the profits. Or maybe you are an entrepreneur and are stuck with a specific business idea. You could form a mastermind group where everyone pitches in to refine your idea. The key is to use the brains of others and share yours. That will create exponential value.

Categories : General Leadership, Goals, Mafia //