{"blocks":[{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"It’s not every advice-book writer who can boast that his business acumen once earned him a spot a Fortune magazine Top 50 list. Fewer still can claim to have made the list Michael Franzese appeared on in 1986, when he was No. 18 on the mag’s tally of the “Fifty Most Wealthy and Powerful Mafia Bosses,” only five slots below John Gotti."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"As a caporegime of New York’s notorious Colombo family — and son of legendary underboss John “Sonny” Franzese — Michael earned his spot by spearheading a web of criminal enterprises that raked in millions of dollars a week. One federal report at the time stated that Franzese was pulling in more revenue for a crime family than any single organizer since Al Capone."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"But those days are done. One of the only men of his status to ever walk away from La Cosa Nostra, Michael has seen the light — and managed to stay breathing in the light of day."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“There isn’t a caporegime from my level that I knew that’s still around,” he told @work. “Not one. They’re all in jail or dead, every single one of them. Every day I count my blessings.”"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Among those blessings is a career as a motivational speaker and business adviser, with a new book that draws on his former life to offer business advice for the upright, entitled “I’ll Make You an Offer You Can’t Refuse: Insider Business Tips From a Former Mob Boss.”"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"What can a legit entrepreneur learn from the kind of businessman for whom “termination” doesn’t mean a pink slip?"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Plenty, according to Franzese, who says the business principles that made him a criminal kingpin can work as well in the Fortune 500 as they do in a Brooklyn social club."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“There is no doubt in my mind that many of the mob executives who succeeded in the business of organized crime would have been equally successful in the boardrooms and business offices of corporate America,” he writes."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Growing up in Brooklyn, Franzese started out on the straight and narrow, attending Hofstra University on a pre-med program. It wasn’t until his father was locked up on a bank-robbery rap that he dropped out to follow in his dad’s footsteps. He was made at 24, and shot up through the ranks with ventures that included legitimate operations, such as auto dealerships, as well as shady ones like loan sharking and selling bootleg gasoline."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"But the government finally caught up, and after a second stint in prison on a racketeering charge — during which he drew inspiration from the Bible and a new, born-again wife — Franzese decided he wanted out."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"He didn’t rat out his made brethren. And although he knows they weren’t happy with his departure, he’s been openly leading a civilian’s life in sunny California with his wife of now 24 years."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"The speaking career began when Franzese started getting offers to speak to churches and youth groups about the dangers of gambling and give pointers on business management. Today his clients include sports clubs, corporate executives and business schools."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Does he worry about his past? Fuhgeddaboutit!"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“I don’t fear for my life,” he says. “I mean, I don’t think I could go back to Brooklyn and say, ‘Hey guys, I’m moving back into the neighborhood.’ I don’t think I’d last very long, but I don’t walk around with a bodyguard.”"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"While his new lifestyle means a drastically reduced paycheck, Franzese doesn’t pine for lost fortunes."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“There’s all these rumors that I have money buried overseas,” he says. “Listen, if there’s money out there, I doubt I’ll ever get to use it. You never know, I might get a gift one day, but I’m not counting on it.”"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Nor is he one for glorifying his former life. Crime, he says, is “destructive, immoral and harmful to innocent people.”"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Plus, it really doesn’t pay, he says, pointing to his own prison bids as proof."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"That said, here are some of Franzese’s tips for succeeding in the straight world."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"* Pick the right crew"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“In mob life, if you didn’t have the right people around you, you didn’t last,” says Franzese. “And when I say you didn’t last, I mean you didn’t live.”"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"OK, that’s less of a concern for your average business owner, but the same rule applies: “It’s important to have the right people around that know what they’re doing.”"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"That means “guys who are capable, reliable and, most important, honest.”"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Wait, honest? Isn’t that a liability for a mobster?"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Not so, says Franzese, backing it up with the tale of a former partner who kept a file on Franzese, figuring he’d use it as a get-out-of-jail card if he were ever busted. He was, and he did."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"* Enlist a consigliere"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Everyone can benefit from a trusted advisor who will give it to you straight. A consigliere “is a safeguard to your own shortsightedness, lack of information or perspective, even your own bad judgment. Get one and use him or her to the maximum.”"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"* Cut to the chase"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Can you picture Al Capone opening a business meeting with a lengthy exchange of pleasantries?"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“Mobsters’ motto is ‘Cut to the chase,’ ” writes Franzese. “They want a clear and easy path to the cash.”"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"To follow suit, slow down, eliminate clutter and focus on the essentials."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“Separate the minutiae from the main points, then get other people to do the minutiae,” he says. “Just say, ‘I need to turn a profit, this is how I’m going to do it, and everything else can go sit in the rain.’ “"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"* Master the “sit-down”"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Mobsters have a trait that employees the world over would love to see their bosses emulate. When it’s time for a meeting, they don’t waste words."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“You can have 10 meetings a day and accomplish nothing,” says Franzese, citing endless pow-wows where people ramble pointlessly and agendas aren’t clear. The sit-down, by contrast, is “a model of efficiency everyone in business should follow.”"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“At a sit-down, we say: What are we trying to solve here? What’s the issue? Who at this meeting has something to contribute?” he says. “If you don’t, you’re outta here.”"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"* Use your “street sense”"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Having a business plan is all well and good, but you also need to have instincts."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“Street sense is really about becoming a good listener and learning about the people you’re doing business with, and then letting that knowledge work to your advantage,” he says."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"* Avoid Machiavelli’s trap"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Machiavelli is so revered in Mafia circles that his take-no-prisoners tome “The Prince” is “to the mob as the Bible is to Christians,” says Franzese."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“His whole concept was the same as the mob’s: The ends justify the means,” he says. “You do whatever’s necessary to succeed. Whatever is necessary.”"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"That can pay big dividends — but only for a time."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“What happens in the end is that you’re going to collapse. It’s not going to end up any other way,” he says. “Is behaving ethically a guarantee that you’ll become a billionaire? No. But if you follow that path, you’ll enjoy success in the long run.”"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"excerpt: some high-stakes negotiation"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"In his book, Michael Franzese illustrates his maxims with a few tales from the old days — like this one about protecting a friend from an angry mob boss. "}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Jerry Zimmerman was a business associate who had a habit of doing — and saying — the wrong thing in almost any situation. He was a smooth talker who ran his mouth faster than a mobster pulling a hijacking."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"In 1977 I had the big guy manage an auto dealership I owned on Long Island. I was in the office one day when I heard an argument. Sure enough, there was Jerry railing away with another guy, who was unhappy with a car he was sold."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Then it was over. Jerry stormed into my office."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“I couldn’t believe this guy,” roared Jerry. “He demanded I give him a new car. Then he threatened me with some mob guy named Mario. I told him to get back in his car, pick up his spaghetti-bending goombah, and drive off the nearest cliff, because he wasn’t getting squat.”"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"A few days later I received a call from Tony, a soldier in my family, who said he needed to see me that evening in Bensonhurst. When I arrived he told me another capo with the Genovese family wanted to see me. We met the capo in a back room. Tony made the introduction. “Michael, amico nostro, Mario.” We all sat down. Mario fired the first question."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“Do you know a Jew named Jerry Zimmerman?” It hit me like a ton of bricks. This was the car lot Mario."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“I know Jerry,” I calmly responded. “He’s with me.”"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Without blinking, Mario shot back. “He disrespected me to my brother-in-law, and I want him dead.”"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"I knew the rules. There was no toleration for disrespecting a made man. Consequences were severe."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"The situation was complicated. This guy was an old-time caporegime, and I was just a young soldier. If he demanded Jerry’s head, I was supposed to serve it up. But this is where it gets tricky. I wasn’t going to do it."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"I told him Jerry had been around the family a long time. “No way would he ever be disrespectful to you or any other friend of ours,” I lied. “He knows better.” Mario argued that his brother-in-law would not lie, and because he was family, his word carried more weight."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"It went on for almost an hour. Neither one of us gave an inch. These old-timers took the respect issue way too seriously. I had to end the matter before it went to the next level. A tactical retreat was the only way to break the standoff."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Sometimes it is better to accept less in a negotiation than to walk away a total loser, especially when a total loss could have a major impact on your business. In my negotiation with Mario, I quickly realized my goal was to keep the big guy breathing. I also realized I wasn’t going to win unless I gave up something in return."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Mario wanted to come out a winner for his brother"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"-in-law, so I offered a solution that would accomplish just that. I would give his brother-in-law a new car, and would sternly admonish Jerry for being disrespectful. He would be a hero to his guy, and Jerry would continue to breathe."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Mario sniffed the bait but said the big guy still needed some pain. Not acceptable, I said. After another 15 minutes of ego stroking, I set the hook. Mario accepted. Jerry would see the dawn. But I sure gave him an earful on the drive home."}}]}

Mary Otte

NypMaryOtte@RoundtableIO

WISEGUY WISDOM