Monday, June 1, 2009

I'LL MAKE YOU AN OFFER YOU CAN'T REFUSE by Michael Franzese

This book is about a former mob boss, Michael Franzese, who was able to leave the mafia and live to tell about how his experiences as an outlaw helped him make important business decisions. Although Michael does not glorify mafia life, he does provide information you can use in business.

One very important thing you can learn about “the life” is how to master the art of a sit-down. A sit-down is where most decisions are made for everything involving the life. In business we have another name for sit-downs…meetings.

Two people that Michael often quotes in this book are King Solomon and Nicolo Machiavelli. Most people involved in the mafia life like thinking of Machiavelli as their guide in whatever it is they do on a daily basis in business; Machiavelli was famous for promoting the “whatever it takes” idea. In other words, do whatever needs to be done in order to obtain the desired results.

After reading this book, the message I took away was that although you might have done some things you regret in the past, there is always a chance to change your ways.