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Book Review - I'll Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse

I'll Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse
Insider Business Tips from a Former Mob Boss
By Michael Franzese

A book review by Don Kusterer

I am not at all a meeting person, especially since most business meetings are conducted either without an agenda, or with just a bare outline, and carried on until the allotted time runs out, or the leader runs out of something to say. As a unique learning experience, “Sit down” in this book is covered as a model of efficiency for today’s group interaction (read meeting). “The agenda is made crystal clear. Do we whack him or not?” Few words are wasted and business is transacted in an extremely concise manner. Results are measured, and acted upon quickly.

This is the prelude to Michael Franzese’s new book, “I'll Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse - Insider Business Tips from a Former Mob Boss”. If you’re looking for a revealing book about Mob secrets, you’ll need to look elsewhere. However, if you want to gain a new perspective – albeit from a rather uncommon business spokesperson – on balance, negotiation, personal habits, and basic business conversation, you’ll find some poignant tactics and new habits we all can put to use if not immediately, then at least cerebrally. 

For many of us, we probably already know some of these secrets; we’re just waiting for someone who has more experience to help us put the puzzle pieces together. We are motivated even more by those who seem to be a high profile figure. When it comes to high profile, Franzese was “#18 on Fortune Magazine's "Fifty Most Wealthy and Powerful Mafia Bosses" list in the mid-80's.”

His new book, published by Thomas Nelson - a company known for motivational and religious publications - is basic and straightforward business sense; but, for lack of a better term, offers up how decisions for others in his previous career had life changing consequences. Where today’s news is filled with financial improprieties, Franzese offers up the chapter “Mob Rule # 7: Cook the Pasta, Not the Books”. In each chapter, he offers experiences that occur in a world outside our own; but not too unlike corporate America, he tells us how we can apply these lessons to our more ordinary lifestyle.

There is no shortage of books that will give you basic business tips, self-help, and a bit of Win/Win make everyone happy (with a trophy or medal); and by the way, don’t remove my 30,000 feet view of the world that I am confident is correct. This is where Franzese departs from the pack. His view on failure as a tool and as a part of self-development, has certainly strummed one of the strings that yours truly has seen time and again in working with young salespeople. He uncovers the subject of failure in a way that is real, and not sugarcoated like some of the other self-help books that preach “we’ll damage someone’s self image if we let him fail”. When you read the book, these precepts will fall into place for you, as well.

While this writer, coming from a strong Judeo-Christian background, finds Franzese’s concept of Machiavelli vs. Solomon difficult (from a personal point of view), it does bring forth my view that a lot of philosophy doesn’t reach the common businessperson’s day-to-day encounters, despite steady emphasis and education. I wonder how many ordinary folks think about these relationships. 

Would I dare be negative in commenting on a book written by a former Mob boss? I found several things that I disagreed with conceptually, but not having walked in his shoes, appreciated the opportunity to experience the personal benefit of learning something new. Can we all learn from Franzese’s experiences? You can bet your life on it!

From a sales and marketing point of view – after all that’s the working world I frequent most - this is a book that is well worth the investment. It’s not what you know in business that causes you to fail; it’s what you don’t know, or what is not on your radar screen, that comes back to get you. Franzese will raise your consciousness to a new, perhaps never before thought of, level that actually was, and is, his world.

“Don’t look for the leader; instead let the line form behind you.” – Don Kusterer

Don Kusterer is a sales and marketing executive with Care Line Inc., an industry leading custom packaging and medical pillow manufacturing company headquartered in Greenbrier TN. He has over 40 years experience in sales, recruiting, training and management in the health care industry.

Recaning old chairs becomes lesson in advice

Four of our older chairs were in need of replacing the original cane seat. I have noticed that many of the used chairs I see for sale are also in need of repair/replacement. There may be a message in that observation as to the difficulty of the project at hand. Nevertheless, having done a fair amount of woodworking and DIY projects, I figured I was up for the challenge this past weekend.

“Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.” – Proverbs 19:20

That was my first step; go find some advice and get some instruction. The Web was plentiful with instruction, but I found the advice varied across the many sources available. Although most people spoke from experience, some offered extra tips and tricks to ease the pain and not make common mistakes. Readers added their own perspective with questions and advice.

In my case, I would be using ‘sheet’ (machine-woven) cane and planned to match the original installation of size and style. If the situation presents itself, I might be willing to try the hand-woven method another time.

The first order of business is removing the old cane. Cutting the basic seat area (of cane) with a utility knife - down to the interior of the frame - was straightforward. The next step is removing the old spline. This is not too different than what you would encounter replacing a screen in a window or door, except the spline material is wood.

Not so fast. I had read there was a spline removal tool, but that some people just used a screwdriver to get under the spline and pry it out of the groove. That’s where my prior woodworking took hold. I decided that was not a good plan as the screwdriver could easily get loose and damage the groove – or go right through your hand. I dug a couple of tools out from my toolbox that fit in the groove and allowed me to get under the spline. I would recommend that if you are doing more than a couple of chairs, get the spline removal tool – I plan to do that if I have to do anymore of these. Also, in the video mentioned later, you will see them use their hand like a cantilever for the removal tool; I would suggest you use a soft wood block in place of the back of your hand.

It’s much harder than it looks if you are faced with a similar situation to my own. I am convinced that the manufacturer used some form of carpenter’s/wood glue as the spline was a bear to get loose. Once that was completed – in many pieces – I soon found myself left with remnants of the old cane inside the groove. I did catch a mention later of a steam method – softens the glue and wood - that might make this job easier.

To get the remnants of the old cane out of the groove, I tried a variety of methods of chipping or cutting it away. I was confident I needed a clean, smooth, uniform groove for the new cane and spline. In the end, I found my powered rotary tool and a ‘chipper’ bit to be the most effective, using care not to put too much pressure against the wall of the groove (so as not to gouge it).

Forget about Tweets - why not AudioBoo?

I just learned about AudioBoo while trying to decide if I wanted to join the Twitter crowd. This is partially driven by my interest in short radio-like bursts of thoughts, ideas, and interviews – a little like a pull-quote, or sound bite. For those of you for whom this is new, too, here are some handy references:

AudioBoo Web site

AudioBoo story from guardian.co.uk

As one tasked to deliver the One Goal - Revenue Generation ® Podcast series, I am left wondering, “Should this replace the current Podcast series as a download with a little different style, be used as an additional channel, or just foe-get-ah-bout it?” What do you think?

I have also posted this as a Discussion in the One Goal - Revenue Generation ® Podcast LinkedIn Group. Here you can discuss your own personal selling situations as they might relate to an individual podcast episode, or in a broader sense of the profession of Sales.

p.s. The One Goal - Revenue Generation ® podcasts are featured on iTunes, Odeo, and Podcast Alley.

Podcast: Overcome the customer’s disappointment in your tardy response

You have made a commitment to a customer or prospect to deliver materials, or provide a response to a specific question in a certain timeframe. You responded later than you had anticipated and now find the customer is disappointed in your response, or sought out another supplier altogether. In this episode of the One Goal - Revenue Generation ® series, Peter Kusterer of NvestNtech helps you work through a process of setting reasonable expectations for both you and your customer to recover from an otherwise disappointing result. Download this episode - “Overcome the customer’s disappointment in your tardy response.”

Offer your comments, questions, or initiate general discussion with other listeners of the One Goal - Revenue Generation ® Podcast series. Use this LinkedIn Group to discuss your own personal selling situations as they might relate to an individual podcast episode, or in a broader sense of the profession of Sales.

Click on this link for the Podcast directory that includes the One Goal - Revenue Generation ® series, as well as additional Podcast episodes and related topics. Our podcasts are featured on iTunes, Odeo, and Podcast Alley.

HP Pavilion dv6 Artist Edition – Hooked on videos in the first 30 seconds

When the newsletter from HP arrived in today’s email, it only took a quick glance at the picture of the HP Pavilion dv6 Artist Edition 2 Notebook for me to want to click on the video link. I thought their marketing of the designer edition of the netbook to women was a slick concept; charge premium pricing for the cover design with no change in form factor or guts. This time they reeled me in to watch a series of five short videos.

What has my attention in this is the effectiveness of using a series of short, online videos to get your attention. The first video is 26 seconds of flashy artwork and only 3 seconds that show it is a notebook; there is no video time dedicated to “HP” (the company). Once again, it proves to me that you can capture someone’s interest in 30 seconds or less, and have them ask for more.

I went on to watch the other four related videos that covered – in music and film – the attributes of product innovation (the guts and form factor), software and hardware for artistic creativity, and high-impact mediums like pictures, music, and video. It sports a 16-inch diagonal widescreen display and demonstrates its ability to deliver high-definition entertainment for TV. It also has, what is becoming standard issue, an integrated webcam and microphone.

Even though the intended audience for this unit is the Academic crowd - from the classroom to the dorm - I think it has traction in many other settings or use.

Reader introduces us to chumby – yet another wake-up option

Having featured a couple of alarm clocks from Philips (the Wake-up Light Premium, and the clock radio that morphs into a digital picture frame), I was surprised by yet another clever way to wake-up in the morning. A couple of weeks ago I was introduced to the chumby.

chumby is described as “an Internet media player that delivers users' favorite parts of the Internet in a friendly, always-on, always-fresh format.” The possibilities seem endless when you look at the extensive list of widgets and always-on connection to content and information. chumby claims “Over 1,200 widgets in more than 30 categories, ranging from news and entertainment to videos, music, sports and more are available for free from high profile media partners such as CBS, MTV Networks,The New York Times, The Weather Channel Interactive and AOL's SHOUTcast.”

Moreover, for you clever technology development folks, you can submit your own widget ideas for chumby. Do you like to make clever little covers or accessories for devices? There is room for you, too, in the chumby community – they call it an “open-source effort for outerwear”.

Back to the alarm clock side of chumby. You have all the features of a traditional alarm clock. But the competitive advantage becomes the customization of content and how it is delivered. “With a chumby, wake up exactly when and how you'd like: to the adrenaline rush of rock music, The New York Times headlines, weather, sports, stock updates—any audio or visual content you choose.”

Rather than go on about all the possibilities, check it out for yourself. Visit chumby.com and take a tour.