Mob Rules

April 18, 2011
Sopranos fans, take heart: it turns out the mob is not only full of ethical heavyweights but an excellent example for business wisdom seekers. Ferrante (Unlocked) spent years in the Gambino crime family, finally choosing to go straight while in prison. He shares his wisdom with cubicle jockeys and nervous managers everywhereâand reveals that aboveboard businesses are far more nefarious than the organized-crime variety. Ferrante argues that no self-respecting loan shark would offer the terms of your average credit card company, and even the Mafia doesn't employ the tactics of a collection agency. Through stories of his own compatriots and famous mobsters, Ferrante shares cogent business advice for employees, middle managers, and bosses: make them an offer they can't refuse (offer to work on commission), harness the power of networking, make your own luck, motivate your people, never embarrass someone in public, reward loyalty. Though Ferrante paints a somewhat unbelievably sunny picture of organized crime, if readers can get past the gimmick, they'll find a colorful and surprisingly practical business primer.

May 15, 2011

A veteran mobster who walked away from "The Life" with his head held high offers road-tested life lessons that served him well inside and outside La Cosa Nostra.

Some Mafia dons have their heads blown off. Others live long enough to expire peacefully in their own beds. In either event, Ferrante—who left prison behind eight years ago to become a well-respected author—insists that today's CEOs, middle managers and employees would do well to learn a thing or two from their counterparts in the underworld. Building his case in concise, economical prose, Ferrante draws on an extensive knowledge of world events, mob lore and personal experience to deliver an engrossing sophomore effort that reads like a rousing memoir, meditation on world history and Mafia exposé all in one. Who would have thought that George Washington had so much in common with Lucky Luciano, the "Founding Father" of the American mob, or that there was something good to be said for "Scarface" Al Capone? In eschewing mob violence, Ferrante has nonetheless retained an appreciation for the way the mob operates as a successful business enterprise. When it works, Ferrante writes, it's a blueprint for the way businesses in the "legit" world ought to operate. And when it doesn't, it's a sobering cautionary tale for every over-reaching CEO, power-hungry middle manager and clueless employee.

Punctuated with the dark humor you'd expect from a graduate of the streets, a thoughtful treatise with implications far outside the boardroom.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

May 15, 2011

A veteran mobster who walked away from "The Life" with his head held high offers road-tested life lessons that served him well inside and outside La Cosa Nostra.

Some Mafia dons have their heads blown off. Others live long enough to expire peacefully in their own beds. In either event, Ferrante--who left prison behind eight years ago to become a well-respected author--insists that today's CEOs, middle managers and employees would do well to learn a thing or two from their counterparts in the underworld. Building his case in concise, economical prose, Ferrante draws on an extensive knowledge of world events, mob lore and personal experience to deliver an engrossing sophomore effort that reads like a rousing memoir, meditation on world history and Mafia expos� all in one. Who would have thought that George Washington had so much in common with Lucky Luciano, the "Founding Father" of the American mob, or that there was something good to be said for "Scarface" Al Capone? In eschewing mob violence, Ferrante has nonetheless retained an appreciation for the way the mob operates as a successful business enterprise. When it works, Ferrante writes, it's a blueprint for the way businesses in the "legit" world ought to operate. And when it doesn't, it's a sobering cautionary tale for every over-reaching CEO, power-hungry middle manager and clueless employee.

Punctuated with the dark humor you'd expect from a graduate of the streets, a thoughtful treatise with implications far outside the boardroom.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)