15 Business Lessons From SOPRANOS TV Show

six seasons 86

episodes multiple awards and several

fantastic business lessons

let's jump right in at number one

cash is king you've probably heard the

saying before and

before you think we're advising you to

do underhanded cash deals

hear us out it's no secret that tony

does well financially

and part of the reason is because he has

cash flow from small businesses

that generate quick cash a pizza

restaurant for one where you make

pizza and you exchange the pizza for

cash you're not sending an invoice out

for a pizza that needs to be paid in 30

days

it's instant of course there are upfront

costs but once the door is open

you start generating business right away

number two follow the same rules you

expect

others to a-luxers you've probably had a

boss that always

leaves work early arrives late and sets

a poor example

so often leaders play by their own rules

but are sadly

setting a shitty example for their

employees even the subtle cues are

picked up by staff and it filters down

from the top to bottom

we're not saying that tony set a good

example in fact he reinforces what a

boss

shouldn't do and that is so often how

lessons are learned

he used to often refer to christopher

moltesanti's drug habit

but he was guilty of that too he was

very impulsive and quite arrogant at

times

all qualities that a good leader should

not have if you'd like to be a great

leader we have many videos with great

advice to be that leader

just be sure to subscribe to our channel

number three have empathy we're often

led to believe that in business

one must be ruthless and hard but having

empathy

doesn't take away from good business

some might disagree but we believe that

very often

tony handled other people or staff

issues with insight and

level-headedness no we can't say he had

the same grace with his family all the

time

but that leads us to our next point

number four everyone has flaws

tony knew he had anger issues and he did

go for therapy to help himself

granted he did give up on therapy more

than once but who hasn't

but he kept going back just because

you're a leader or at the top of your

game in business

doesn't mean you're flawless there is

always something to fix

something to improve on number five

mistakes have consequences tony soprano

once said

there's an old italian saying you [ __ ]

up once you lose two teeth

well you probably won't lose two teeth

every time you make a mistake

but in business and in life when you

mess up there are repercussions

so learn from them fix them with dignity

and

don't play the blame game number six

create the illusion of control in the

beginning

corrado junior soprano tony's uncle is

head of the family

this doesn't last long though as tony is

rather smart at making junior believe

that the orders he is giving are his

own meanwhile they're actually tony's a

luxer's very often in business you get a

client

that comes up with a crappy idea and you

know it's never going to work

so you manage the client in such a way

they change their idea but

credit themselves with a new concept by

doing this your client will see a return

on investment

and everyone is happy number seven

be decisive it was once said on the show

more is lost by indecision than by wrong

decision

and that is spot on tony soprano dealt

with problems

swiftly and with decisive action he gave

warnings where needed but he didn't beat

around the bush when something was

really hopeless

he was a straight talker and in business

you need to be direct

and clear in your instructions vision

and goal so

everyone is on the same page number

eight

have old school values tony has

major respect for the generations that

came before him

he understands and appreciates the

journey they took to make a success of

it

he tries to encourage loyalty the

importance of family

and taking personal responsibility but

like in any family it often falls on

deaf ears

or you don't truly understand the value

until you become a parent yourself

but tony also realizes that although one

always respects one's elders they don't

always

know better which is why he subtly

encouraged junior to make different

decisions letting him believe they were

his own like we mentioned earlier

number nine understand your team's

abilities

any good boss or leader is in tune with

their staff's

strengths and weaknesses they encourage

them to work on their weaknesses and

allow their strengths to shine through

christopher maltasanti is a prime

example hot-headed

not a team player and hard to trust tony

knows all of these flaws and decides to

mentor him

eventually it doesn't work out and he

detaches himself from the situation

as hard as that may be there will always

be times in business

when you choose to fight for someone or

something or you choose to walk away

and only you will know when you're ready

to do either

number 10 be willing to negotiate

being willing and open to negotiating is

integral in business

tony proved many times that he was

willing to negotiate

especially in the later episodes when he

began showing signs of ill health

he tried to find ways that would benefit

everyone involved so that nobody was

left feeling like they'd got the short

end of the stick

and obviously the negotiation examples

we refer to are not linked to any sort

of

negotiation where there really wasn't

room for the other person to have their

say without the literal fear of death

that is not how it happens in the

business world

number 11. network often

hey luxers even the mafia must network

to connect with like-minded individuals

it's no secret that networking is the

basis for any successful business

and the sopranos do it well sure they

might be hooking up with the next hitman

or sourcing information about the next

big job but at the end of the day that

is still networking

tony soprano is the ultimate networker

but despite being really good at talking

the big talk

tony is a good example of just how

lonely it can be at the top

in his words all due respect you got no

idea what it's like to be number one

every decision you make affects

every facet of every other thing it's

too much to deal with almost

and in the end you're completely alone

with it all

number 12 your family and theirs are

important

behind every successful business person

is a family that loves and supports them

and if you're a big boss remember the

same applies for your staff

yes you're paying them a salary to do a

job but if you're empathetic to their

family needs and commitments

you'll find they'll be even more

dedicated to your company or business

in the sopranos family is always first

tony says

i don't care how close you are in the

end your friends are gonna let you down

family they're the ones you can depend

on getting a good work home balance can

be challenging

and a good leader will know and

understand that if an employee's home

life is good and functioning well it'll

lead to a more productive and focused

work day

number 13 even at the top there's

someone to answer to when you're a mob

boss

you have to consider a lot of people in

your dealings when you're at the top of

the company or business it's the same

situation

you'll need to consider your staff your

shareholders investors

other directors and advisors then of

course you'll have to answer to the

financial guys and that can be daunting

yes tony soprano had his own agenda but

he knew he had to reel things in to keep

everyone happy

however as integral as it is there's

always room for fun

like junior soprano once said you steer

the ship the best way you know

sometimes it's smooth sometimes you hit

the rocks

in the meantime you find your pleasures

where you can

number fourteen be brave enough to

implement

change isn't it so true that great

things never come from your comfort

zone and as a leader in business it'll

often come up to push your staff to do

better

be greater and step out of their comfort

zones

in every workplace change is resisted

you'll get the

but we've always done it this way retort

and it's up to you to call them out for

it and keep implementing the changes you

know

are necessary tony soprano was open to

change and we saw that in multiple

examples

one example was the first season when he

called off a hit on the high school

soccer coach

who was sexually abusing meadows

girlfriend he left it for the police to

deal with

and remember change is relative so be

patient with your staff when you

implement change but only up to a point

and then be brave enough to ensure

everyone adheres to the change

number 15 accountability is from the top

down

tony accepted responsibility and was

accountable for his actions

unlike many leaders who like to pass the

bug when you've got a team below you and

you're the boss

you're 100 responsible for their actions

too

customers don't care whose fault it was

they want the problem to be acknowledged

and fixed

what you do behind the scenes as a boss

in order to fix it are not the concerns

of the client

so man or woman up and take

responsibility and be accountable

and that attitude will filter down to

your staff

so alexers what did you take away from

the soprano series

we'd love to hear your thoughts in the

comments and you stuck with us until the

end

of course here's your bonus tony

soprano's favorite book was the art of

war by sun tzu

which you can listen to for free with

our partnership with audible.com

the book is written as a chinese

military strategy which can be applied

to business too

we'll leave you with a quote from sun

tzu which rings true for the life of

tony soprano

regard your soldiers as your children

and they will follow you into the

deepest valleys

look on them as your own beloved sons

and they will stand by you

even unto death james gandolfini may not

be with us anymore

but he continues to live on thanks to

his role as tony soprano

in the sopranos thanks for watching

alexers we're so glad you did

and thank you so much for the support

likes and subscriptions

until next time

you