I have always been fascinated by the mafia and drug dealers. I realize this might sound odd, but I’ll share why in this post. The mafia “dons” and the drug dealer “kingpins” are business people. They have to grow their businesses just like we do. They all of the same problems and challenges we have growing our businesses. These normal challenges include getting new customers, retaining existing customers, getting and maintaining inventory, finding good employees, maintaining cashflow, and making payroll.
In addition to these normal business challenges, they face a few additional challenges too…
1. Getting killed.
2. There employees getting killed.
3. Being stolen from by competitors.
4. Being arrested.
5. Having someone in their business “rollover” to the authorities.
6. Laundering the money made illegally.
7. Plus a few more.
Imagine how challenging it would be to deal with these additional challenges and grow your business at the same time? Thankfully we don’t have to worry about being “whacked” by one of our competitors while showing homes!
I have found many great business lessons from books, movies and TV shows about organized crime. These lessons were all legitimate business lessons that could be applied to any business. I’m currently watching “The Wire”, which is an older HBO Series. It’s a fantastic series and I highly recommend it. You can find earlier episodes on the HBO Go iPad application. Below you’ll find one of the best segments about playing chess and how it relates to the business of drug dealing. Fast forward to around 1:10 for the good stuff. Also be warned this video contains adult language.
As I watched this part of the show, I applied the King, Queen and Pawn roles to real estate:
Who is the King?
Who is the Queen?
Who are the Pawns?
Is it possible for Pawns to become Kings in real estate?
Does the King really stay the King in real estate?
What piece of the game are you playing in business: King, Queen or Pawn?
If you enjoyed this, you might also want to read:
What Real Estate Agents Can Learn from Drug Dealers
The Godfather’s Business Secrets & How You Can Use Them to Your Advantage