Frank, a Political Monster: 12 Rules to Succeed in Organizations Analysis Essay
Frank, a Political Monster: 12 Rules to Succeed in Organizations Analysis Essay
Frank, a Political Monster: 12 Rules to Succeed in Organizations Analysis Essay
Frank, a Political Monster: 12 Rules to Succeed in Organizations Analysis
The book takes off with Frank confronting his demons, which had happened in the past few months, about how after trying everything, it was all for nothing. He had committed mistakes and had enjoyed so many victories, yet he still felt lonely after all this. He is not the same person he had been in the past; Frank is now old, broke, defeated and alone. He has nostalgia for how he once enjoyed life when he was rich. He had come from poverty to riches in Venezuela, a country once known for its riches. He had fled the country about 20 years early to escape Chavez’s leadership. Despite working hard for his life, he had to abandon everything at the last minute. Frank defeated poverty and became one of the most successful civil engineers in the private sector. His story entails ups and downs, demons from the past hunting him down and how he had an unrelenting desire to make his dreams come true.
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Things were not good at home; his father, Santino, was a waiter and his mother was a housewife. His father was a drunkard, affecting his capacity to produce for the family. Sometimes, especially on Sunday, there was no food at home; Frank had known hunger at this little age. All the siblings were forced into the labor market at this tender age to defeat poverty and hunger. The entrepreneurship spirit had naturally taken over his brother, Luca, who had started a kiosk at 17 that sold newspapers and magazines near a hotel entrance. It extended its services to offering photography services to tourists. Later, his brother gave him a percentage of the business when he turned 12; he just needed to buy a suit. When he could not afford one, a neighbor steps in and gives him one of his old suits, a gesture that Frank was forever grateful for. The initial job involved learning the dynamics of the street. At such a tender age, he interacted with prostitutes from the street who were attempting to make a living. There was no time for young children like Frank to enjoy a normal childhood; all the boys were expected to provide and contribute to paying bills at home. It was pretty paradoxical; his father’s salary was small and he spent most of it buying liquor.
Birth into a low-income family helped shape Frank’s life; he was not used to abundance. He got used to living around drama, taking up unrequested assigned responsibilities and lacking basic things. Unrequested assigned responsibilities can be quite a nuisance when someone does not have the skills or the experience to meet the expectations. He also had to learn to function while facing many limitations; he had to adapt and seek survival strategies. His understanding of the world kicked in when he faced scarcity as a teenager. All these experiences influenced his approach and attitude to life; his childhood was like mandatory training for the life before him. One important lesson he learned was seeing things from a realistic perspective and positively moving with life. Frank was willing to even ‘die’ so his family could enjoy better things despite the consequences. A person destined to succeed must have a positive attitude and be ready to tackle whatever life throws at them. Poverty had allowed him to be a jack of all trades, he knew how to read people and this skill came in handy when he was making sales; there was no room to commit any errors and results had to be achieved.
His decision to become an engineer was based on Frank’s reports about it. It was forecasted to be in demand in the future; it was based on pure economics and was not influenced by his passion or purpose in life; it was the only way out of poverty. It was an outstanding achievement in the family because he was among the first to graduate in his family. Despite leaving home to attend a university in France under a scholarship, he was still determined to send money home to his parents.
On his return to Venezuela, he was offered one of the most lucrative jobs as an assistant project manager in one of the best corporations in Caracas that demanded 15 hours daily. In no time, he was promoted to manage multi-million dollar projects. This gave him an environment to learn about the corporate world’s politics and the ins and outs. He had many mentors and the managers in the company had seen him as a significant figure to take the corporation to greater heights. Mentorship is often crucial in human resources, as it entails guiding younger, less experienced employees to improve personal and professional growth. It is a form of informal knowledge transfer from a more knowledgeable figure to the protégé. Mentorship enables employees to achieve their objectives and develop skills to help them to advance their careers. Other employees who had been in the corporation for some time and had not been promoted started to be jealous that Frank was rising the ranks quickly. Frank was all about getting results; if 10 hours of work were available and the task could be done in 5 hours, he would take the shot. He focused on efficiency, the ability to avoid wasting resources, efforts and energy to achieve a desired objective. The other employees tried to micromanage every move he made, for instance, by scheduling last-minute meetings when he was about to leave work. Frank had developed a good relationship with the top management and felt comfortable presenting his grievances to them. One of the top managers advised Frank to be straightforward with Jeremy by standing up for himself and excusing himself from his ulterior motivated meetings.
Frank was an ardent believer in loyalty; he demanded it from everyone he worked for or with. He learned this from working with his brother Luca, his most outstanding business mentor. He described loyalty as being grounded on trust, how it develops when one is willing to inspire good things in others and how to build it by inspiring stakeholders. Frank had gone into business by investing in a small venture that failed because he did not allocate enough time. Despite a good job, status and salary, he was ready to pursue other opportunities. He wanted to be independent and make decisions without any micromanagement. He realized that all this would not be possible while being a full-time worker. He used his influence on banks to acquire funding and partnered with other small entrepreneurs.
The realities of becoming an entrepreneur were so harsh on Frank that he felt bipolar at times and considered using the help of a therapist; he also vented out at his closest friends as his coping mechanism. Frank was an impatient man. Despite giving everything in his endeavors, he expected immediate results. Even after working harder than when he was an employee, he was still not making the money that he had expected to. He decided to venture into the business through politics because that was the holy grail for any business person. His mantra was that conquered territories should not be abandoned. Even if one had reached the most incredible heights in the place of work and a new worthy opportunity arrived, it was wise to let go and venture into this new prospect. On venturing into the political realm, he maintained contact with his employees and cultured a certain level of influence in his businesses.
Frank was mentally uncomfortable about defeat and his own worst critic. He believed there was no room for excuses; the job had to get done. If an employee can not finish the job, then someone else should. Frank would identify mistakes he had made, reflect on them, learn from them and ensure that he would not commit the same mistakes in the future. On entering into a business partnership, he also figured out an exit plan; most of his partnerships always ended with a dissolution. He believed that most big lessons learned are not always pleasant, but that is when one develops mental stability. Luca had advised him to start by considering his weaknesses first instead of his strengths when trying to achieve a goal. He asserts that one can only reach greater heights by abandoning their comfort zone. Not all people will be there for someone; some work in the background to make them fall.
He started to make contact with political figures and stakeholders. There was a reliance on networking to meet these influential figures, which started to bear fruits after a while. He was given a role in overseeing the construction of houses for the poor population in the country. This new position made many people attempt to contact Frank. His department was in charge of approving or denying contractors contracts to construct these houses; it gave Frank the gun in his hands and it was time for some people to taste their own medicine. He often played hard to get; he would schedule meetings, turn up late, cancel them or show no interest in listening to the proposals; he knew how to play his cards. His brother had told him that everyone always has a price. He attempted to bribe a public employee to approve a permit for a liquor store, the employee was highly offended and the meeting turned futile. People who want to achieve big dreams must be willing to sacrifice everything and make leaps of faith when others cannot.
Being busy with work enabled Frank not to think about his romantic life. The author points out that one can harbor success but never succeed without love. Falling into depression would make Frank self-destructive and highly reflective. These low times were the best times for Frank; he achieved his most prolific work at these moments; he would think of new ventures and compose new songs and poetry. He meets Helena through some of his friends and they later fall in love and get married. Despite all these good things happening to Frank, great misfortunes knock on his door. His brothers and mentors, Luca and Michel, die, significantly affecting Frank’s life. Later on, his father, Santino, follows suit.
Frank believed his family’s legacy would continue if he had kids with Helena. He was ecstatic to learn that Helena was pregnant with their firstborn child. He was even more excited when the doctor revealed they would have a baby boy. At that time, in a chauvinistic society, having a boy was one of the most significant things that would happen to families. It was a redemption time for him to be the best father he ever had to his children. Later on, they are blessed with a daughter, Lucia. Frank was focused on ensuring that his household was full of love and peace, something he had never known as a kid. He educated the kids on essential lessons for life, about how to not give up, self-belief and develop a strong ethic for work.
The ascension to the higher point of the political ladder was easy for Frank; he got to work 80 hours a week. His influence and connections had grown overnight. He would later get promoted to a cabinet docket, one of the most prestigious positions in the government. Despite being in such a high position, he still had the president as one of his mentors, who taught him the most essential secrets in politics; most people will be fake friends and enemies in politics and a small favor is equivalent to a big one. This made Frank careful in this big arena. He would often watch his words when speaking to others. A congressman helps Frank with a small favor about his cousin but later asks him to help him obtain a multi-million dollar contract for his company. Frank was shocked to learn that he had been played and the words from his mentor rang in his mind. His position in power and his great success made him renowned, respected and feared in his country. He was so good with his words that he would convince people to accept his propositions.
Frank had faith that his son would take over from him and take the family legacy to another level. The chauvinistic society made him think of his daughter as someone he needed to provide for. His lessons for his children were different and were made for diverse goals. From an early age, his son was involved in his political and business meetings; he wanted him to learn everything he could. He taught him important lessons he had learned as a child through repetition and reinforcement until he mastered them.
Things started taking a sour turn in the next Venezuelan government. There was a tremendous economic downfall. Frank had noticed the efforts of Chavez to become the next president, but he decided to stay off his path. After retirement, he used the connections he had made in the government to build one of the best construction empires in the country. He taught his protégé about the importance of anticipating things to happen. When Frank’s son inquires what he would have done if Steve had not given him some money he had kept for him while he was in government, he tells him that he would have had it under control. This implies that he had a backup plan in mind.
Frank Jr. decided to run for the gubernatorial seat in Venezuela at 25 years, following in his father’s footsteps. His growth and success in Venezuela had proliferated despite being out of the country, all attributed to his father’s teachings. His father backed him up with advice that kept him going strong. Some of his team members ultimately betrayed him, wanting to destroy his career. His father cautioned him that on the way, he would encounter detractors who would be envious of his success and set out to hunt him and that it was at this moment that he needed to focus most. Even though Frank failed to win the race by a whisker, his father’s advice was crucial.
Frank advises his son that to achieve great things, one has to be extraordinary. They should not have any excuses and they should always ensure that they are consistent. He notes further that discipline and hard work are prerequisites to staying upbeat. One must uphold their standards while remaining focused on their endeavors. They must learn from their fears and rejections and use them to be better persons. He tells his son to avoid the mentality of being liked by everyone. One should always have goals and work with determination toward achieving them. People should always expect ups and downs because that is human nature.
Frank stresses the need always to have a backup plan. After success in Venezuela, circumstances had changed and things were worsening; the economic background had collapsed and one had to have a backup plan to salvage whatever they had developed. To survive in a harsh environment like Frank was raised in, one has to adapt and develop a positive attitude. Venturing into business was a risk that needed adequate preparations and figuring out exit plans. Even though Frank’s cash flow had reduced during this crisis, he still lived a normal lifestyle and expenses; he did not switch to crisis mode. This even worsened when he started dating a younger woman.
Being financially independent was perhaps one of the best lessons that Frank learned in his life. Even though he enjoyed success for most of his life, he turned out broke because he had not saved any money at the peak of his success. He still struggled with putting the knowledge he had acquired into practice. He advises people to consult financial advisors and relates them to a doctor who can help them achieve good health. People have to take risks to become successful; without risk, one cannot gain.
Fears can turn out to be realities. People can abandon others at the worst moments when they need them. Frank had not become acquainted with the latest technology that was now facilitating relationships; he believed in tangible, face-to-face relationships. He was perplexed in this new arena. He regrets that after all the success, he is still lonely after knowing many people. He wishes that he could go to the past and change all that. When he decides to contemplate suicide at the train station, his son calls him to seek his advice. It was redemption day for Frank; his son saved him from himself.
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References
Corrales, A. (2021). Frank, a Political Monster: 12 Rules to Succeed in Organizations. Xlibris Corporation.
