Snowfall FX — Why Every Entrepreneur Should Watch 5

🚨 SPOILER ALERT!!! 🚨 If you haven’t already, check out Part Four

Episodes 5 and 6 of the hit drama series Snowfall shares more of the entrepreneurial journey of the show’s protagonist Franklin Saint. All the while giving game and providing nuggets of wisdom to my fellow entrepreneurs. Here are some of my takeaways from the latest two episodes.

Undefeated!

“Great men who have conquered vast lands and have built large armies such as Julius Caesar, Trojan Paris, and Mark Antony, have found themselves becoming slaves to the charms of women.” — Robert Greene

Historically, men have leveraged the use of physical violence and brutality to conquer their enemy. In Franklin’s ascend to king-pin status, he used force and wit to establish himself as the man in South Central. Removing any obstacle that stood in his way — killing, directly and indirectly, a handful of people.

However, the war he finds himself in with Andre is quite different. Andre’s a police officer, and as his father mentioned in episode 4, “you can’t kill a cop.” But since violence is the default way of handling problems in the streets, Franklin’s forced to think of an alternative way to deal with his “Andre problem.”

Leveraging the power of seduction, a more compelling force than violence, Team Saint gets a leg up in their war against Andre.

Women did not have the physical strength nor the means to overpower men, so they used the art of seduction instead. Powerful women throughout history have used this method to get men to do what they want — Helen of Troy, His Shi and the most famous of them all, Cleopatra, are prime examples.” — Robert Greene

Aunt Louie’s out of town friend was able to seduce and drug Andre, taking his gun and badge in the process, resulting in his suspension. Seduction removed Andre from his position of power and diminished his credibility, temporarily removing him from being a legitimate threat to their operation.

The Achilles heel of many great leaders is a seductive woman. Just this year, one of the greats entrepreneurs of our generation, Jeff Bezos, was exposed for infidelity. A mistake that will cost him 38 billion upfront and much more on the back-end. MacKenzie Bezos played a significant role in Amazon’s success, whether it was through helping him make critical decisions or just being a supportive wife.

“No one can foretell the possibilities of achievement available to the man whose wife stands at his back and urges him on to bigger and better endeavors, for it is a well-known fact that women can arouse a man so that he will perform almost superhuman feats.” — Napolean Hill

Moreover, to my entrepreneurs, I believe your sexual discipline should match your ambition. If you desire to be a billionaire, prepare yourself for the sexual temptations that come with being a billionaire. Practice denying your desires rather than capitalizing on every presented opportunity because bad habits die hard. So work on being disciplined now because as time passes, mistakes get more costly. Thirty-eight billion, to be exact.

Organization Change and Burnout

Burnout — an individual’s response to chronic emotional and interpersonal stressors within the workplace.

They say a marathon is a tale of two races. You run the first race with your head and the second with your heart. The entrepreneurial journey is also a marathon, where you slowly transition from excitement in your head to commitment in your heart. Different, however, because it’s not a solo race but a collective one. Challenging the entrepreneur with the task of leading a team across the finish line.

Moreover, as an entrepreneur, it’s imperative that you remain vigilant throughout the race to recognize when your team members are transitioning from the first race to the second race. Because the heart requires a different motivation than the head.

Dr. Geri Puleo, Ph.D. in Management with a specialty in organizational change and burnout, uncovered in a study that unclear vision or a lack of direction by the change leader is the cause of burnout for 57% of employees during times of organizational change.”

Operation Franklin Saint is experiencing rapid growth and a shift in its business model. As an outsider looking in, it’s clear the direction Franklin wants to take the business. However, Uncle Jerome is experiencing the shift in real-time, so the vision is likely unclear. Despite the uncertainty, he held on, but his traumatic run-in with the LAPD was his breaking point. After coming home from the hospital, Uncle Jerome was ready to throw in the towel.

Luckily, Franklin having high EQ, noticed Jerome’s uncharacteristic disengagement. And before Jerone could quit, Franklin reminded him of the vision and the critical role he played in fulfilling that vision.

“Listen Unc, we close. So close but we are not there yet. And I need you in this with me. Alright!”

Uncle Jermone’s desire to quit was not fueled by a lack of commitment rather a longing for some direction. Confirmations that signified progress and showed he was apart of something bigger than themselves. So remind your team of the vision and of the significant part they play in realizing that vision.

Learn From Experts

History repeats itself, but in such cunning disguise that we never detect the resemblance until the damage is done. — Sydney J. Harris

The looming question I had after Episode 5 was, is Franklin becoming careless? Is he focusing too much on his vision that he’s losing sight of the details? Or is he just not sweating the small stuff anymore and counting it as apart of doing business?

By episode 6, it began apparent that he was indeed underestimating the magnitude of his potential legal/life troubles. Franklin assumed that the sense of equality he carried in his business relationships would transcend to the legal system. He naively believed that somehow his money made him less of a black man with regards to the criminal justice system.

His rebuttal to his father said it all, “I got people coming at me every day.” In response, Alton educates him that Reed is not like the typical gangsta that he’s learned to deal with in the streets. Rather a snake that will creep up on him with no warning and inject his deadly poison.

Moreover, this is the importance of having a team of experts. It’s the entrepreneurial cheat code. Experts alert you of your blind spots. And over the past few episodes, Alton has seamlessly transitioned into that role as Franklin’s law enforcement advisor. Sharing his knowledge of the CIA and FBI from his experience as a leader in the Black Panther Party. Alton forced Franklin to smarten up. And Franklin responded by learning more about Reed as well as reading The Spook Who Sat By The Door and the 1965 Church Hearings.

The decision to be an entrepreneur is also a commitment to life-long learning. Therefore, a sustainable business model must include humility and the willingness to learn from others. So if you aspire to have longevity, leverage experts who can cover your blind spots. They will save your life, or at least your company.

In conclusion, catch Snowfall on FX every Wednesday at 10 pm. Happy watching to my fellow Snowfall fan club members and stay tuned for the next article in 2 weeks on episodes 7 & 8.