Snowfall FX — Why Every Entrepreneur Should Watch PT4
🚨 SPOILER ALERT!!! 🚨 If you haven’t already, check out Part Three
Episodes 3 and 4 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.
Self Validated
“If you are an approval addict, your behavior is as easy to control as that of any other junkie.”— Harriet B. Braiker
Oprah, on the final episode of her world-renowned TV show, said, “I’ve talked to nearly 30,000 people on this show, and all 30,000 had one thing in common: They all wanted validation.” Seeking validation is apart of the human experience. We all desire to be seen and heard. However, when a strong sense of self-validation does not anchor your desire for external validation, problems arise.
People will leverage your need for validation for their own profit.
Episode 3 reveals that Avi is at his lowest of lows. Desperate to preserve himself, he attempts to leverage the validation tactic to dis-arm Franklin. Hoping that by validating Franklin he’ll be able to manipulate him and ultimately borrow his money unnoticed.
On the jet: “It makes me happy, dear Franklin, that I was right about you.”
At dinner: “When I met this guy, he was a kid trying to make a few dollars. Now in less than a year, he became a millionaire. Isn’t that right Franklin, I watched you grow from a schoolboy to a big boss millionaire.”
But Franklin didn’t take the bait. In fact, on several occasions, he reminds Avi that he is there for business, not to hang out with his former supplier. As time elapses and Franklin’s suspicion grew, Avi’s forced to show his hand. Franklin finally asks, “Come on, Avi, are you going to tell me what this is really about?” And Avi admits that he planned on “borrowing” Franklin’s money to pay off his debt.
Nonetheless, the saving grace of being self-validated is people can’t manipulate and have their way with you.
Don’t Be Emotional
“Emotions have no place in business, unless you do business with them.” — Friedrich Durrenmatt
As an entrepreneur, people’s lives hang in the balance of your decisions. Therefore, making decisions that have a lasting impact based on a temporary emotion is not a sustainable business model. Emotions tend to cloud judgment and weaken decision-making ability. Because when emotions are high reasoning is low.
Moreover, the looming question since episode 1 amongst Snowfall’s avid fans is how long will Manboy survive. After the season opener, I had him gone by episode 4. Yet here we are, approaching episode 5, and he’s still alive and appears to be here for some time.
In episode 2, when Franklin decided to switch his business model, Manboy’s life expectancy increased. However, although Franklin saw value in their alliance with Manboy, Leon did not. He tolerated Manboy but was waiting for an opportunity to remove him from the equation. And seeing Wanda at his spot gave him all the reason.
In episode 4, he appeals to Franklin, saying that they should kill Manboy for lying to them. But Franklin, not being emotional about the situation, reminds Leon that he provides a layer between them and the cops. Funnily, now that the police raided their crew, I’m sure Leon’s perspective will change.
Ironically, later that episode, Franklin receives that same reminder. In the final scene, his dad says, “I know how this feels. How bad you must want to get back. But you can’t kill a cop. I’m not making a moral judgment. I’m talking practicalities.”
Moreover, the decisions you make as a leader create culture. And Franklin’s commitment to moving with intention created a culture where the people expect him to make rational decisions.
Love & Business
“The most compassionate people have the most well-defined and well-respected boundaries. They assume that other people are doing the best they can, but they also ask for what they need and they don’t put up with a lot of crap.” — Brene Brown
All successful relationships, whether they be in business or life, require boundaries. And the complexity of Franklin and Mel’s relationship demonstrates the importance of establishing well-defined boundaries. Early in episode 4, Franklin says to Mel, “What’s between me and your pops is between me and your pops. What’s between me and you is between me and you.”
As the CEO of a thriving family business, Franklin is quite advanced at setting boundaries. It’s been the key to managing a team composed of family and friends. However, Mel, on the other hand, is not as seasoned in establishing and maintaining boundaries.
When she visits Franklin after Jerome gets home from the hospital, he embraces her. Mel likely brought a sense of relief from the emotional burden of the present moment. A shoulder to lean on. Unfortunately, Mel’s role as a supportive friend switched to an unsolicited business advisor.
The intensity of the moment led Mel to get involved in her father and Franklin’s business. Crossing one of Franklin’s boundaries. She like didn’t see the significance of telling Franklin to stop. But unfortunately, her misstep may led to the end of their relationship.
Every entrepreneur desires to make his/her vision a reality. And it’s the commitment to that vision that allows the successful ones to endure to the end. Phil Knight said it best, “The cowards never started, and the weak died along the way. That leaves us, ladies and gentlemen. Us.” Mel asking Franklin to quit is a covert way of calling him a coward or weak. And it underminds his current empire and vision.
Nonetheless, balancing love and business is challenging; that’s why having boundaries is so important.
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 article in 2 weeks on episodes 5 & 6.
