"Let me figure out how to take care of you."

A complete copy of every episode of "The Soprano's" ever made is a must-have for any leader or business person in my opinion.

I've just this very minute purchased "Tony Soprano on Management" by Anthony Schneider (ISBN: 0425194949) which I have high hopes for... I'll give a short review of the book when I've read it - so there's something for you to look forward too. Although it's getting shipped from the States, so I'd imagine it'll take a week or two.

I would explain as to why I think The Soprano's is relevant to leadership and business in general, but in his sypnosis, Anthony Schneider does it so much more elloquently than I can at 6.00am:

"Economic uncertainty. Employee loyalty. Power struggles. Conflict resolution. Tony Soprano has to deal with management problems just like any CEO. Aside from "whacking" people, his strategies and tactics can work for you. He's direct, he's fast, and he's successful."

My point is not that you should whack every supplier that doesn't give you credit, or charge fifty points interest a day to your debtors... If only. But that there's lessons to be learned from a business that is 'recession proof'.

For any Soprano's watchers - the quote in the title should be familiar from the very first episode. "Let me figure out how to take care of you". This is something that I've been trying to do for the past week - trying to 'figure out' a fair wage structure for my staff - or to put it another way; 'how to take care' of them.

With my business it's difficult... Everything's cash. People drop a pound and it's up to the attendant whether or not I ever see that pound, which is what makes wages such a make-or-break issue. I need to make them want to give me that money.

Last week someone decided I wouldn't see very many of these pound coins and told me he actually only got twelve in a three hour shift. Unfortionately for him, the guys who had worked his toilet the last two shifts both made in excess of £50... And both had made what I would have expected them to that night - no more (whereby I could've assumed that people just used the other toilet) and no less (whereby I could've assumed it was a quiet night) - just the right amount (whereby I knew he was a theif).

So I came to a conclusion that a flat-rate, non-performanced-based wage is not the way to go. If I'm paying my staff say £7.50 per hour, what's their incentive for giving me 100% of what they've taken in? So what is the sollution? Well, I started doing some sums about how a performance related pay, linked to an hourly rate would work... £8ph if you take in over £60, £10ph if you take in over £80, etc. But it seemed a bit complicated and easy to abuse (if you were sitting on £79, you'd add an extra quid yourself to make an extra £6 on a four hour shift, for example - or ecen worse, just pocket the extra £19, you'll get the same wage anyway).

The sollution was, of course, in The Sopranos. Forget What Would Jesus Do?... What Would Tony Do? Tony doesn't work out hourly rates, or performance-related bonuses, or any of that stuff... He takes his cut out of what they make and he can assess their performance based on what they give him in the envelope every week.

So I decided on a percentage that I'll charge everyone. That way, if someone's not making money - they're not happy and neither am I and we can take steps towards addressing the situation... Whether that be through training, a pep talk or whackin' the schmuck!

In all seriousness though, all my boys are top salesmen as far as I'm concerned - who else, in what other scenario could take a bag of mints, a dozen lollypops and a selection of aftershaves and come back with 90% of it, 3 or 4 hours later and put in my hand £50-100? So I pay my staff well, because they do a good job and they do a dirty job too. Without them, I'd make nothing... But without me, there would be nothing - "Think. The big fucking picture!".