Book Review: I'll Make You an Offer by Michael Franzese

Title: I'll Make You an Offer You Can't Refuse: Insider Business Tips from a Former Mob Boss
Author: Michael Franzese
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Copyright: 2009
Pages: 155
ISBN: 978-1-5955-5163-4
Genre: Business

In I'll Make You an Offer, Franzese provides tips for business owners in eleven short chapters. These are all general tips, such as hire employees you can trust, seek advice before making big decisions, watch what you say, don't avoid creditors, learn from your failures, pay your taxes. The element that makes this book stand out is the crazy stories Franzese includes from his former life in the mob. He recounts these stories to back up his assertions on the right way to do business.

I'll Make You an Offer compares the philosophies of Machiavelli with those of King Solomon. Franzese explains how he once followed Machiavelli, like all the other mob bosses. Now, he's convinced that Solomon presents the better way, and he encourages his readers to learn from the proverbs Solomon wrote or collected.

The book is a quick and easy read. Even business people with full schedules can finish reading I'll Make You an Offer before months and months have passed. Each chapter ends with a few key review points. These review points help the reader to remember the chapter's discussion. This is a very helpful tool for those who want to take the author's advice seriously. It also helps to review the material if the reader breaks the chapter into several segments.

Additionally, the stories Franzese includes make this particular business book a more interesting read than some of its counterparts. I can't see how anyone would find I'll Make You an Offer to be dry reading.

The usefulness of the material in I'll Make You an Offer really depends on the audience. A Christian publisher does produce this book, and the advice is consistent, in a general way, with biblical guidelines. The tone, however, is easily suited toward a non-Christian audience. Anyone looking for an ethical pattern for business could find solid advice in I'll Make You an Offer.

However, for a Christian concerned with using business as a means to sharing the gospel, moving ahead the kingdom, or storing up treasures in heaven . . . well, I'll Make You an Offer might seem a little weak. This book is more about conducting your business ethically than about building a Christ-centered business. If you're looking for something along the lines of Piper's Don't Waste Your Life-the business edition-you'd do much better to read Piper's book and draw your own application points concerning your business.