Ms. Himsel, the VP of Organizational Effectiveness at Avon Products, wants to share her DISCOVERIES of Management Style that she has learned from watching Tony Soprano on TV...

1) Management should listen to employees... without retaliation.
Hmm. Encouraging Honest Input??? Without Punishing them???
NO to "YES" Men???  But Dictatorships are SO efficient :)

2) Talk "straight" to employees without "spin" or "sugar coating"
Hmm. Talking Honestly??? . What a novel concept!!

3) "Sit down" and talk out your differences.
Really??Why?? Screaming at each other feels so good,
and is such a great catharsis,...even though it doesn't solve anything. :)

Ms. Himsel did NOT have a comment on Tony's "incentive" policies.
Simply stated that are: "You don't screw up, and I don't break your legs" :)

Ms. Himsel neither had a comment on Tony's"firing" or "termination" policies :) :(

What Correspondence School for MBAs claims Ms. Himsel as their "star" pupil??
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BUSINESS PEOPLE
New York Times
October 19, 2003

Sit Downs, Yes. Swimming, No.

What does the foul-mouthed, fictional mob boss Tony Soprano know about leadership? Plenty, said Deborrah Himsel, the vice president of organizational effectiveness for Avon Products Inc.

A few years ago, after watching several episodes of "The Sopranos,'' on HBO, Ms. Himsel became so impressed by Tony's management style that she started using some of his strategies at work.

For instance, she began to solicit feedback on controversial topics by giving employees 15 minutes to "spill their guts," with the understanding that the subject would never be broached again -a technique Tony used when he told his wise guys that he had secretly been seeing a shrink.

Such tactics "were surprisingly effective," said Ms. Himsel. So effective that she decided to write a book, "Leadership Sopranos Style: How to Become a More Effective Boss'' (Dearborn Trade Publishing), to be released in December. In the book, Ms. Himsel describes Tony's tactics for effective coaching ("He gives it to 'em straight, no sugarcoating," Ms. Himsel said) and explains how his ritual "sit downs" help create a more cohesive team. Avon now uses the sit down as a conflict resolution tool, she said.

Of course, after doing all that research for her book Ms. Himsel has a prediction of how the series, which stars James Gandolfini as Tony, will eventually end.

She's certain that Tony and his wife, Carmela, who split at the conclusion of the last season, are over.

And will Tony be bumped off at the end of the series?

"He won't swim with the fishes," Ms. Himsel said. "He's going to end up leaving his line of work after a long, difficult struggle with his conscience." -- Melinda Ligos