i was just wondering what everyone on here thinks , and what attributes and characteristics it would take to be a great don ?

i just wanna know your thoughts

it takes having a fox's wits and a lions strength. you have to have the smarts to survive, but the strenth of the lion to destroy your enemies. thats just a broad way of putting it. thats what a leader is 2 me.

they would also need something about their personality to b liked , like being funny or something lol

Lets don't forget they also have to be a sociopath.

an maybe slighlty psychopathic to be a lil unpredictable

Extreme Paranoia!!!!!
Maybe the most important thing!!!
Remember Pino Greco and many others, killed by their best friends!!!

mayb not paranoia lol mayb just b alert to whats goin on around them

In America today, being a Don means that you're out of prison long enough for law enforcement to peg you as a Don, put the screws to you, get you to rat out everyone around you--and then send you to prison.

haha, that's about right!

Anthony Lee inquires...

And I reply that fashion sense is apparantly one of those attributes.

"A don doesn't wear shorts."
-- Carmine Lupertazzi, New York boss in The Sopranos

I think intelligence would be what one would need to be a don and the ability to negotiate deals whenever needed. I don't think they would have to be a sociopath, but have the ability to loose their conscience when necessary, being able to seperate from reality, in example how doctors are. Not saying all doctors are insensitive, but most of them are. The intense paranoia would help and would more than likely save your life a thousand times over. Although I could see how one could overdo paranoia. I personally suffer from paranoia and could only imagine what a truly paranoid don would be like. I think there could be certain things that one would not kill another for. Because most things that are done for either personal or business reasons are really did for both, sometimes, one could be a little less harsh on some of the judgements. Of course there would be people who would have to go, but I think one can strong arm a little too much. The best don would look at each offense individually, and think of what he could gain or loose for the actions he bestowed upon the person. Instead of killing someone who screwed something up, depending on what it was, maybe they could be given another chance and for that their loyalty would be greater. Just my thoughts on that.

A good Don is one that doesn't have a drug women or alchol problem, rember Al Capone died from an STD. And I think a Don needs street smarts and real intelligence and of course he needs to be strong.

Originally being a Don was regarded as being close to be a God because of the intelligence of the Boss. As Goodfella 69 said, you have to be a fox and a lion(As Carlo Gambino´s phrase claims).
You cannot trust anyone, even your children, wife or closest friend.
You should shut up your mouth more than you speak, you have to say what the people around you want to hear, I guess the main point is that you have to live today as if it was your last one. You could die anytime, remember you have people uder your control that want to take you away to be the next Don, for example in the real Life(Paul Castellano-John Gotti, Vincent Mangano-Albert Anastasia-Carlo Gambino, Joseph Magliocco-Joseph Colombo, Frank Costello-Vito Genovese).

Your right, being quiet would make a don. he'd speak only when neccessary & the rest of the time he'd be sitting back listening. Then he'd know a whole lot more.

Yes, like JustMe's sig...

"keep your eyes open, and your mouth shut."

good advice for anyone not just a Don!

Respect and fear