We only recruit mobsters who do crimes for us unless a friend or previous member and like you said even that is becoming a tough business as most of them are finding work elsewhere rather quickly. I think this has been a problem coming in for a while now and with the housing shortage that was previously brought on and a lot of new families I believe got worst.

We must keep the our values from recruitment to promotions to keep it meaning anything.

Indeed Dub was "guilty" of mailing a potential recruit first only if they were days without a crew. But it only seemed right. Never once would he ever stoop to sending an invitation to the crew in the mail before first vetting a potential recruit through some questions. 

"There is a standard that needs to be met. And I've wanted to address this on the streets the past few days--I've noticed sponsors of other crews who, of course, shall remain nameless, sending invitations to newly unsponsored mobsters while they were asleep... Unable to even communicate with these members, not a single correspondence prior to sent about joining their crew, these sponsors jump the gun and send invitations to mobsters as they lie in bed snoring. This is my biggest pet peeve. 

However, Orange , I feel that someone from a crew reaching out first isn't a terrible thing. Indeed, it seems appropriate. There, naturally, should be a level of disrespect if a no-name gangster were to approach a Godfather asking for a job, no? If your crew notices an unsponsored gangster making waves and you're impressed by said gangster, wouldn't it be natural for you to contact that gangster? There's a way of things, and I believe it would be almost out of place were gangsters to be going directly to Godfathers or Mades asking for employment...

Now, is it wrong to approach a godfather as a gangster? Well I believe that's completely up to interpretation. If I were a Don and were approached by a random gangster, I'd feel slight suspicion as I've always been careful of potential bloodline feuds I may indirectly allow manifest under my watch, but if I go out and meet a gangster who has impressed me without speaking a word to me, I feel more comfortable and "in charge" of the situation, so to speak."

Dub glances to Orange to see how he takes his opinion.

"I don't believe it to be frowned upon to send letters to a gangster first. Rather the contrary, I believe that's natural. I do find it angering to see invitations being sent to sleeping, newly unsponsored members... If that makes sense. And I am very eager to gauge the thoughts of fellow members of our...community." 

Edgar, bring a bottle of champagne. We have a fine street speech going on here.

JayGatsby begins to pour the champagne. He looks up and hands those gathered a glass so they could enjoy the celebration of a fine question that was posed in the streets. Wearing his fine blue blazer he wore on auspicious occasions he noticed he surrounded himself some of the more notorious criminal names of the criminal underworld. 

I believe speaking first to a potential associate is by all means 'worthy' of your time. In fact i would argue that to some degree you are obligated to speak first, to open the lines of communication. This does not by any means signal that you are 'whoring' a person into your criminal world. It is the first step to the interview process. You are allowing the person to impress you. I know of a certain family line who every time they were asked to recruit would frequently turn people away because they were not feeling that the person would do well in the family that person was in. They would take a minute to interact with them to see Is this person someone I want in my family. There is a range of difference from member whoring to just initiating conversation to see if one would fit well in your family old sport. 

You and every other leader are in competition with each other. You and they both want the best. You both want the best family, the best earners, the best hitters, the best street presence, and the best way to do that is to be the best; To be the best is to be first. In other words not everyone is going to come to you and hold a conversation to try and join your family. They wont swoon over you because at the early stages of their criminal career they aren't too sure what sets you apart from the rest. So they wont come to you first but it is you who must go to them. A true leader looks to serve i believe and if old sport a leader sets out to speak to a new person than he is investing his time in that individual. A quality that every person wants, to be wanted not just because of what they bring to the table but by who they are. So to begin the conversation with them you must be first. 

There is a distinct difference in initiating conversation to see if a person is interested in a family to initiating conversation to see if you were interested in that person joining your family. I believe old sport, that leaders who look to engage others quickly are leaders who are competitive and are winners. Everyone wants to be on the winning side. When you are there, when you join the side of someone who has reached out to you first, you feel special you become invested and a certain loyalty you offer them because you feel they see something in you that no one else did. They took intentional steps to know me and what i could offer. 

Adjusting his tie and fixing his hair he looks around. Noticing smaller numbers turning to larger numbers of individuals gathering around to listen to what is being discussed JG ensures that those drawing near would soon find themselves drinking a glass of champagne. He smiled as he met eye contact with those around him. 

Now, i do want to be clear old sport, my fathers friends, most recently, were immediately approached by both crew leaders and wiseguys to immediately join their family. This gave that certain person a sense of being objectified. Being looked at as another statistic or another number. People forget that associates are not numbers but men and women with beating hearts and minds old sport. If people could just see this, if they could just wrap their mind around the fact that it is not about quantity it is about quality. It is not about the number but what the number produces. 

Whoring was more sending out immediate invitations and asking people to join your crew. By all means whoring seems like a plea for help. A sort of begging people to help you. Is it despicable and downright distasteful? By every account yes. Is anyone who involves themselves with this criminal lifestyle above that? Not in the slightest. 

I am not for it by any means. I am for seeking out people who have the potential to become great members in your family. With the way the current climate of our mafia world stands one has to be first to stand out. Perhaps your longevity will draw eyes towards you but it is your actions that will draw people to stand with you. Your first action would be the one they never forget. 

Kinoko enters the streets and over hears a certain convo that has been brought up from time to time and he gave his few cents on how he practices recruiting. 

"How we work in Philadelphia which is the same like my old friend ©StripheGotti, the only people I recruit are ones who do jobs from our job boards, or the ones who approach me personally. Once this happens I contact them with a lengthy conversation explaining why I have contacted them and what potential I am looking for in a Kin from these shores previously or new comers..  Simply sending invites without any line of conversation like JayGatsby said is a plea for help, I agree 100%. 

He clears his throat and takes out a cigarette and lights it and coughs several times. 

"These things are gunna kill meh! As he talks about his cigarette. "I would like to thank Don Orange for coming out and speaking about this, as I hate to see such whoring. I thought the reason we had  job boards was to bring whoring to a bare minimal I don't know how we ever can stop this honestly."

Recruitment approach always depends on the type of person you're lookin' ta recruit. I found the type of people worth bringing' into the ranks are the ones you don't need to rush for a decision. Sometimes they'll even find you. 

Anyone with the time ta talk, ask questions and weigh up their options will be someone who gives a damn about your cause, because they took tha' time to ask about it. They're worth more than a inactive member who sleeps for seven days then gets shot. 

I get letters about this all the time. Respected and established people all over the world write to me and they say, 'Donald, recruitment, what are we gonna do about it?' And I tell them, 'You know what? This recruitment stuff, people write me about this all the time!'. Great advice. Really good stuff. Recruitment is something we really need to dive into, you know - we've really got to look into this sort of thing. Because it's not going to solve itself. 

I can tell you from personal experience, it's not hard getting people on board. The people love me. They show up in crowds of hundreds, thousands, tens of millions, to listen to me speak. Look at this crowd out here today. Wow, this is something else. Give yourselves a round of applause, people. 

But let's get back to recruitment. We've talked a lot about recruitment here today. I've put a lot of points forward - things I want you to take home with you. Put it under your pillow. Sleep on it. This is the future of our country at stake. Our beautiful nation. The U-S-of-A everybody. And we've got people out here doing recruiting, getting recruited, it's all a big mess. Nobody knows what's going on. Who am I gonna recruit? Am I being recruited? So many questions. So many, many questions.

And I've answered a lot of 'em today. You guys have been great. God bless you all. 

Personally I find nothing wrong with approaching someone with the idea of a chat. The only time it should be a problem is if there is an offer on the table before the very basic chat and getting to know the person. Or someone is offering things to get someone to join them. Such as, financial gain or position promises. Those things would be something I considered whoring.

But if you can have a chat with someone. Discuss what they are looking for, or if they are new providing them with information so they can make an informed decision, where questions can be asked, and the recruiter gets to know the individual prior to an offer. All of that I can respect and totally get behind.

Dutchess was out and about in Chicago running around from shop to shop, getting some groceries together for the meal to be had later tonight. As she was running through the streets she couldn't resist shoes, and the occasional beauty products. Its not like they had all these products in one place, one had to run from a meat store to a leather store to a shoe store. Was a lot of running around to find what Dutchess desired. As she was running through one of the street corners she caught this Zesty smell. It had this kick of tangy-ness, as she turned the corner she came up within 15 of Don Orange. She took a second to put down her bags and took a deep breath before she listened on. 

After listening to the words of the mobsters around her. Dutchess pulled out a flask from her bag and had a sip to take off the edge, before she spoke. The old conversation about Recruiting. From conversations I had with grandma, she said things were very different in the olden days. There weren't very many jobs around back then unless you were connected. Making recruiting for new blood more of a manual job, recruiters would make their way out to the docks and throw out flyers, business cards, even free meals sometimes. This would allow the old heads an opportunity to get to know the new bloods coming of the boats. Now a days recruiters still spread around business cards and such, but with the wide spread opportunity to find work, recruiters in some cases prefer to let the recruits come to them. No one system is better than the other, they both work, as long as the recruit understands what he or she is getting themselves into. I would hate an instance where someone gets work and boom an invite to our world is given without any conversations, wouldn't surprise me if instances like this happen. I think the abundance of work has made it easier to keep fresh blood here, on our shores, involved in La Cosa Nostra. But is housing them the same as grooming them into better mobsters?

The problem I don't think is the method of recruitment. The problem is leadership…and I don't mean to point fingers at anyone. Im not even saying leadership is something from the Crew Leader. Even a recruiter is suppose to exhibit some form of leadership to shape the new blood into a thoroughbred mobster. In a lot of cases I feel this isn't the case. A lot of times its about filling ranks and then the crew runs its form of selection. The workers are kept and the rest removed. From a crews perspective thats all good and dandy. As Duthcess thought about the dandelions in the corner and their smell. But ask yourself, does this help integrate a fresh blood into our society? If a new blood or recruit isn't shown the ropes properly sometimes, they will leave. And perhaps that bloodline is lost to our world. Thats where leadership makes its mark. Its not so much about competing with your peers to fill the ranks. Its about building something special. Every leader has friends that come from familiar lineages. Most of these leaders will build their crews off such relationships and why should you not. But then again you always find those couple of diamonds in the rough. A crew is lucky to realize a couple of these. But when you find one, that is receptive to your conversations and is willing to put in the work. Steer them in the right way and your leadership skills just paid of. 

And lastly, in cases that my lineage has dealt with. Its rare to find a proper mobster willing to put in work just of the jobs being spread around. The proper ones are the ones that date back to lineages and such. Which makes leadership so important when recruiters cross roads with new lineages, as they don't know the difference between stealing purses and picking pockets. Its why they need to be shown how to become successful in La Cosa Nostra. Otherwise they eventually stop working and just become fish food. Thats not good for anyone involved in our business. 

Dutchess smiles as she takes another sip of her little flask and strolls down the street continuing with her shopping as she enjoyed the walk down the dandelion rows. 

Truth be told, I don't like how the whole thing is right now myself. When my ancestors first showed up on these shores, we would always ask for work first. The lonely thug, breaking the ice and trying to open connections. Then again, the times my ancestry come from were a hell of a bit different then today. So as with everything, society moves in the direction of adaptability. New faces begin to show up, move up the ranks and spread their ideas. Eventually, leading an entire community, generations down the line, to change their ideas. 

Basically, what I'm saying is, I do think exactly how you do Don Orange. Though, our lines may come from a different time. Such as our way of thinking. Compared to someone, newer to this thing of ours. I just think we need to adapt to this way. Bring a new idea to the table, and set that as the standard. Now this may take time, generations even. To see a change in the habits of many.

Marijuana takes a hit from his joint.

I must admit.... I am guilty of reaching out to unsponsored female civilians off of the boat and sending unsolicited invites...... to my bedroom.  Contrarily to what has been said above, these invites require no conversation.... just two individuals with an uncontrollable attraction to each other...... welcoming them to the community with each thrust.   Some call this behavior member whoring... I prefer the less crass term... member lusting............

Romance reaches into his pants pocket and pulls a handful of rose petals from it... throwing them into the air as they slowly fall to the ground.............

I must say that I have never had a problem with whats always been known as whoring. Its been long sneered at and looked down upon. A good leader should attract loyal, hardworking associates with the weight of his or her name alone. I believe that too. A gangsters name should definitely be the first thing that attracts a prospective mobster. 

But while the world frowned, I have always had a sneaky admiration for people with the nous to headhunt on a grand scale. Its only going to benefit their organisation, if it doesn't get them wiped out of course. 

My only problem is that once that invite is accepted, the conversation stops and the training stops. If you go out and recruit a solid mobster and support them through until they are Made or even Authed, then fair fucking play, thats a good thing. 

Outkast finishes his smoke and crushes the butt between shoe and concrete. He had been leaning upon the same light post for what seemed like hours, having an internal dilemma about just keeping his head down and mouth shut, but it was time..

Um, howdy. I've sat over there under yonder light post listening to this conversation and I'd like to add my piece if I may..

Not really asking for permission, he continues...I am fairly fresh to these shores, but my blood has graced this life of ours in the past, and fortunately my kin made it back to the homeland to pass on stories and what it was like living the way we choose to live.

Back then there were no job boards for a youngster to partake in, he came to the streets, let his presence be known, and described what he felt he could offer a family looking for new blood. After this, he would ask around about the different families, deciding upon one or two he felt could use his services, as well as trust wouldn't get him killed. He then sought out the hands, or diplomats if the hands were busy, and tried to work something out.

I've heard tell of families going straight to fresh meat, though no one in my lineage has ever spoken of such happenings. When I hit these shores, I didn't pick one family to work for, I did my quota of jobs for all of them, and their spokesmen came to me. I knew nothing of any family except for the conversations I heard on the streets, and what little, or for some, more, these spokesmen told me. I happened to choose the family I thought gave me the best chance to grow, and at the same time, could use the services I have to offer.

As far as a good leader attracting loyal members, there is absolutely zero way a new member can know how good of a leader anyone is, unless they speak to said leader personally, which, as my lineage told it, was quite frowned upon. It is up to your hands and or representatives to portray your quality of leadership out of the gate, when they first greet the new blood after a few jobs catches your eye. If you are not gaining and retaining quality members and feel the need to resort to whoring, perhaps the mode of recruitment is not to blame, instead look at your recruiters.

With a nod of the head, Outkast lights a smoke and takes a short walk to the light post, and gets lost in the banter up and down the avenue.

JoeKing saw a bunch of people gathering up in the streets of Chicago, he approached and to his surprise, it was no less than the Godfather of Chicago himself: Orange.

He almost chocked with his own breath at the surprise, why would the Godfather be out here on the streets without setting up a meeting? This had to be very important. After getting closer, he noticed that Godfather Orange looked somewhat frustrated, JoeKing threw away his cigarette and took off his hat to show respect to the person in front of him and listened to what he had to say.

After he finished voicing his frustrations, some people gave feedback on the subject. This however didn't stop JoeKing from getting close to him to also give some feedback.

"Good day Godfather Orange, I heard about you stepping up as Godfather of Chicago, I apologize for not bringing a gift with me for you, I wasn't expecting to see you here today-" He paused for a moment thinking he couldn't start a long conversation. He had to get to the point.

"Anyways, I understand your concerns, back at home in Las Vegas we have had similar incidents too. But after talking to a few recruiters, I've noticed a pattern. A lot of times, the newcomers are people who already know someone inside this thing of ours, with them being childhood or high school friends. This leads to a lot of our recruiters to invite them in, sometimes with them not having done a single job for the family. In my opinion, this behavior is okay as long as the person being invited is not just a random John picked from the streets. After all, we know that the real jobs start once you become a Made Man, and that's something they have to work for same as all of us did at some point."