“Some people are better at being number twos”

Posted on 15 augustus 2026 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

In business, the entrepreneur or CEO at the top needs a unique set of skills to do their job perfectly. In my experience, what makes a leader great comes down to three things: having an inspiring vision for the future that others can relate to; knowing how to find the right people for the roles needed to achieve this vision and coaching them in that direction; and maintaining a relentless focus on what clients want and need, while executing the business to deliver it.

At Alex van Groningen, I learned from two very effective leaders – Alex and Melle – how this is done. During my own brief period as a manager, I discovered I’m a different type of leader. Not the centerpiece, but more of a behind-the-scenes guy: strategy, advice, and flawless execution of my own role.

In the leader’s seat, you must be very good at conflict resolution. I am not good at that. Silvio Dante, Tony Soprano’s number two (who spoke the quote above), noticed how difficult this is when he briefly took the top spot while Tony was incapacitated.

I can relate. I’m not good at dealing with unhappy people, nor does it energize me to constantly engage with others about their work and inspire them to do better. I much prefer to focus on my own job and deliver the best possible performance I can. In other words, I’m better at being number two. And I relate more to the consiglieri characters in movies.

Their bosses were often the big egos – think Michael Corleone, John Gotti, or Tony Soprano. They accomplished a lot, that’s for sure. But more than once, their number twos did things they couldn’t. A good number two understands the strategy like no other and often has an even better sense of the risks that might disrupt the strategic agenda. Like Tom Reagan in Miller’s Crossing realized that Leo shouldn’t protect Bernie Bernbaum because it would hurt their business.

Also, the consiglieri aren’t afraid to take decisive action when needed. Like when Silvio Dante whacked Burt Gervasi on his own initiative after discovering Burt was talking to their enemies in New York. In short, I relate more to number twos than to the boss in the top seat.

What about you – are you a top leader or more like a number two like me?

To give you a better sense of what makes a good second-in-command, here’s my Top 5 Consiglieri in Movies:

5. Genco Abbandando, The Godfather Part II

Genco Abbandando is a significant character in ‘The Godfather’ novel, though he hardly appears in the movies. In The Godfather Part II, he appears only in Vito’s 1920s flashback storyline, portrayed by Frank Sivero as a young man. Genco is shown as Vito’s childhood friend and ally in New York’s Little Italy, working at his father’s grocery store. Their early friendship is depicted, but he doesn’t actively advise Vito on-screen. Still, since he’s described as a legendary consigliere in the novel, I include him here.

4. Joe Armone, Gotti

In the movie Gotti, a realistic portrayal of John Gotti’s rise within the Gambino Family, Dominic Chianese (Uncle Junior in The Sopranos and Johnny Ola in The Godfather Part II) plays Joe Armone – consigliere first to Carlo Gambino and then to Paul Castellano, who was allowed to retire and start a coffee shop. There, he still gave advice free of charge. Gotti comes to see him, and Joe tells him the difficult truth: John broke the rules by whacking a boss without the commission’s approval. And now he’s breaking the oldest rule of Cosa Nostra: he’s appearing in the media. A mob boss doesn’t belong on the cover of Time Magazine, capeesh? But John Gotti, you know: you can’t tell him anything. He won’t listen to Joe’s sound advice and ends up in jail for life.

3. Tom Hagen, The Godfather

Tom Hagen served no fewer than three Corleones as consigliere: first Vito, then Sonny, and finally Michael. What makes him so effective is his supreme knowledge of law and business, which enables him to advise the Don on a wide range of affairs. The reason I rank him below numbers 1 and 2 is that Tom isn’t a very good wartime consigliere. He didn’t see through Barzini’s manipulations and the trap that eventually got Sonny killed. Still, he’s a very good guy to have in your corner.

2. Tom Reagan, Miller’s Crossing

While writing this blog, this is the first time I noticed his name rhymes with Tom Hagen. Funny, because Miller’s Crossing also starts with a Godfather-esque scene in the big boss’s office with his counselor Tom close behind him – very similar to the opening of the first Godfather film. So why is Tom Reagan a good consigliere despite acting against his boss’s will? Because of his wits, his sharp strategic mind, and his ability to see three steps ahead on the chessboard. It’s Tom who ultimately wins the gang war for his boss Leo. What more proof do you need of his skills?

1. Silvio Dante, The Sopranos

Yes, Silvio Dante is the ultimate consigliere. Extremely loyal and devoted to the Family. In The Sopranos, he constantly works on the guys, squashing dissent among the ranks and ensuring that Tony’s decisions are followed through to a T. He’s also not afraid to get his hands dirty when needed – like personally taking care of a number of rats for the crew (Jimmie Altieri and Adriana). In the final episode, when he’s in a coma, even the cold Tony seems to realize how good a friend and loyal associate Silvio has been.

15 Differences Between The Godfather Novel and Movie

Posted on 28 september 2022 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Today it was 50 years ago that The Godfather, one of the greatest films ever made, was released in the Netherlands. It was based on the excellent novel by Mario Puzo. As often happens with a screen adaptation, a lot of stuff was either left out or changed. Below are the fifteen most important differences between Puzo’s bestselling novel and the classic movie by Francis Ford Coppola.

1. Sonny’s Cockyness
The following passage from the novel explains more about why Sonny was always the cock of the walk: Sonny Corleone was tall for a first-generation American of Italian parentage, almost six feet, and his crop of bushy, curly hair made him look even taller. He was built as powerfully as a bull, and it was common knowledge that he was so generously endowed by nature that his martyred wife feared the marriage bed as unbelievers once feared the rack. It was whispered that when as a youth he had visited houses of ill fame, even the most hardened and fearless putain, after an awed inspection of his massive organ, demended double price.

2. Another Request For the Don
All the wedding guests that ask requests of Don Corleone at his daughter’s wedding are in both the novel and the movie except one. Understandably, it was cut out because it is the least interesting. A guy needs 500 dollars to open a pizzeria. What is interesting though is his name: Anthony Coppola. The novel was released in 1969 and author Mario Puzo did not yet know that it would be adapted into a movie by a guy named Coppola. Funny he chose that name.

3. Woltz is a Real Pervert
Placing the severed racehorse head in movie producer Jack Woltz’s bed was brutal. In the film the guy is portrayed as an asshole, but not as a big enough fucker to deserve this kind of punishment. In the novel however, Hagen finds out he ‘did a number’ on a twelve year old girl during his visit to Woltz’s ranch. Later, it is explained that the 60-year old movie mogul can indeed only get it up with very young girls. So apart from the notion that hurting animals is always wrong, Woltz definitely had something bad like this coming.

4. Bonasera Gets His Vengeance
After a long conversation with the undertaker Bonasera, we see the Don give out the order to punish the two men who have hurt his daughter, but we don’t witness the actual event in the film. In the novel we learn that Paulie Gatto was in charge of this operation (the guy who gets killed after which the famous line “leave the gun, take the cannoli” – which btw is not in the novel – is uttered). He uses two professional fighters who kick the two abusers to a pulp when they leave a bar. Like ordered by Don Corleone, they survive. But their faces are unrecognizable. Bonasera is very happy indeed, until his phone rings some time later.

5. Fontane Makes a Career Switch
The singer Johnny Fontane plays a larger role in the book than in the film. We learn that the Don’s service to Fontane has paid off. He played in Woltz’s picture which earned him an Academy Award. And that is not all. Tom Hagen visits him after the picture is wrapped up and tells him that Don Corleone will bankroll him in becoming a movie producer. Soon after the Don is shot, but Fontane still gets the money to produce one movie at the time. He ends up as successful as Woltz.

6. More On Luca Brasi
In the movie, it is obvious that Luca Brasi is a dangerous killer who works exclusively for the Corleone Family. But there is nothing about his background really. In the novel, he plays a larger role. Partly because there is more story about the Don’s rise to power, which wasn’t used in The Godfather: Part II (see also 7). About Luca we learn that he is absolutely terrifying and has done some horrible deeds. Some he did in service of the Don, like butchering two hitmen Al Capone had sent to New York as a favor to Don Maranzano who was at war with the Corleone Family. But some he did for himself, like incinerating his own baby in an oven and murder his girlfriend with whom he had the child. No wonder everybody in the movie seems to be afraid of this brute.

7. The First Mob War and Sonny’s Involvement
When the Corleone Family goes to the mattresses in The Godfather, we get the faint impression that this was not the first war they were in. It is not. In the novel, Don Vito fights a bloody war in the early 1930’s with another New York boss: Don Maranzano. It was in this war that Sonny Corleone made his reputation as a brutal general. As a boy, Sonny had witnessed his father kill Don Fanucci and he confronted his father with this (that’s right, this is not in The Godfather: Part II). After that, he became involved in the family business and it turned out that he had a talent for violence and cruelty. He may have missed the strategic subtleness the Don searched for in his successor, but he surely was effective. The war against Maranzano was resolved by killing the Don while he was eating in a restaurant (similar to the real-life assassination of Don Masseria of New York).

8. Kay and Mama Corleone
After Michael had left her after killing Sollozzo and McCluskey, Kay Adams visits the Corleone estate but gets very little information from Tom Hagen. The jerk almost didn’t invite her in! Mama Corleone is not happy with this treatment and she asks inside Kay for lunch. Despite Tom’s objections, she tells Kay gently that “Mikey not gonna write you. He hide two-three years. Maybe more. You go home to your family and find a nice young fellow and get married.” After Kay leaves, she is trying to get used to the fact that the young man she had loved was a cold-blooded murderer. And that she had been told by the most unimpeachable source: his mother.

9. Michael’s Scapegoat
In the movie, it is never explained how exactly Don Corleone managed to get Michael home from Sicily. The police are after him after all, which we know in the novel because they come to Kay’s house to question her. The don did it by finding a scapegoat for the Sollozzo-McCluskey murders. This guy was part of a small Sicilian mob family, who acted as intermediaries when the bosses needed to plan safe negotiations. The man had committed a brutal murder and had been sentenced to death. Don Vito made him falsely confess to killing McCluskey and Sollozzo and he had the waiter from the restaurant provide false witness testimony. Problem solved.

10. Lucy Gets an Operation
On Connie’s wedding in The Godfather I, Sonny cheats on his wife with Lucy Mancini. In part III, she apparently had a son from Sonny called Vincent. There is nothing about her getting pregnant in the book, but there is quite a lot of stuff about their love affair, and there is a chapter on her after Sonny’s death. It is in this chapter that we learn that she has quite a big box. Apparently which is why she matched so well with Sonny (see point 1). Not sure if this is Puzo’s finest writing, but I’m just giving you the facts here. After Sonny’s death, the Corleone Family gives Lucy a job in Vegas and a nice monthly income. She meets a doctor, who she has an affair with. He fixes her ‘down there’ and later also fixes Johnny Fontane’s voice box. Great guy.

11. More On Al Neri
Michael Corleone’s enforcer Al Neri was apparently a cop before he came into Michael’s service. A brutal cop who would put the fear of God into many delinquents. One day, he kills a vile pimp who had cut up a young girl and her mother. He gets a heavy sentence, and this is when the Corleones step in. They use their political influence to set him free, and immediately offer him a job. Now Michael got his own Luca Brasi, a powerful weapon in the battles he is about to get engaged in.

12. Fabrizio Gets What’s Coming To Him
Michael’s big revenge differs quite a bit in the movie. In the novel, it doesn’t take place during the baptism. Coppola combined the happenings to make it more dramatic and Michael more diabolical. Great move. Also, Moe Greene gets killed earlier in the story. More importantly, in the novel Michael only whacks two of the four dons of the opposing families: Barzini and Tattaglia. Also, Fabrizio, the bodyguard who killed Michael’s wife in Sicily, is shot to death in a bar. “Michael Corleone sends his regards”. A scene was filmed for The Godfather: Part II, in which Fabrizio is killed by a car bomb, but it was cut from the movie.

13. Tessio Off the Hook?
After Tessio is to be killed for his betrayal, he asks Tom Hagen if he can get him off the hook. “Can’t do it, Sally”, Hagen answers. In the book, Tom had actually checked with Michael if Tessio could be saved. “Any way to get Tessio off the hook?” Michael’s answer: “No way”. At least he tried, which makes Tom a bit less cold than in the movie, although in the world of the mob, it’s not really possible to give traitors passes. The don’s position would be threatened very soon.

14. Hagen Reconciling With Kay
The Godfather famously ends with Michael’s door being closed on Kay; the moment she realizes of course that it was all true: Michael had killed Carlo and the heads of the five families. The perfect ending. In the novel, there is a scene after that realization in which Tom Hagen visits Kay and actually explains to her why Michael killed Carlo. And he makes it sound very reasonable. After that, Kay decides to give it another shot with Michael. How does she deal with Michael’s sins?

15. Kay Burning a Candle
The novel ends with Kay going to church to burn a candle for Michael Corleone’s soul. Like she had seen Mama Corleone do for her husband. So history repeats itself and Kay, despite being a real Americana, becomes a Sicilian wife for Michael. So, he made the right choice hooking up with her again after his exile on Sicily.

Read also: The Don’s Dilemma Reconsidered

The Sopranos – 100 Greatest Moments: 10-1

Posted on 19 november 2021 by Jeppe Kleijngeld

10. My Sad Heart

Episode: Long Term Parking (SE5, EP12)
Characters: Tony and Carmela

Tony and Carmela survey the land on which Carmela plans to build her spec house at the end of one of the most poignant episodes in the series. The ground coincidently looks similar to the woods where Adriana was murdered by Silvio a little earlier, as if Carmela is about to build her spec house on blood. Tony expresses sadness, most likely for his cousin. Things are really messed up now. There is the definite sense of impending doom as if the whole thing is about to collapse. This feels very much like the ending of The Godfather: Part II, when Michael Corleone is brooding after having his brother killed.

09. Hello FBI

Episode: Pax Soprana (SE1, EP6)
Characters: The New Jersey Soprano Family and members of New York Lupertazzi Family

The beautiful instrumental version of ‘Paparazzi’ by Xzibit plays when the FBI is introduced in the series. At Junior’s inauguration as the new boss of the family, a waiter is secretly making pictures. Then we see that at the FBI headquarters, the late boss Jackie Aprile’s picture is replaced by new boss Junior’s. The editing of this scene is done excellently, as we get a new perspective on the scope and structure of the Jersey mob hierarchy.

08. Gimme Shelter

Episode: I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano (SE1, EP13)
Characters: Tony, Carmela, A.J., Meadow, Artie, Charmaine, Christopher, Adriana, Paulie and Silvio

A storm moves through Jersey, literally, that changes all relations and shakes current positions. The Season 1 conclusion is a beautiful moment in The Sopranos saga. Tony and his family seek shelter from the storm in Nuevo Vesuvio where they also meet Tony’s close mob relations. It is a moment where everybody is still as happy as they can be. When looking into the future it is easy to see trouble ahead, but now the times are good. Later in the series, this will be indeed a good memory for the characters involved like Tony tells his son. The final song of the season is a genius choice; ‘State Trooper’ by Springsteen. ‘License, registration, I ain’t got none, but I got a clear conscience about the things that I’ve done.’ Problems are solved for now, Junior’s crew is finished and Tony is gonna be the new boss from next season onwards. Hurrah!

07. Tony’s True Face

Episode: College (SE1, EP5)
Characters: Tony and Fabian Petrulio/Fred Peters

The Hitchcock-like cat and mouse game in ‘College’ comes to a conclusion when Tony kills Mafia turncoat Fabian Petrulio by strangulation. With this murder – which is Tony’s first on the show – The Sopranos shows to be a truly uncompromising series. The audience comes to the realisation here that they are watching a cold-blooded murderer, a sociopath who enjoys the suffering of other people. It is therefore one of the most confronting moments in the series or television episodes in general. It is especially powerful because of its duality; the murder happens during a trip Tony is undertaking with his daughter Meadow to look for a college. After the murder, when Tony is at Bowdoin College, he is struck by a quote on display by Nathaniel Hawthorne. ‘No man… can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which one may be true.’ Very true in Tony’s case. No wonder he is in therapy.

06. Graduation Day

Episode: Funhouse (SE2, EP13)
Characters: Tony, Carmela, Meadow, A.J., Paulie, Silvio, Christopher, Furio, Uncle Junior, Artie, Adriana, Davey Scatino, Angie Bonpensiero, Hesh Rabkin, Carmela’s parents and Soprano Family associates

Season 2 of The Sopranos ends the way it started; with a beautiful montage. This concluding montage features happy images from Meadow’s graduation mixed with Soprano Family activities; garbage, porn, gambling, stock fraud, prostitution, et cetera. The very suitable ‘Thru and Thru’ from the Stones plays during the sequence, which is the perfect choice as the lyrics fill in the lack of dialogue and it helps to create the perfect atmosphere. The scene ends with a close-up of Tony smoking a cigar; he overcame all obstacles once again. Then we see the ocean where Big Pussy lies forever… This is a brilliant ending to an outstanding work of fiction.

05. The Last Ride

Episode: Long Term Parking (SE5, EP12)
Characters: Adriana and Silvio

After a long and heavy rollercoaster ride, this is finally it: the end of the line for Adriana. Her death at the hands of Silvio is a surprise during the first viewing because they left out the scene in which Christopher tells Tony about Adriana and the feds (as suggested by actors Drea de Matteo and Steve van Zandt). The way Silvio does it is very cold which makes the scene even more tragic. This is definitely one of the most iconic scenes in the entire series. Absolutely shattering. Adriana really is long term parking now and so is Christopher with Tony.

04. All Through the Night

Episode: Denial, Anger, Acceptance (SE1, EP3)
Characters: Tony, Carmela, Meadow, Hunter Scangarelo, Christopher, Brendan Filone, Mikey Palmice and Junior

In The Sopranos’ very own Baptism scene (from The Godfather) beauty is mixed with ugliness. The beautiful part is Tony and Carmella attending Meadow’s school choir performing ‘All Through the Night’ (while on speed, but they don’t know that). Simultaneously, the ugly part takes place in which Junior extracts his vengeance on Christopher and Brendan Filone for hijacking his trucks. Christopher gets a mock execution, while Brendan gets killed for real. Junior’s hitter Mikey Palmice puts one in his eye, because his eyes were bigger than his stomach (‘Hi Jack, Bye Jack’). There are few scenes in The Sopranos in which the contrast between the dark New Jersey underworld and Tony’s ‘normal’ family life are shown more effectively.

03. A Very Good Year

Episode: A Guy Walks Into a Psychiatrist’s Office… (SE2, EP1)
Characters: Tony, Carmela, Meadow, A.J., Paulie & prostitute, Silvio, Raymond Curto, Christopher, Dr. Melfi, Irina, Uncle Junior and Livia

Tony and his crew are back! The introduction sequence of the second season is a wonderful montage of all the major characters in their day to day activities. Tony is now boss and the money is flowing in. Livia is still in the hospital, while Junior is doing the perp walk in an orange jumpsuit. Christopher is watching gangster movies and snorting coke, Paulie is doing a Bada Bing girl and Silvio is out buying new shoes. Tony is also hiding his infidelity, while Carmela is baking one dish after the other. Dr. Melfi is practicing therapy from a bungalow home. A.J. is worrying about his hair and Meadow is taking her first driving lessons from her father. The audience is all up to date again. The Frank Sinatra song ‘A Very Good Year’ perfectly sets the moods for Season 2. This is how you tell a story without dialogue.

02. Bon Voyage

Episode: Funhouse (SE2, EP13)
Characters: Tony, Pussy, Silvio and Paulie

“They had me, Tony.” After being confronted during a boat ride by Tony, Paulie and Silvio, Pussy confesses he has been ratting for quite some time. He briefly panics, but then accepts the fact that he will not be coming back to shore. They have a round of tequila, a few final laughs and then his three former best friends take shots at him, but not in the face as he requested. This is the first time the guys have to take out one of their own. It’s a bittersweet moment, but in Mafia terms; what has to go down, has to go down. Goodbye Big Pussy Bonpensiero.

01. Pussy on the Brain

Episode: Funhouse (SE2, EP13)
Characters: Tony and Pussy (as fish)

In possibly the best episode of The Sopranos – Season’s 2 finale ‘Funhouse’ – Tony is having fever dreams while suffering from bad food poisoning. All dreams have certain elements in common; danger, cancer (destruction from the inside out) and Pussy. It all leads up to this final dream; the dream in which Pussy – in fish shape – reveals to Tony that he is working for the government. It is in moments like this that The Sopranos is at its most powerful; using a dream as a method to really push the plot forward. In the first season, when his mother wanted him whacked, Tony was in denial and started fantasising about a Madonna. But he didn’t acknowledge the truth until he heard his mother speak on the FBI tapes. Now, Tony has learned to listen to his subconscious. He has been having a strange feeling about Pussy for a long time and now he is open to the ultimate truth. When he wakes up he knows. The fish is also a brilliant find. In a macho gang like the Sopranos, it is considered unmanly to betray your friends. Therefore, it is Pussy – the guy with the feminine name – who’s a rat. There is also a pussy joke in there, pussy smells like… you get the picture. The reference is also to death, as in ‘sleeps with the fishes’, and it foreshadows Pussy’s ultimate resting place, the ocean. This dream is the perfect crossover between the series’ essentials; the mob and psychiatry.