Venkatesh's Competitive Strategy

A “tournament” or “winner takes all” labor market is likened in the book to buying a lottery ticket. The buy in or start up stage in any given field is easy, most anyone can do it. The street level drug dealers, the aspiring CEO/corporate intern, the table waiting starlet...there is little in the way of technical skills or academic accomplishments required at the beginning. And at the entry level, there is similarly little in the way of concrete reward. The incentive for getting started lay in the dream of finishing big- as the gang leader, the CEO, the celebrity. Much like more suburban schemes- Avon, Lularoe, Tupperware- you buy in cheap, hustle and hope to bring people in under you to push you to the top. Most will never make it to the top of that pyramid- there can only be one king of the hill. Many will lose motivation early when it’s hardest to get going, some will stagnate forever on the lower rungs of the ladder and most will eventually drop off or burn out before reaching the finish line. Yet the closer you get, the easier that reach would seem, and the more you invest in your pursuit. Certainly, how invested you are in reaching the top would also be heavily influenced by why
Even the gang’s leader described himself as a ni**er. These men operate from a very dark and desperate place. They operate from the decrepit condemned ruins of public housing projects deep within Chicago’s poorest black neighborhoods. These young men describe life in their community as a war to survive. The gang offers them opportunities that no other organization in their world does, and serves as an extra support system for them and their families. With 56% of the neighborhood’s children living below the poverty line, abysmal drop out rates and barely a third of its men able to land any legitimate job at all- gang life is worth its dues in large part because they already live at risk and without the added