Frank, a Political Monster: 12 Rules to Succeed in Organizations

By Antonio Corrales

Frank, a Political Monster: 12 Rules to Succeed in Organizations portrays the story of a remarkable man from a poor neighborhood in Caracas, Venezuela. Frank was born and raised in a household full of love, dysfunctionality, intellectuality, hunger, violence, alcohol, European customs, laughter, tears, death, and more death. By a gracious miracle, Frank ended up breaking the cycle of poverty and becoming a civil engineer, a highly successful manager in the private sector, a husband, a father, an ambitious and tenacious entrepreneur, a shrewd politician, and one of the most admired and respected persons in the country. Sadly, the demons from the past never completely left Frank and ended up destroying most of his life’s accomplishments. This is a story full of ups and downs, life lessons, and mostly of an unlimited desire for chasing one’s dreams.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 11, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664174214

Antonio Corrales

DR. ANTONIO CORRALES is a university professor and doctoral program director in educational leadership at the University of Houston Clear Lake. He is the first Latino to be in charge of the doctoral program in educational leadership within the University of Houston system. Before arriving to America, he ran for governor in Venezuela at 25 years of age, which forced him to abandon his native country for political reasons. He is a former teacher, campus administrator, and central office administrator with deep expertise in research, planning, and training. He has several years of experience in providing managerial leadership and administrative support to various departments in a variety of school districts as well as both private and public organizations. He has served in executive and administrative positions at public school districts and higher education institutions, as well as managing and advising multimillion-dollar projects for multinational companies. In addition, Dr. Corrales owns a successful consulting company, Sterling Evaluation & Assessment, which focuses on strategic marketing, program evaluation, and school turnaround. Besides publishing articles on at-risk student populations and school turnaround, Dr. Corrales is the author of the books Undoing the Damage: Repairing a Broken School District; Always Look 3 Stoplights Ahead: 9 Principles for Establishing Successful Schools; Frank, A Political Monster: 12 Rules to Succeed in Organizations; and Dear Students...: Weekly Thoughts to Establish a Growth Mindset. During the past years, Dr. Corrales has focused most of his leadership efforts and research on systematic brain development and measurement in terms of student executive functions within PK through 12th grades in public schools. Dr. Corrales has dedicated most of his time to improving the types of individuals public schools are producing in terms of work ethic, grit, capability to adapt effectively to new and challenging situations, emotional intelligence, military readiness, career and college readiness, and academic achievement. Finally, Dr. Corrales has established a variety of social media platforms to communicate with his students and educators around the world. Dr. Corrales earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the Universidad Metropolitana in Venezuela, and his MBA from Reutlingen University of Technology & Business in Germany. Following Dr. Corrales’ move to the U.S., he earned his master's and doctoral degrees in Educational Leadership at the University of Houston Clear Lake.

Book preview

THE MAN

I CANNOT UNDERSTAND WHY I feel so lonely. After all these years, so many people, so many mistakes, so many victories, and here I am, all by myself and with this loneliness killing me softly. Everything I did was for nothing. If I could just go back. If I could just change some of my actions. If I just …

This afternoon, like any other during the past few months, Frank is confronting his demons in a local cafe. Spending hours thinking about random things and watching people pass by. He is not the same Frank who conquered the world years ago. This Frank is old, defeated, broke, and alone. All the luxury, the women, the power, the connections, and even the loved ones are left behind. They are nothing more than a wishful memory. The guy who once was known as A Political Monster is now just another guy, another immigrant trying to make it in America, another common taxpayer in the US of A.

Frank Garza, the man once known as one of the most powerful and influential leaders in Venezuela, is now a foreign person lost in his own mental labyrinth. He is the third of six children, the son of Ana and Santino, immigrants from Spain and Italy who after the Second World War left a European tumult of political chaos, persecutions, and a great economic depression to move to Venezuela looking for a better life. Frank came from nothing and was able to reach the highest level of power in Venezuela, which was once one of the richest countries in the world due to its oil industry and mineral reserves. His two kids and wife are now in their own world, far away from him mentally, emotionally, and physically. They were once his empire and life trophy, and now they are just emotional ghosts.

More than 20 years ago Frank had migrated to America looking for his loved ones while running away from Chavez, one of Venezuelan’s most horrific dictators. He moved away from Venezuela in an attempt to reinvent himself, and after selling what he could in a highly depressed communist Venezuelan economy. Being in his late fifties, and with his remarkable past, starting all over again wasn’t an easy task. Frank’s parents had been immigrants and now it was his turn. How ironic life can be sometimes. He never thought he would ever be in a situation where leaving his country was a viable option. The simple suggestion used to anger Frank. He had worked so hard his whole life, only to abandon ship during the last years of his life. No way!

But life sometimes doesn’t let us choose, and here he was, lonely and ruined, dwelling on what it was, about his country, about the good moments, like a platonic love that never becomes more.

This is the story of a remarkable man born and raised in a poor neighborhood in Caracas, Venezuela, in a household full of love, dysfunctionality, intellectuality, hunger, violence, alcohol, European customs, laughter, tears, death, and more death. By a gracious miracle, this little boy ended up breaking the cycle of poverty and becoming a civil engineer, a highly successful manager in the private sector, a husband, a father, an ambitious and tenacious entrepreneur, a shrewd politician, the head of the family, and one of the most admired and respected persons in the country. Sadly, the demons from the past never left him completely and they ended up destroying most of his life’s accomplishments. This is a story full of ups and downs, of life lessons, and mostly of an unlimited desire for chasing dreams.

GARZA IT IS

F RANK WAS BORN and raised in a poverty-stricken household with very limited resources. His father, Santino Ruggieri, was an immigrant from Palermo, Italy, who after the Second World War migrated to Venezuela seeking a better life. His mother, Ana Garza, was born in Venezuela but was part of the first generation of Venezuelan-Spaniards. Her parents immigrated from Zaragoza, Spain, running away from economic depression and a convoluted Europe. Frank’s parents’ history was an elaborate soap opera in itself.

Santino Ruggeri was a multilingual, bohemian womanizer who abandoned his wife and kids after meeting Ana. He was fluent in more than 10 languages and dialects, as well as versed in an underground world full of bars, alcohol, parties, and nomadism. He grew up as a citizen of the world, traveling across Europe looking for a better city, a better lady, a better bar. On the other hand, Santino was also a devoted reader, highly motivated by the arts, music, and good food.

Ana Garza was a beautiful lady with humble origins. Raised by her mother after her father passed away when she was very young, Ana had to learn how to earn a living as a young girl. When she turned 7, her mom made her sell arepas in the streets; they were a type of food made of ground maize dough or cooked flour prominent in the cuisine of Colombia and Venezuela. Arepas are eaten daily in those countries and is a common breakfast. Ana and her siblings basically raised themselves while her mother was working long shifts in the factory to support the family.

Ana was extremely beautiful, but her candid soul was easily manipulated. When she became 15, she met a young marine from Spain who was sent to Venezuela for training. She fell in love with him and ended up getting pregnant. As expected, the marine left and Ana continued the cycle of poverty, becoming a young single mother. Two years passed and she met a businessman from France. He was looking to establish some businesses in Venezuela and met Ana while running errands. Once again Ana got pregnant and this gentleman also disappeared. Now Ana was responsible for raising two children on her own.

When Santino met Ana, it was no easy task conquering her. After two big disappointments in matters of the heart, Ana was not looking for another child or heartbreak. However, in Ana, Santino saw something he had never seen before: a pure and kind spirit. After months practicing his charm and all his skills, Santino was able to catch Ana’s attention. They fell in love, had four children, and lived together for many years until his death broke them apart. Since divorcing was legally complicated, Santino proposed marriage to Ana once his wife died, and offered to give his last name to all of the children, including Ana’s first two. But at that point the two had been living together for many years, her children were relatively old, all their paperwork had Ana’s last name, Garza, and she saw no point in changing that. In the end, they loved each other a great deal, created a beautiful family, but never got legally married.

NO FOOD ON SUNDAYS

F RANK’S DAD WAS a character full of intellect, culture, humor, and entertaining stories, but he was also an alcoholic. Frank’s mom was the best cook in the world, noble, humble, sweet, beautiful, and a devoted caregiver full of love. This reality created a peculiar household where Frank, the third child, grew up. Santino was a waiter and Ana was a stay-at-home mother. They barely had money to cover expenses and eat, even when living in a very poor and dangerous neighborhood. In fact, Sundays were Santino’s free day and for some reason those days there was no food at home. Frank discovered hunger very young. It was an unbearable pain in the stomach that didn’t allow you to concentrate or do much. On top of that, Santino was drunk almost every day, which would diminish his level of commitment and responsibility toward the family, and tended to increase his level of violence as well. Frank got used to being slapped in the face for any reason, which produced resentment toward his father. There was a point when he felt he actually hated his dad.

This whole situation pushed the children into the labor market at a very early age. Luca, the oldest child, was a natural entrepreneur. At 17, he was able to acquire a small kiosk to sell newspapers and magazines at the entrance of one of the most famous hotels in Caracas. The kiosk started to offer photography for tourists and anybody who wanted their picture taken. When Frank became 12, his brother offered him a percentage of the business. He just needed to buy a suit … only he had no money. Luckily, one of his friends from the neighborhood heard about his problem and gave him one of his old suits. Frank never forgot the kind gesture and was forever thankful. That was one of Frank’s greatest attributes – gratitude. He would remember in coming years how the suit began to not fit him anymore, how he still hadn’t had the money to buy a new one. His mother did what she could to adjust the suit to his ever-growing body. At a certain point, Frank started to walk and stand with his arms folded in an attempt to hide the short length of the jacket.

That first job was also an intensive training on matters of the streets. His shift was from 6 to 10 pm at night and during that time, prostitutes walked the streets around the