7 Business and Strategy Lessons from the movie The Godfather
Until last weekend (and as part of my own initiative of watching the top 250 movies according to IMDb) I watched The Godfather. Besides being pleasantly surprised by the plot and the story in general, I identified while I was watching it, 7 interesting Strategic and Business lessons.
Even that this is a classic 40 year old movie, the most interesting fact is that all the lessons can be applied nowadays because they actually keep their validity. Is important to mention that this lessons are not oriented to analyze the movie from a moral perspective.
1. First of all, listening. Who pays attention only to their reality is doomed to failure
Even that this is a classic 40 year old movie, the most interesting fact is that all the lessons can be applied nowadays because they actually keep their validity. Is important to mention that this lessons are not oriented to analyze the movie from a moral perspective.
1. First of all, listening. Who pays attention only to their reality is doomed to failure
In the entire movie the character that presents the biggest transformation is without any doubt, Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), which starts as a noble public server and ends as the family business manager (The godfather).
And even that this conversion reflects how us as human beings are influenced by ego, something that always kept this character was his willing to listen his father advises. In fact, the scene where he shares with his father (Vito) before his death, and his willing to listen to his advice, was the main reason that allow him to end as the victor at the end of the movie. How many times ego blinds and limit us to achieve our absolute best? Of course that we must also select our trusted advisers but at least we should have one.
And even that this conversion reflects how us as human beings are influenced by ego, something that always kept this character was his willing to listen his father advises. In fact, the scene where he shares with his father (Vito) before his death, and his willing to listen to his advice, was the main reason that allow him to end as the victor at the end of the movie. How many times ego blinds and limit us to achieve our absolute best? Of course that we must also select our trusted advisers but at least we should have one.
2. Business are business. Don't bring your emotions into the business.
This wise advice that was given by Vito to Sonny (his eldest son) at the beginning of the movie, enhance the importance of separating business and emotions. In fact, when Sonny ignore this advice during the movie, he is victim of a trap that costs his life. Even that this point differs from other book authors and leaders that state the importance of including passion and positive emotions into all the aspects of your life, all of them agree in how we should never involve negative emotions (such anger, resentment and rage) in our business decisions and more if those emotion belong to a personal situation that is not directly related with business.
This wise advice that was given by Vito to Sonny (his eldest son) at the beginning of the movie, enhance the importance of separating business and emotions. In fact, when Sonny ignore this advice during the movie, he is victim of a trap that costs his life. Even that this point differs from other book authors and leaders that state the importance of including passion and positive emotions into all the aspects of your life, all of them agree in how we should never involve negative emotions (such anger, resentment and rage) in our business decisions and more if those emotion belong to a personal situation that is not directly related with business.
3. The art of war consist on win the battles with the less amount of causalities.
This is actually one of my favorite lessons from the book "The art of war" and it is endorsed during this movie as the most important decision that Vito took in order to preserve the Corleone family. After Sonny's murder, he arrange a meeting to define a truce between the other families in order to reduce the causalities. In the meantime, he helped his son Michael to plan the counterattack plan that finally ends with the main leaders of the other families. This principle applies also in the business world: As long as you improve your sales and business processes while you reduce the time invested to confront the competitors, the more competitive advantage that your business is gaining.
This is actually one of my favorite lessons from the book "The art of war" and it is endorsed during this movie as the most important decision that Vito took in order to preserve the Corleone family. After Sonny's murder, he arrange a meeting to define a truce between the other families in order to reduce the causalities. In the meantime, he helped his son Michael to plan the counterattack plan that finally ends with the main leaders of the other families. This principle applies also in the business world: As long as you improve your sales and business processes while you reduce the time invested to confront the competitors, the more competitive advantage that your business is gaining.
4. Keep your friends close but your enemies even closer
Again a lesson that belongs from "The art of war" appears as well on this film. When Michael starts to lead the family business he names his brother in law as one of his closest advisers (even when he was aware that his brother in law was accomplice of his brothers death). Having your enemies closer make them feel comfortable, and also make them week.
Again a lesson that belongs from "The art of war" appears as well on this film. When Michael starts to lead the family business he names his brother in law as one of his closest advisers (even when he was aware that his brother in law was accomplice of his brothers death). Having your enemies closer make them feel comfortable, and also make them week.
5. Make the enemy believe that he has you in his hands and at that moment, counterattack!
The part that I like the most in the entire movie was the ending and its there when is reflected this powerful (and for some of us tough) lesson. After he listens his father advice, Michael Corleone is invited to a meeting when he is aware that he will be killed (this was his father advice. Vito told him that someone will arrange a meeting where he will be killed and betrayed by the one who arrange it). After he accept that invite, he makes feel to his enemies that he has fallen into the trap while he defines an strategy to attack all of them. Even that this could sound as a contradiction, this can be applied in any context in the present and specially on business, because it enhance how important is to always be humble and in some cases to hold a low profile. The more visible we make our actions, the more we will be exposed.
The part that I like the most in the entire movie was the ending and its there when is reflected this powerful (and for some of us tough) lesson. After he listens his father advice, Michael Corleone is invited to a meeting when he is aware that he will be killed (this was his father advice. Vito told him that someone will arrange a meeting where he will be killed and betrayed by the one who arrange it). After he accept that invite, he makes feel to his enemies that he has fallen into the trap while he defines an strategy to attack all of them. Even that this could sound as a contradiction, this can be applied in any context in the present and specially on business, because it enhance how important is to always be humble and in some cases to hold a low profile. The more visible we make our actions, the more we will be exposed.
6. Delegate is an art
Everyone who has watched this movie agrees that Marlon Brando performs an excellent role play as Vito Corleone. Why? Even that this answer could vary depending on who you ask, for me the most valuable quality that he demonstrate as Vito is how he achieves all what he wants, by delegating it to others.
In another business books that I read recently, is common that some authors empathize in how difficult is for entrepreneurs to delegate. By nature, an entrepreneur wants to make and manage every single detail of his business without focusing in how to manage their execution. As it is on Chess, managers and strategist are the ones who move the pieces on the board and not the opposite (they are not the pieces inside the chess board) and unfortunately, we want to be part of the board when we are supposed to be the hand that manage the pieces.
7. And at lats, family is first!
Beyond the distorted moral of this movie, it delivers a clear message in terms of the importance of the family. Whats the value of being successful if you don't have someone to share that success with? In many interviews of successful people that I have heard recently, is common to listen a message oriented to value the time with your family, and in some cases it is accompanied with the regret of the interviewee for not spending more with his/her family. Coincidence or lesson?
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