MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH THE GODFATHER

To me, THE GODFATHER (meaning the book and the first two movies) is an unparalleled masterpiece. It is operatic in its intensity, Shakespearian in scope, and Mozartian in its ability to take something maddeningly simple and make it brilliant.

Al Pacino was once interviewed about it. He said it is mythological. It’s a story about a powerful king with three sons. Each son inherits one thing from the father, but none of them inherits everything. Sonny inherits the brutality. Fredo inherits the sweetness. And Michael gets the intelligence. Eventually the life they lead destroys all of them.

There are also great business lessons to be learned from this saga. The Corleones are, after all, in business.

There are far too many to list all of them, so I will list just a few modest examples here.

One of the ones I like best is when Michael tells his coterie that all business is personal. He says that every piece of crap you have to take every day adds up. If you treat someone with respect, they will not want to do you in. Disrespecting someone is about the worst thing you can do. They will feel resentful and humiliated and they will want your head on a platter. Many people miss this, because it’s not in either movie, but it’s in the book.

Another aspect of this is to add a personal touch to things that could be farmed out. Tom Hagen is impressed when Johnny Fontane personally drives him to the airport. When someone makes an appointment and comes to see you at your office, don’t send an assistant to fetch the visitor in the waiting area. Go out and greet them yourself.

Keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer. Most people have heard that one. But what does it actually mean? It means being aware of everything your enemies are doing so that you are prepared. But it also means having enough respect for them so that you don’t underestimate them. You wouldn’t mind them so much if they hadn’t done something that devastated you. They will do it again—if you let them. Be prepared.

If you haven’t read the book, I urge you to do so. Some people think it can’t possibly be that great because it was so enormously popular. But a book can be both, and this one is. When you combine it with the movies, you have a saga that transcends its own popularity.