One of the best movies from the last century was The Godfather in which the main character is Don Corleone, the head of the crime family. The movie I have seen several times many years ago. Before several months, I watch all three parts again with much larger attention.
This trilogy gives us several entrepreneurship lessons. The Godfather movie illustrates many valuable lessons for entrepreneurs, and here I want to mention some of them that impressed me.
The Godfather Lesson #1: Offer That Can’t Be Refused
The most important part for each business is the offer. If the offer is something that cannot be refused, the business will not suffer from the lack of customers because there always will be customers who will want more from your business.
In a book, The Irresistible Offer – How to Sell Your Products or Services in three Seconds and Less, Mark Joyner says:
There are 86400 seconds in a day. You have exactly 3 of them to capture the mind of your prospect.
The Godfather Lesson #2: Love Your Friends, But Even More, Love Your Enemies
It is an important rule that also must be applied in a business world. You must love your enemies (competitors) because you want to collect more knowledge about them. You must love your enemies because you want to make them more predictable for the purposes of your decision-making process. You must love your enemies if you want to be one step ahead of them.
You must never, really never underestimate your competition.
The Godfather Lesson #3: It’s All About the Business, Nothing Personal.
In the business, there is nothing personal. Entrepreneurs start businesses because of satisfying personal interest, but after that, it’s nothing more about personal.
You don’t hire employees because of personal interest. You hire them because you want to develop your business to be successful.
The Godfather Lesson #4: Always Watch Your Back
In business, your enemies will always be behind your back. They are in the battle with you for the same thing – great market share.
Prepare yourself with defensive strategies as an answer to your business if someone attacks you.
