What the Godfather teaches us about Leadership. Part 2.
8 October 2025
📍 𝘚𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘤𝘢, 𝘚𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘺 – 𝘉𝘢𝘳 𝘝𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘈𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘢’𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨.
If you've read Part 1, you’ll know I’ve been a 𝗚𝗼𝗱𝗳𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 fan for ever.
And that I recently visited the filming sites across Sicily. A long-awaited bucket list moment.
And while 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 is known for its vendettas and violence and horses-heads in beds, it also offers something more subtle: A masterclass in emotional control.
One line that appears several times:
“It’s not personal, it’s strictly business.”
But let’s be honest - we 𝘢𝘳𝘦 human. We 𝘥𝘰 take things personally.
Even in business.
𝗔𝗜 might be automating tasks at speed, but humans aren’t going anywhere - and emotion remains one of our greatest tools.
The key is not to shut it down, but to recognise it, regulate it, and use it wisely.
That’s what Don Vito and Michael both did.
They felt anger, betrayal, grief.
But they didn’t 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 with those emotions.
They observed their own reactions.
They 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 their next move.
And they stayed focused on what mattered. The long game.
There’s a brilliant scene in 𝘎𝘰𝘥𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘐𝘐, where Senator Geary insults Michael directly - blunt, offensive, unreasonable.
You can see it in Michael’s face (Al Pacino at his best): the flicker of emotion, the momentary response.
But he holds it.
No explosion. No outburst. Just icy clarity.
That’s not coldness.
That’s composure.
That’s leadership.
Because strong leaders don’t suppress emotion.
They harness it.
They use it to drive good decisions - not reactive ones.
We saw a modern version of this just last week.
At the Ryder Cup in Long Island, the European team stood firm under incredible pressure. Some of it deeply personal.
But they didn’t crack.
They used it.
Rory McIlroy turned fury into fire.
And Luke Donald led with calm clarity - focused, measured, never the centre of attention.
It’s the same lesson:
Recognise the emotion.
Harness it.
Lead with control.