Shorty after my brother TJ gave me a Blu-ray player, I purchased the Godfather trilogy for the second time. I originally bought the full set of movies on laser disc more than a decade ago. I’ve seen the films several times, but the Blu-Ray version is far superior. As I watched it, I not only marveled at the richness of the blacks and the clarity of the picture, but also at what Michael Corleone had to teach me about business. I should write the $65 off on my taxes as it’s some of the best money I’ve ever spent for work.

There are several obvious lessons from the film that are still valuable reminders such as:

Never tell anyone outside the Family what you are thinking.

Try to think as people around you think.

Anyone coming to you with a deal that sounds too good to be true has another agenda.

While I keep those things in mind, the most valuable lesson I took away from the film didn’t come through dialog or a memorable quote. It came through Michael Corleone’s actions in a subtle, but consistent way: Namely: never go into any situation of consequence without a Plan B ready and be prepared to switch to it at a moments notice. And I don’t mean a vague idea of a backup plan. This means a fully thought out Plan B with resources deployed.

In January, LoneStarMusic had an opportunity come up, but it would all have to be pulled together very quickly. Due to the circumstances, we knew there was a good chance that despite our best efforts we still might not make it happen on time. Using the above lesson, we set up a very similar, but separate opportunity a few weeks later that we could shift all of those resources to if we failed to make the first one happen. As it turns out, the first one came together in time and was a big success, but had it not we were prepared.

As I’ve put this philosophy into practice I’ve discovered the most valuable aspect of putting together a Plan B is that it forces you to rethink your original idea and more often then not it improves Plan A. Also, knowing that I’ve already gone to the trouble and expense of having Plan B ready to go enables me to switch over to it the second my intuition tells me that the original idea isn’t working. Which brings me to another fringe benefit of this exercise – it’s either sharpened my intuition or I’m trusting it more. Probably a little bit of both.

When he went to adapt the screenplay of the original Godfather novel, Francis Ford Coppola remained blocked until the idea struck him to make the film a metaphor for American capitalism. Though I’m sure it’s not the way Coppola intended it, the film has now come full circle for me as I pull successful business ideas from the tragedy of Michael Corleone. I think sometime this summer I need to schedule another eight hour business seminar with the Corleone Family.