Everything’s personal

All those who have read Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, would be familiar with Don Vito Corleone’s second most famous line – It’s business. It’s not personal. That is what Don Corleone had everyone believe – that he took nothing personally in the line of business – even the killing of his son, Santino Corleone.

When Michael, the Don’s youngest kid, decides to kill Virgil Solozzo, he is chided by Santino for taking the attack on the Don personally. To which Michael retorts that he understands this more than anybody else. Later on, the same Michael goes on to say, ‘Don’t let anybody kid you. It’s all personal, every bit of business.”

The last part is what you ought to know. You can give others the impression that you do not take business matters personally, but you should. Because all business is personal. You need to decide – what is business and what is personal. But, one fundamental principle that should become a part of your being is – whatever business you do, it can’t be just business, it is personal to the last degree.

You need people to do business with and to help your business grow. Every day, you will find yourself interacting with a whole bunch of people – employees, investors, stakeholders, clients, etc. You will need to empathize with them to understand their psyche and their thought process to establish a relationship. Let’s be honest, there is no business without any relationship between two people.

In order to empathize, you’ll have to take it personally. You’ll have to get into the minds of people, figuratively, to know exactly what they are looking for. And it won’t be possible without any emotions, any sensitivity, and any empathy on your part.

One thing I have learnt in all these years – no one wants to work with someone who just does not care.