48th anniversary of the release of "The Godfather" and these 3 quotes that expose the truth about survival in the workplace

Time, the best reagent.
There is a film that was released in 1972 and is still highly sought after today, exactly 48 years after its release.
Some say it is the man's bible; others say it is the greatest gangster movie ever made.
In my opinion, it has become an enduring classic because it makes clear what the jungle is.
And how to navigate this jungle and live in it with ease.
That film, is The Godfather. Although we are in a peaceful world, we do not need to fight and kill like in the film, but the workplace is like a battlefield, for our own development and survival, if we learn to think in the same way as in the play, perhaps, we can better strengthen the foundation of our lives.
In today's article, I would like to share with you 3 quotes from the main character, the Godfather, who said in the movie.
If you understand these 3 sentences, you will also understand the truth of survival in the workplace.
One, "What I want is not profit, but your favor."
At the beginning of the movie, an undertaker comes to the godfather for help in order to seek justice for his daughter.
But because of the special nature of the Godfather's status, that owner is afraid to get too close to him, so he tries to draw a line in the sand with him and only talks about money.
The Godfather, on the other hand, did not want money, but rather a favour, so that the two sides could establish a friendship.
In the end, the boss agreed to do him a favour. The Godfather immediately sent someone to take care of the commission very well. In this way, we can see how the Godfather's philosophy works
Give first, establish an emotional connection and then, later, ask for something in return.
More importantly, of course, his giving is based on respect and mutual equality.
Whether it was a funeral home owner or an ordinary cake maker who came to him for help, he was always there to help in any way he could.
And, he always saw this as a human favour passed on in his dealings with people, rather than standing on the moral high ground and giving downwards.
This, in turn, provided a solid foundation for when he was in crisis and needed help from others.
Many people in the workplace will also offer to help others, but always with an obvious agenda.
Either they ask for a prompt return or they have a superior moral compass.
This kind of tasteless help, even if you had really given a lot, may not be able to exchange for the other party's respect and heartfelt gratitude.
My former colleague, Lao Guo, was very skilled in his profession and was happy to give advice to others, but his biggest fault was that he was too condescending.
He would either mock others for their stupidity while giving advice, or he would go around saying that if he hadn't been the gatekeeper for everyone's case, it would have been lost.
As a result, when he ran for supervisor, he received only three votes in a secret ballot, far behind another colleague who was far less skilled than he was, but usually very good at being a human being.
In the workplace, offering to help and maintaining respect is a prerequisite for all relationships.
Just like the Godfather, no matter how much power you hold, you remain normal and do not put extra burden or pressure on others.
It is only by doing this that you will be respected and loved as much as the Godfather was. It is only when you are in need that others will give back what they can.
Two: "Don't let outsiders know what you're thinking."
When the Godfather was negotiating with other gangs, he refused their requests to close a drug deal because he didn't want to stick with drugs. However, the eldest son revealed his mind to his opponents during the negotiations.
This quickly made the rivals realise that the Godfather's eldest son was more easily manipulated and that they could try to get rid of the Godfather first and come back to the business when he succeeded him.
The Godfather had admonished his eldest son early on to keep his thoughts to himself, and even more so to always take the initiative in matters into his own hands. Unfortunately, the eldest son did not listen.
This led directly to the subsequent assassination of the godfather and the crisis in which the family found itself.
There is always a shortage of people like this around us, who can't hide anything in their hearts, and who want everyone to know when they have been wronged.
But sorry, the workplace doesn't believe in tears, and it doesn't like Mrs Xianglin.
Not being able to control your emotions, or even actively exposing your heart to someone, is tantamount to surrendering the initiative.
The result of passivity in everything is to make yourself a lamb to the slaughter.
A friend of mine is in HR, and when the company laid off staff in this epidemic, her boss told her to lay off a core cadre first.
She was initially a bit puzzled by the fact that the backbone had always been a good worker, but then it became clear: that person's biggest problem was that he liked to complain and would tell his colleagues that he was planning to find another way out.
The word eventually got back to the boss, who said, "Fine, let's give him what he wants.
Who doesn't have grievances in the workplace? It's inevitable for everyone, but mature people know how to hide their inner vulnerabilities and breakdowns and digest them in silence, rather than exposing them to others.
Just like the Godfather, when he learnt that his eldest son had been shot dead, he endured the severe pain inside him and calmly asked his military advisor to arrange a peace conference between himself and the major families, and eventually uncovered the murderer to successfully take revenge.
Do not easily let outsiders know what you are thinking.
Whether or not a person can make it and how big a deal they can make, often depends on how much you can fit inside first.
Three, "It took me a lifetime to learn to be careful.
Before he died, the Godfather had a long heart-to-heart talk with his young son Mike and told him to be careful of potential enemies.
"After I die, if someone wants to come after you, then he will spend money to buy people around you, and remember, whoever invites you to negotiate with him is a traitor."
Then the Godfather added that it had taken him a lifetime to learn to be careful.
By the time the Godfather died of illness, it was just as he said, a potential enemy had paid heavily for people close to Mike. Then on the day of the funeral, that traitor invited Mike to his territory for a meeting with the enemy to take the opportunity to assassinate.
Just as a result of his godfather's caution earlier, Mike is well prepared to beautifully dispose of the enemy and the traitor in the closing stages of the film, bringing the family out of harm's way. Carefulness in all matters is a successful trait in the Godfather.
In the workplace, it is also easy to see that those who are not arrogant and cautious even in their high moments are able to survive.
When I was at Huawei, what I experienced most deeply, apart from the wolf culture, were four words: walking on thin ice.
No matter what level we are at, we are all very careful.
For customers, we serve them with care, and for internal people, we are careful with what we say and do.
Because the core value of Huawei is: customer-centric, the customer's needs are the direction of effort.
But any customer complaints will definitely affect the year-end performance, and if there are problems with internal audits, it's even more deadly.
Even if you have consistently performed well in the preceding years and have made a lot of contributions, it does not outweigh the merits.
When Huawei was caught in a trade war last year, Ren Zhengfei immediately revealed his "Hongmeng" operating system, which he had been developing for years.
The fact that Huawei is always on thin ice gives it the strength to take on the most powerful countries in the world if necessary.
The Godfather, too, never lost sight of the importance of caution, whether he was in a high position or in a low one.
It was because of this that he was able to turn a crisis into a crisis three times over.
IV. At the end
In The Godfather, there is this memorable line
"The man who spends half a second seeing things for what they are, and the man who spends a lifetime not seeing things for what they are, are destined for very different fates."
The surface level of this quote is for us to deepen our insight into things, but I think the deeper level is for us to see ourselves.
Only when one understands oneself well enough to know what kind of life one wants to lead can one understand what kind of person one needs to be and, in turn, how one should behave in the present moment.
The answer to all this lies with you.
May you be able to clarify your thoughts soon, and pursue your own goals, whether in the workplace or in life.