I once used this exercise with a church men’s group I started.  Name a fictional character who you feel reflects who you are or aspire to be.  I remember Coach Eric Taylor from Friday Night Lights and Aragorn from Lord of the Rings.  

When my turn came, the group was somewhat surprised when I said Vito Corleone, the Godfather.  Years later, another church friend pretty much told me how evil that choice was.  I beg to differ.

The Godfather (the movie and the book, need to watch and read both for the complete picture) is one of the best works on leadership and life out there.  One of the auditors I supervised even told me I was right when a management seminar he was sent to opened with “All that you need to know about management you can learn from Godfather 1 and 2.”

I’ve mentioned this before – Coppola said it was the story of a great king with three sons, each embodying a different aspect of his character – passion (Sonny), child-likeness (Fredo), and cunning (Michael).

I really could go on and on about how much I learned and put into practice from him.  That scene in the garden where Vito has a father-son conversation with Michael about his vision, disappointments, life path, and the future.  That itself is a whole lecture or discussion.

I never got to teach the work officially in class.  I would probably have been censured.  But if I could do it, I would break each lecture down by the main characters and some supporting ones (Genco the consigliere is fascinating; also Mama Corleone).

And how I wish to perform that scene in Cuba between Michael and Fredo with several people.