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When Tuck professor Richard D’Aveni asks his “Advanced Competitive Strategy” students to study The Godfather, he’s not encouraging a life of crime. Instead, the movie demonstrates three business strategies he teaches in class, all exemplified by a member of the Corleone family. D’Aveni argues that Vito (Marlon Brando) conducts his business as “a government in hiding, dispensing justice, watching out for the neighborhood like a Robin hood figure,” while Vito’s son Sonny (James Caan) engages in “a war of annihilation,” attempting to overwhelm competition with the force of an army. The most successful Corleone, Michael (Al Pacino), practices what D’Aveni calls “hyper-competition and globalization.” As he spreads his influence to Cuba and Las Vegas Michael “revolutionizes the industry by destroying the competitive advantage of his rivals,” says the prof. And what do students think? Some feel it’s impossible to compare organized crime to business, but others come to appreciate the film more. “you have to start thinking like a Sicilian,” says D’Aveni, “to examine the fine, little details and interconnections.”