“Among other evils that being unarmed brings you, it causes you to be despised. That’s Niccolò Machiavelli. Now get! I need to use your bathroom.” – The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre
LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THAT NOSE! You could park a jet airliner under that thing!
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli, better known to us today as simply Machiavelli, died in 1527. I know, I know, these posts seem to be stuck in the 1500’s recently – but what better place to study the economic effects of an empire built on plundered gold (LINK), genetics of the amazingly inbred Hapsburgs (LINK) and now . . . political philosophy and business.
Machiavelli, besides having his name turned into a word for amoral behaviors used to get power (Machiavellian) was also a great-great-great-great-grandfather of Madonna, Cher, and Meatloaf which is why they use only one name.
I kid.
Machiavelli’s best known work is The Prince. Reportedly, he wrote this political philosophy book for Lorenzo de’ Medici. Niccolò had recently been fired from his job as a diplomat when he wrote The Prince, and back in 1516, being fired didn’t mean “here’s your crap and two weeks’ wages,” it meant, “we just might torture you and imprison you – just because.” And Machiavelli was tortured by the Medici family – merely because they thought he might have once known a group of people who might have been plotting against Medici rule.
So what does Machiavelli do? He writes an entire book and dedicates it to one member of the family that tortured him. Yeah – I guess he missed that job he got fired from.
Note: All quotes in this post are directly from The Prince.
The Prince has been written about a zillion times. Heck, I had to write a paper on it when I was in college. So what’s my take with this post?
Machiavelli wrote the book with an eye to a ruler in 16th Century Italy. Does it have applicability in today’s business world? Let’s see. Yes.
“Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are.”
I’ll mostly skip chapters 1-5. Although there is some applicability, I’ll leave you with these notes:
Machiavelli writes about differing kinds of states – including conquered states. His advice? Kill off all of the old rulers after you take over a place. I’ve seen this in business – one factory I knew about was bought by a new company. Step one? Fire all of the leadership. Not some. All. Every department head except one was immediately fired and replaced.
To quote Niccolo:
“If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.”
So, if you think you’re not replaceable? We replace our President every four or eight years. A business can do without you. And if you’re bought out? Getting rid of the leadership is a great way to immediately change the culture of a company. No mixed loyalties.
If a company or department was ruled by a tyrant, a new leader will find it pretty easy to start out in the department/division/company. If the previous leader allowed or encouraged a large amount of autonomy and freedom? You’re going to have problems. This type of business might be a tough one to lead after you take it over.
“He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command.”
Chapter 6: Conquest by Virtue
When looking at rising to the top, Machiavelli strongly favored doing it based on your own skill and cunning. This type of power, he felt, was quite durable. This is the company you built from the ground up – the company you bought with cash, the department manager role you won through years of hard work and dedication.
“The lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten wolves.”
The major danger of this type of power was the idea that you could reform the system after conquering it. It is difficult to do so: the people who liked the old systems will fight hard to keep them – those that might benefit from the new system often won’t fight, since the benefits are in the future, and vague. Machiavelli favored the use of force to make change happen. And by force, Machiavelli meant swords and such. Since running down the hallway cutting down poorly performing employees with swords might be a bad idea, you might want to consider firing them instead.
Chapter 7: Conquest by Fortune
This is the power that you get when you’re appointed – you have powerful backers that want you to have the job/company. Whereas when you take a business over due to virtue (above), here you have to make the people that put you into power happy, as well as deal with the people in the company or department. If you’re lucky, and very, very good, you can keep the job after your father-in-law retires. But it’s not likely.
“A prudent man should always follow in the path trodden by great men and imitate those who are most excellent, so that if he does not attain to their greatness, at any rate he will get some tinge of it.”
Chapter 8: Conquest by Criminal Virtue
If you’re going to take over a place via immoral means, Machiavelli says to do all of the evil up front. If done completely enough, then you can (over time) make people forget your cruel and wicked actions over time. The worst of all possible immoral takeovers is one where the cruelty and evil continue over time.
I don’t really recommend this, but we see it all of the time, and the people who do it are amazingly rich.
Hmmm, maybe I should consider evil?
“The promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a necessity of the present.”
Chapter 15: Reputation of A Prince
Machiavelli didn’t think much of the common man:
“How we live is so different from how we ought to live that he who studies what ought to be done rather than what is done will learn the way to his downfall rather than to his preservation.”
But that’s plain enough. As a manager, what do you think your reputation should be? Here, Niccolo cuts to the quick:
“And here comes in the question whether it is better to be loved rather than feared, or feared rather than loved. It might perhaps be answered that we should wish to be both; but since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved.”
Ouch!
But he’s right. If people love you, they can discount that feeling, especially at times when they feel joy. But if they fear you? They will be vigilant every minute of every day. Fear is a much more potent motivator than love – just ask Maslow (LINK).
How does this apply at work? Sadly, as a manager you have to remove yourself from the after work drinks. You have to remove yourself from the “work parties.” You have to be above and beyond that. If you are just another person in the group? Your authority means nothing. And you have to use your authority – quickly and suddenly, but with complete justification every so often. Why? Because theory would say you should know more than your employees – at least occasionally. Unless you use it – it won’t exist.
Chapter 16: Generosity vs. Parsimony
It’s a sad state of affairs – if you’re generous, people don’t appreciate it – they simply want more.
“Of mankind we may say in general they are fickle, hypocritical, and greedy of gain.”
And if you’re generous with your employees? Oddly, it makes them respect you less. Yes. Less. If you have to pick a reputation, being cheap is better than generosity. People understand cheap. Your employees understand cheap. They have to make choices everyday with their money. Being generous just means you’ve got so much money that your generosity means nothing . . . .
Chapter 17: Cruelty vs. Mercy
“Men worry less about doing an injury to one who makes himself loved than to one who makes himself feared.”
Machiavelli is pretty simple in this chapter. Create fear if it helps you – the idea is that fear should help your business. But if it’s excessive? Eventually people will leave you.
I’m sad to say that being cruel is a much better way to create loyalty than being nice – it seems that’s just how humanity works. A strong man who is justifiably cruel gets our respect over someone who loves us. Every time.
Chapter 18: Keeping A Prince’s Word
“He should appear to be compassionate, faithful to his word, guileless, and devout. And indeed he should be so. But his disposition should be such that, if he needs to be the opposite, he knows how.”
A Prince should be virtuous. A Prince should look virtuous. A Prince knows when not to be virtuous. Your team, your group, your company will look the other way when you decide the company is more important than your compassion. Oddly? They will love you for it.
Chapter 22: Nobles and Staff
Get good people to work for you. Make them loyal to you. Value competence over cool tee-shirts.
“Because there are three classes of intellects: one which comprehends by itself; another which appreciates what others comprehend; and a third which neither comprehends by itself nor by the showing of others; the first is the most excellent, the second is good, the third is useless.”
Don’t have idiots on your staff. And understand the differences between intellects.
Chapter 23: Avoid Flatterers
This might be the most powerful quote by Machiavelli, well, ever:
“There is no other way to guard yourself against flattery than by making men understand that telling you the truth will not offend you.”
If you hide yourself from the actual truth, and punish those that would tell the truth to you? Well, the game is over.
“Men are so happily absorbed in their own affairs and indulge in such self-deception that it is difficult for them not to fall victim to this plague; and some efforts to protect oneself from flatterers involve the risk of becoming despised.”
If you’re a leader? Being despised is the end.
Chapter 25: Fortune
Here Machiavelli starts looking at risk. Here’s a rough passage, if you’re a feminist:
“It is better to be impetuous than cautious, because fortune is a woman; and it is necessary, if one wants to hold her down, to beat her and strike her down.”
Well.
Anyhow – Machiavelli makes a great point: risk is not an enemy. Risk is risk. And when you’re in a risky situation at work, why not take it up a notch?
Actual story: I knew that my boss had interviewed (don’t ask me how) someone for my position. At the next available opportunity, I asked him about it.
I’ve never enjoyed a work situation more. “How did you know?”
My response: “If I told you, would you ever trust me with a secret?”
The look on his face was priceless.
When you have nothing to lose? Doubling down is for sissies. Go all in.
Remember this:
“If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.”
‘nuff said.
John
My Scots-Irish Grandfather (post boy for political correctness alongside Archie Bunker) told me that I should I should never get in a fight but if I did there were two rules:
1. keep getting up each time I got knocked down no matter how much I was hurt.
2. scar the person was fighting so that they always knew that I beat them
Gehrig