The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli

Have you ever heard of the term "Machiavellian?" Most likely you have and it was used to describe somebody dispensing cruelty to achieve power. It's used quite pejoratively. But what exactly does it mean to be Machiavellian? Inquiring minds want to know. I wanted to know. So I picked up the piece of literature responsible for the creation of the term: Niccolo Machiavelli's Il Principe (or The Prince as it's know in English).

Merriam-webster.com defines Machiavellian as "suggesting the principles of conduct laid down by Machiavelli; specifically : marked by cunning, duplicity, or bad faith." So, why would I want to know about cunning, duplicity and bad faith? To guard against it, of course.

I've come to a point in my career where I can see office politics making and breaking peoples careers within my company. Truthfully, I hate office politics. OK - I hate all politics. Since I have such a dislike of the subject, I have not spent much time learning about it. Yet I now have a family that relies solely on me to be the bread-winner. I need to make sure that I can continue to win bread. Thus, I set out to read Machiavelli's book.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed it. I honestly thought that it would tell me that to get ahead in this world, I would need to lie, cheat, and steal. I'm not down with that. Granted, there are passages in the text that blatantly tell you things like "Men ought to be well treated or crushed, because they can avenge themselves of lighter injuries, of more serious ones, they cannot." However, you begin to realize that a lot of the advice is based on how a "prince" achieved power: By one's own arms and achievements, by the arms or good fortunes of others, or by wickedness.

Thus I realized that wickedness is not the only path to power. In fact, Machiavelli states: "Those who by valorous ways become Princes . . . acquire a principality with difficulty, but keep it with ease." I think that I like that approach better. There is a lot of wisdom in this book, however, to examine it all would mean to write a book longer than Machiavelli's book itself. Pick it up. Give it a read - it's a short book.

For me, the book helped me to recognize political maneuvering when I see it. It has also helped me understand how to defend myself from the politically ambitious. I have not really decided if I truly want to achieve power within my organization. Right now, I'm happy just winning bread to provide for my family and hoping to get to a point where I can return home and be the father and husband I truly want to be.

One last interesting point: this book was written almost 500 years ago and it still rings with truth today.