Be More Machiavellian
Machiavelli gets a bad rap. His eponymous 16-century work, “The Prince,” placed Niccolo Machiavelli into the literary and cultural lexicon as the caricature of a coldly calculating opportunist, willing to discard scruples for political gain. But read the book and you will find a remarkably brief treatise with enormous wisdom about how to succeed in high-stakes leadership situations. For as much as present-day works on leadership have contributed constructively to the practice of collaborative leadership that builds win-win solutions, there are still times when resources are zero-sum and realpolitik will dictate a single winner to a dispute. Right about now,…