Robert Greene, (2000) 48 Laws of Power, Profile Books.

This is pretty much a follow up to Machiavelli's work, albeit cast and made for our modern era. Greene provides 48 laws that one must follow to become powerful. Morality is not treated as a must have quality, hence some of the laws may sound amoral. Though as with Machiavelli's work, what matters is power and all else is just part of the game. Greene provides a great deal of examples from history to support his laws and they are fascinating and thought provoking to read. As the saying is, learn it from the pros.

A few examples are:

"Pose as a friend, Work as a spy"

"Do not build fortresses to protect yourself, isolation is dangerous"

"Control the options: Get others to play with the cards you deal"

"Do not go past the mark you aimed for, in victory learn when to stop"

Nicolo Machiavelli, (1513) The Prince

When it comes to Risk and the use of diplomacy, this is perhaps the best book there is after The Art of War. By reading this book, at least you will know what it means if someone is labelled as Machiavellian. The other benefit is that you can also find out who is a Machiavellian. Machiavelli describes what a prince must do to hold to power and how to extend it. Machiavelli is sometimes presented as amoral. For example, he suggests that:

“It is better to break promises if keeping them would be against one’s interests.”

It is better to view Machiavelli in a different way. He is only trying to tell us what strategies work better when humans are competing for power. It is only a game. Seen that way, morality has got no place in the decision making process of a prince. Of course, by modern standards, we expect a leader to be moral, merciful and fair. Though, as reality shows, we are far from it.

The goal is to win, and Machiavelli suggests that if you don’t follow the simple principles he puts forward, you will be at the mercy of those who will follow it. As a minimum, you need to know if someone is applying Machiavellian tactics on you and if he does, how you would respond to it.

Lionel Giles, (2005) The Art of War by Sun Tzu, Special Edition, El Paso Norte Press.

This is Sun Tzu's classic on the use of strategies in war. It is a great source of wisdom. This particular translation contains a number of commentaries that helps to clarify Sun's concepts. The book is used by people in business, politicians, military generals and is applicable to any competitive environments. However, like many books of this nature, some of the tips can be vague and subject to interpretation. The best way to understand and appreciate them is by putting them into practice. Once you have tried to implement them, you would realise how effective Sun's advice can be. Risk is the ideal choice for experimentation.

Here are some of Sun's advice:

"To win without fighting is best"

"When you have the means but are not getting anywhere, seek appropriate associates, and you will be lucky."

"If opponents are numerous, they can be made not to fight."

"A military force has no constant form (i.e no predictable strategy) water has no constant shape. The ability to gain victory by changing and adopting according to the opponent is called genious. (just like the flow of water is determined by the earth)"

Highly recommended.