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.