Can Machiavelli teach us anything about the workplace?

Maria Nikolova

Participants within modern organizations follow to a large extent the rules outlined by Machiavelli without having ever read his text, argues AMB Prime’s Paul Orford.

This is a guest editorial by Paul Orford, Head of Institutional Sales at AMB Prime.

The name Machiavelli conjures up images of chicanery and gross acts of skullduggery, and has become synonymous with everything that is sly about human behavior. With many viewing the day-to-day politics of the working environment to be the same as in the royal court of the Borgia, can we learn anything from him?

The first guideline to “realpolitik”

To understand more about what many view as an often misrepresented philosophical thinker, we need to understand a little more about the context in which he lived in.

Niccolo Machiavelli was born in 1469 and forged a career as a Florentine political diplomat, whose most famous treatise was ‘The Prince’. If you are not aware, the book is his guide on how a leader should gain and maintain power when faced with the many dilemmas of ruling. Indeed many saw this as the first guideline to what is known as ‘realpolitik’.

The politics of the city states could resemble that of the “Game of Thrones” where an ally could be your enemy, and you enemy could become your ally in an incredibly fluid fashion, so in essence this was written for the leaders of the era to keep a watchful eye on competing influences.

It is possible to apply his work by supplanting the prince for the CEO and instead of the kingdom – use a brokerage. By using some of his more familiar observations we can see if this is applicable in the modern era.

To be feared or loved?

Paul Orford, Head of Institutional Sales, AMB Prime

In chapter 17 of the treatise, Machiavelli outlines the argument of whether it is better to be feared rather than loved when conducting the affairs of state. Although he does argue that it is great to have the masses love you it is easier to rule them if they fear you.

Is this possible for the modern CEO to run their business in this fashion? As we have all probably worked with the varying spectrum of personality types within the industry, would a charismatic knowledgeable leader produce better results than one who continuously threatens impending doom on your career. Ultimately if you do find yourself in this predicament then you are going to look for an alternate source of income and leave.

Working with a leader who can help you grow and learn can sometimes trump financially larger offers from your competitors. If given the choice between working with an uninformed luddite who protects his own ends, and holding a role where you can grow professionally, statistically the latter will be taken.

Machiavelli score: NO

Are we all fickle liars?

“It can be said of men that they are fickle liars and deceivers they shun danger and are greedy for profit. Therefore it is necessary for a leader to learn how not to be good.” – Niccolo Machiavelli.

In Chapter 18, Machiavelli discusses whether a prince needs to keep their word. He argues that experience had shown that rulers who have little regard for their word go on to achieve great things.

Moreover, he argues this from a position of nobody else keeps their word, so why should you be any different.

If we use this doctrine in the modern workplace the machinery of modern relationships would break down incredibly fast. Although many claim that it is common occurrence that working for a leader who does not keep their word to lead to inefficiencies, but could this really be attributed to them, being indecisive and trying to please all. (see previous section.)

Further to this, in the field that we operate in which strives to be as transparent as possible, losing the trust of your workforce can result in a severe downturn in your results and the death knell of your companies hard fought reputation.

Machiavelli score: NO

How to avoid hatred?

Finally in Chapter 19, Machiavelli argues “a prince must avoid becoming hated or despised. Taking the property or the women of his subjects will make him hated”. As we can all appreciate HR practices have moved on since this period, and it is no longer de rigueur for a leader of an organization to take your workers property and their loved ones. He goes further in describing how to remedy the challenge of not becoming hated by your subjects by using the power of delegation.

With this he is not outlining who should carry out the minor and mundane tasks, he argues that your number two should be the one who passes on the bad news so the populace hold a grudge against the person carrying out the order.

Furthermore, all popular decisions and news that is passed out must be given by the Prince so it reflects well on them. I think it is fair to assume that this practice is still a very popular choice today, with the modern CEO often bathing in the glory and allowing others to offer impending doom laden news to their underlings.

Machiavelli Score: YES

And now…

A thorough reading of Machiavelli’s work can give useful guidance in how to follow one particular style in leadership. To argue whether it has any longevity in a successful organization is a separate issue.

What is intriguing is the actions and participants within modern organizations still follow to a large extent the rules which he noted without having ever read his text. Moreover, I am sure he would have been very pleased to observe the relevance of his work in the 21st century work environment.

Read this next

Digital Assets

Centralized exchanges are 10 times more popular than DEXs in Western Europe

Western European traders are found to prefer centralized exchanges over decentralized ones as CEX traffic outpaces DEXs by a factor of ten.

Market News

Stock Market Analysis: Is NVDA Losing Its Leadership?

Since the beginning of the week, the S&P 500 Index (US500) has seen a modest increase of about 0.58%, whereas NVDA’s share price has experienced a decline of approximately 3.8%. This recent divergence raises concerns among Nvidia stock investors — could it signify a loss of NVDA’s market leadership?

Industry News

ESG: Australian regulator wins first greenwashing court case against Vanguard

Vanguard admitted that a notable portion of the securities within both the Index and the Fund did not undergo the promised ESG scrutiny.

Fintech, Uncategorized

BitMEX integrates HALO from Solidus Labs for cross-market surveillance

““The recent approval of the Spot Bitcoin ETF has piqued the market’s interest. As a result of price volatility, the trading volumes for crypto derivatives have gone up substantially. HALO, with its advanced technology and crypto-native detection architecture, will enable BitMEX to smoothly and safely scale trade surveillance across its increased trading volumes and provide the necessary safeguards for new product launches.”

Reviews

IUX Broker Review

IUX, recently rebranded from IUX Markets, stands as a multi-asset Forex broker recognized for its regulatory compliance across various jurisdictions.

Industry News

Horizon Software rebrands to Horizon Trading Solutions

“Horizon Trading Solutions has seen accelerated global growth over the past year to meet the rising demand for our trading solutions and built-for-purpose technology offering. The choice to rebrand represents a key part of this development, while maintaining our heritage and history in the industry.”

Market News

USDJPY has surged to levels last witnessed in 2022. Should we consider opening a short position?

The recent resurgence of the US dollar has propelled USD/JPY to new heights, touching levels not seen since 2022. This surge comes against the backdrop of stable short-term yields and ongoing economic data that fails to signal a significant slowdown, prompting questions about the extent of current monetary easing measures.

Digital Assets

DED Trends on Twitter After Memecoin Snapshot Announcement

Polkadot-backed community coin #DED, made it to the trending charts on X, demonstrating community’s engagement and interest behind the memecoin. 

Digital Assets

BlockDAG Presale Nears $10 Million Amid Toncoin’s Momentum, Green Bitcoin’s Presale, and the Rise of Other Top Cryptos

This article will examine three top trending topics: Toncoin’s potential, Green Bitcoin’s innovative presale, and BlockDAG’s sustainable mining approach. These cryptocurrencies take centre stage for their uniqueness and innovation.

<