These days captains of industry are definitely captains courageous, even if care is needed in order not to overly idealise figures who, although important, deal with a variety of situations and human types. It is however crucial to understand how to \u201cgive out commands\u201d. Increasingly in firms, and elsewhere, commands are given not through authority but rather through authoritativeness.<\/p>\n
Having Niccol\u00f2 Machiavelli as tutor is without doubt the dream of many. This dream has now partly come true with Machiavelli per i manager. Dalla mente pi\u00f9 acuta del Rinascimento, massime e sentenze a uso della vita moderna nelle aziende e fuori [\u201cMachiavelli for managers. From the sharpest mind of the Renaissance maxims and sentences for use in modern living in firms and elsewhere\u201d] by Elena and Luigi Spagnol. This is a short book, just over one hundred pages, filled with Machiavellian turns of phrase, which can accompany those who every day have to manage, decide, valuate, prepare, promote – in a word \u201cgive the commands\u201d in firms.<\/p>\n
Also taking into account how the \u201cboss\u201d, the captain of industry, is often seen, rightly or wrongly, by his staff. This is why the approach to reading the book given by Piero Ottone in his preface is both appealing and accurate: \u201cin the sixteenth century the aristocracy ruled: now the lords of the economy rule, the men of industry and managers of finance. The cast has changed yet the script is the same. The new prince is the head of a firm. The fate of those who work for him, their fortune or their disgrace, depends on his decisions and possibly on his whims. He often has absolute power. Around him therefore the courtesan mentality spreads. When in the morning he enters his company building, which is the equivalent of the old castle, when he sits in his chair behind his desk, which is the equivalent of the throne, the atmosphere in the corridors and in the offices immediately changes: there are those who hope to meet him, who anxiously await his call, those who fear him and hate him. There are the courtesans ready to worship him, the infidels who weave a plot because the dilemma, for every careerist around, is inexorable: you either win his favours or dethrone him. Tertium non datur\u201d. Machiavelli, therefore, is prescribed reading for manages and entrepreneurs too, called on to perform increasingly difficult tasks. It was Machiavelli who wrote in his Istorie Fiorentine that it is easier to learn to obey than to command.<\/p>\n
Machiavelli per i manager. Dalla mente pi\u00f9 acuta del Rinascimento, massime e sentenze a uso della vita moderna nelle aziende e fuori<\/strong><\/p>\n Elena Spagnol, Luigi Spagnol<\/p>\n Ponte alle Grazie, 2012.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" These days captains of industry are definitely captains courageous, even if care is needed in order not to overly idealise figures who, although important, deal with a variety of situations and human types. It is however crucial to understand how to \u201cgive out commands\u201d. Increasingly in firms, and elsewhere, commands are given not through authority […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49679,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-reviews","category-corporate-culture"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n