Let's start with some facts: 1) Machiavelli worked as a diplomat in the service of the Florentine government, thus he saw the laws of power first-hand.
2) Machiavelli wrote the book to the Medici, hoping it would bring back his reputation and that the Medici would forgive him for his betrayal.
3) Machiavelli's advices were primarily aimed at helping Princes get what they want at all cost, thus it is usually seen as immoral.
Machiavelli's "The Prince" is usually seen as very immoral , however we have to look at it from an objective angle and make our own judgements about it.
Of course the lessons from the book cannot be used in every life situation, like with your family. However it can open up our eyes on many different aspects of the ruthless worlds of business and politics.
(And it will definitely help you understand your boss better)
The lessons taught in the book are not really straight forward as they are described focusing on the state of that time, however we can definitely apply the principles to a company, which in it's core is very similar to the states that are described by Machiavelli in it's structure and relationships between the people.
Let's get to the main principles:
1)Be realistic
One of the most important lessons that can be learned from Machiavelli's "The Prince" is to see the world and the people as they are, rather than how they ought to be. For example it would be safer to assume that a person will help us due to a good incentive like money, rather than assuming that they would help us by their good will. This lesson is primarily applicable in deal making, motivation and loyalty.
2)Learn how not to be good.
Here, Machiavelli argues that in order to stay in power, a prince should at times be bad. Sometimes a Prince in order to maintain his authority shall lie, deceive or ruin others. Otherwise, in the ruthless world, he will be overthrown by those who do. In other words, in certain situations, you can only beat your enemy or competitor by using his own dirty tactics, and a person shall use those tactics if he wants to stay in power.
For example if Donald J. Trump would not reveal or raise the question of the emails that were deleted by Hillary Clinton, he would probably not win the elections.
3) Appear to be the good guy
In order to stay in power a Prince ought to appear good to his people, despite doing some bad things. And I cannot think of a better example than the great visionary Steve Jobs.
Steve jobs is usually associated with everything that Apple is, however many don't know of all the relatively immoral things that he did, as for example he fired his workers without notice, and he called or that he short-changed Steve Wozniak on a bonus. He is also known for not wanting anything to do with his daughter until at a later stage of his life. Thus Machiavelli argues that the important thing is to appear as the good guy, even if you shall not necessarily be the good guy.
4) Crush your enemies
Machiavelli suggests that the safest way for the Prince not to get overthrown is to totally crush his enemies, as slight injuries would make their enemies recover and seek revenge, whereas crushing their enemies would totally eliminate this risk.
Bling Bling, only one think I can think of now. Donald Trump and his famous quote "You're fired".
This concept seems to be at the foundation of Trump's philosophy, Trump crushing anyone who is on his way.
5) Delegate difficult tasks to others while keeping the popular one for yourself.
This concept can be best explained through the example used by Machiavelli himself.
Cesare Borgia, the son of the Pope, appointed his right hand to bring a region under control and advices him to use force in the process. Once the region was gained, and the guy proved to be very violent, Cesare Borgia killed him in front of the masses, proving to be the good guy. While Cesare Borgia appointed the dirty work to his right hand, Cesare himself was preparing for bringing more food to the region, thus keeping the popular task to himself, while appointing the dirty and dangerous work to others.
So key thing to remember: "Let other do the dirty work for you".
This are some of the main ideas from the book. This ideas prove to be extremely powerful and revealing. But are they immoral?, some argue that this ideas are immoral, and due to that fact the book was even banned by the pope, however I would say that the ideas are a very powerful tools that can make one achieve different things and therefore the ideas should be used for good in order for them to be moral, like for the greater good of everyone or in self-defence.
Final Note:
The book itself is written in a somewhat different style from what we may be used to and the lessons should be read between the lines in order to be applied in the modern world.
Despite all of that the book has really valuable information which lasted through time unchanged. A reason for that may be that it analyses how people interact and the psychology of the people, predominantly the concepts of authority and power struggles within an organisation.
It has been read by many managers of top companies, and Donald J. Trump says it is one of his most favourite books
We shall all use this ideas as we will, and we have the power to make them moral or immoral.
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