"The following question arises for a prince: whether it is better to be loved than feared, or the..."

By: vivian on segunda-feira, outubro 30, 2017

“The following question arises for a prince: whether it is better to be loved than feared, or the reverse. The answer is that one would like to be both the one and the other; but because it is difficult to combine them, it is far better to be feared than loved if you cannot be both…He must only endeavor, as I said, to escape being hated.”

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Niccolo Macchiavelli, from The Prince (1513). (via historical-nonfiction)

whetstonefires: #man nobody remembers that last bit #i swear #macchiavelli #giving much better advice than he gets credit for

Too many people read this excerpt from The Prince, and think it is license to use fear for anything. Up to and including becoming hated. 

In today’s terms, a hated leader would be like boss who threatens to fire an employee for everything, from losing a big customer down to a misspelling in an email. They are using fear too much, and becoming hated. That’s what Machiavelli is warning against. He would rather the boss make clear that losing a big customer could get an employee fired, but be lenient about a misspelling. The boss uses a little fear, but not too much, to motivate employees.

Machiavelli was really about being in the middle – not loved, not hated. Just a little feared.

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