What Would Machiavelli Do? The Ends Justify the Meanness - Hardcover

Bing, Stanley

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0066620112 ISBN 13: 9780066620114

Publisher: Harper Business, 1999

Synopsis

A sly send-up of the successful What Would Jesus Do? books, here is a satisfyingly mean light-hearted approach to business success—the Machiavellian way.

Machiavellians may not get to heaven, but on earth they have a definite edge on the competition. In this pithy and discretely vicious guide, Stanley Bing shows how the Florentine master statesman and political thinker would handle today’s myriad corporate challenges, seize the future by the throat, and make it cough up money, power, and superior office space. So, what exactly would Machiavelli do?

• He would exploit himself only slightly less than he exploits others.
• He would be in love with his destiny.
• He would, for the most part, be a paranoid freak.
• He would always be at war.
• He would cultivate a few well-loved enemies.
• He would have a couple of good friends, too.
• He would acquire his neighbor.
• He would think BIG.
• He would move forward like a great shark, eating as he goes.
• And much, much more.

More than a road map to success, this hands-on guide will help anyone get what they want, whether or not they deserve it.

About this title

About the Author

Stanley Bing, the alter ego of Gil Schwartz (1951–2020), was the bestselling author of Crazy Bosses, What Would Machiavelli Do?, Throwing the Elephant, Sun Tzu Was a Sissy, 100 Bullshit Jobs . . . And How to Get Them, The Big Bing, and The Curriculum, as well as the novels Lloyd: What Happened, You Look Nice Today, and Immortal Life. He was a top CBS communications executive whose identity was one of the worst-kept secrets in business.

From the Back Cover

How did the rich and powerful individuals who move the earth get where they are today? Are they smarter? Faster? Better looking? Certainly not. Some are even short and ugly. What, then, is their edge?

The answer is simple: they're meaner. That's all. And if you want to get where they're going, you'll be meaner, too.

The good news is that once you get started, it's easy. Walking in the steps of the Florentine master, Stanley Bing will show you how to be all the Machiavelli you can be. How to beat people who are smarter than you are. How to make other people cringe and whimper when you enter a room. How to get what you want when you want it whether you deserve it or not. Without fear. Without emotion. Without finger-wagging morality. One scalp at a time.

They do it. You can too.

What Would Machiavelli Do? is more than a road map for people who want to get to the top and stay there. It's a way of life you can use at home as well as at the office. A way of seeing other people from 50,000 feet--as teeny-tiny ants you can squish. A simple, detailed plan for those with the courage to leave kindness and decency behind, to seize the future by the throat and make it cough upmoney, power and superior office space.

Some books are not for everybody. This one is. So start reading. Or get out of here. You're beginning to get on our nerves.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harper Business
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0066620112
• ISBN 13: 9780066620114
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 176