"Machiavelli and Modern Business Practices"

One of the most famous Italian philosophers and a true Renaissance man of the 16th century was Nicolo Machiavelli whose treatise, The Prince, is even, until today, required reading for many college students.

The fundamental thesis of the book revolves around how monarchs gain and retain political power.

Henry Borger, an avid student of business management, has transformed many of the principles revealed in The Prince into modern day business practices. The result has been the publication of an extremely informative handbook entitled THE CORPORATE PRINCE.

When I asked Borger what was his objective in writing this book, here is what he had to say: "My objective in writing The Corporate Prince was simply to transform The Prince into a form that would be easier for businessmen to read. I was convinced Machiavelli had some important things to say to modern businessmen, but they were not reading him because the applicability of his wisdom to the business world is not self evident, and businessmen have neither the time nor the patience to wade through The Prince to dig out the nuggets of wisdom buried in it."

Borger shows a profound understanding of Machiavelli and within each chapter he passionately explores the various dictums within a business context without falling into the trap of didacticism.

The book divides itself into twenty-three chapters each containing poignant observations pertaining to such issues as: well established corporations, mixed corporations, avoiding problems, controlling corporations after a takeover, management of acquired corporations, new corporations, qualities of CEOs, consultants and outside contracts, and many more topics.

All of these chapters are filled with anecdotes pertaining to such renowned business people as John D. Rockefeller, Lee Iacocca, Henry Ford, Herb Kelleher, Forest Mars Jr. and Sr., Joseph Kennedy, Howard Hughes, and many others. In this way Borger is able to bring life to the principles of Machiavelli and illustrate that they don't exist in a vacuum.

He also avoids generalizations and oversimplifications by providing the reader with concrete examples. We get the feeling that the author has put a great deal of thought and research into his book.

No doubt the test of a worthy book is if it interests the reader to the extent that they would want to re-read it. The Corporate Prince certainly passes this test, particularly for business people as well as students of business.

Reviewed by Norman Goldman
Courtesy Bookpleasures
Posted December 17, 2002