Should CEOs turn to Machiavelli for business strategies Essay

Should CEOs turn to Machiavelli for business strategies - Essay Example Machiavelli is considered as one of the Masters of Leadership as his philosophy on leadership offered a different insight into how leaders can be successful and what needs to be done in order to remain successful. What is critical to note that Machiavelli’s Prince has been one of the most controversial books which have been banned by Catholic Church also and still being demonized due to its different interpretations? The strategies prescribed by Machiavelli are often considered as important in terms of how a leader should deal with situations where the organizations are specially facing difficult competition and external environment. Machiavelli therefore serves as an important reference point for leaders and CEOs to develop strategies to deal with the competition and achieve the relative degree of superiority over the competition. (McAlpine) This paper will discuss and argue on whether CEOs should turn to Machiavelli for developing business strategies or not. Machiavelli- the Prince Before discussing as to how the CEOs and leaders should refer to Machiavelli for developing strategies, it is important to first understand and explore the philosophy of Machiavelli and how it relates to strategy. Machiavelli is considered as a political theorist, diplomat as well as historian who wrote the famous book â€Å"The Prince† advising young Italian Prince of what he needs to do in order to overcome his opponents and establish his kingdom. As such The Prince is technically the work of advice given to a Prince to manage various aspects of running a State and how to deal with and manage the opponents. The Prince therefore is considered as one of the important works in both philosophy as well as political theory with implications for business strategy also. Such diverse range of application of this book makes it one of the important books in business world. (Boa) The overall strategies as well as advice contained in this book are often considered as immoral in nature. Some of the critics of Prince accuse it of suggesting strategies which may not be morally right under all circumstances. The strategies of deceit are considered as immoral by the critics of this philosophy however, they are considered as important also to work in certain situations. As such the context within which Prince was actually written and advised may justify its philosophy as well as advice for a Prince who lost everything and was in process of recapturing what was his legitimate. As such Machiavelli emphasize on the use of realism rather than idealism while making strategies and executing them in order to remain a successful leader and deal with the competition. The use of realism therefore allows leaders to commit acts which may be considered as immoral or deceitful. Machiavelli and Business Leaders Along with Sun Tzu’s Art of War, Machiavelli’s The Prince has been influential on CEOs and leaders regarding the development of leadership and management insight necessary for CEOs to operate their businesses. CEOs not only use above works to understand how they can improve the overall competitiveness of their enterprises but can also advance their careers using some of the strategies defined in both these books. Over the period of time, CEOs have therefore been using both these works as reference points for understanding the inherent dynamics of competition and how to advance their ca