Machiavellis Summation of Being an Effective Leader - Essay Example

The people will slowly start to dislike the prince, as he requires more taxes. On the other hand, if a prince is miserly, as his princedom grows, he will require less and less taxation on the people. He will present himself, as increasingly liberal and gain favor with is people. Within a business organization, individuals can be either miserly or they can spend too much. In my own personal experience, I would have to agree with this concept of leadership and state that spending on moderation is very important to a company.

My managing position did a good job of applying this leadership principle. Furthermore, mercifulness needs to be taken into consideration. The quality of mercifulness is not an adverse quality for a prince, but he should be alert as not let anyone abuse his mercy. Cruelty can be used for good. In a business environment, it is important to be merciful and understanding when individuals do run into issues. In my own experience, the company I worked for actually did not do a good job of this; they were not forgiving, for instance, when people became sick and fell behind in their work.

That is not necessarily conducive to a good experience in the business world. According to Machiavelli, princes should be very discriminating when they select their secretaries. He should select people who are wise and prudent, who will freely speak their mind, and not flatter him. A prince's counselors should give advice only when asked and should tell the truth at all times. Once a prince has heard the advice of his counselors, he should make a decision and carry it out. A prince's secretaries are significant choices because princes are judged by the people surrounding them.

This chapter concerning the choice of secretaries concludes the section of The Prince pertaining to the qualities of a prince. The concept of selecting good people to work with is a fundamental policy of good leadership. In my own experience as a manager, I was able to do an excellent job of analyzing prospective employees and hiring the correct individuals. I do feel that this allowed the firm to benefit overall. The concept I find that rings truest, in my opinion, is that of finding moderation in leadership skills.

I feel that moderation can be applied not only to a budget but also to one's overall actions. By acting within the concept of moderation, one promises to deliver good business sense to one's company, and therefore one can contribute successfully to one's company overall.