Tag Archives: Machiavelli

Strategy as the Creation of Power: The Lion versus the Fox

This week my blog consists of the review I wrote for Strategy+Business of Lawrence Freedman’s Strategy – a History: Lawrence Freedman defines strategy as the central political art. “It is about getting more out of a situation than the starting … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Strategy | Tagged Albion Small, annihilation, attrition, Clausewitz, cunning, David, fox, Goliath, Greeks, improvisation, Kahneman, Lawrence Freedman, lion, Machiavelli, narrative, Odysseus, performance, Romans, script, strategy, strength, Trojan Horse | Comments Off on Strategy as the Creation of Power: The Lion versus the Fox

Is Management Due for a Renaissance?

Late last week this blog was published in the Harvard Business Review blog network, where it is attracting a good deal of interest and comment. It is part of a series by speakers participating in the Global Drucker Forum November … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General | Tagged Black Death, Drucker, Florence, Haidt, intuition, Machiavelli, phronesis, practicalwisdom, prudence, reason, Renaissance, Richard Straub, Righteous Mind, Roman Empire, scholasticism | Comments Off on Is Management Due for a Renaissance?

The “3Rs” of Management Part II: Rationality and Power

Walter Bagehot once wrote that “The whole history of civilization is strewn with creeds and institutions which were invaluable at first, and deadly afterwards”. Following on my blog from last week, I think that this is a fair description of … Continue reading →

Posted in Change, General | Tagged agency theory, Bent Flyvbjerg, Bertrand Russel, Bertrand Russell, domination, ecological perspective, ecological rationality, exploitation, Harold Leavitt, hunter-gatherer, innovation, investor capitalism, Machiavelli, means and ends, Nietzsche, power, Rakesh Khurana, Rationality and Power, rationalization, Realpolitik, Realrationalitat, shareholder value model, Walter Bagehot | Comments Off on The “3Rs” of Management Part II: Rationality and Power