Bruno Ferreira's Key Ideas from The Prince
by Niccolò Machiavelli

Nothing that happens is completely good or bad. If you pay a closer look to it you'll find an advantage even in the things you see as bad.

• Develop the habit to see what happens around you as events, circumstances, causes and consequences. Don't define things as good or bad.
• You should avoid evil or bad things, but you must know human iniquity and learn to use evil if necessary.

KEY INSIGHT: Nothing's completely good or bad. Learn how to taka advantage of anything.

Luck's just like a river that in flood seasons destroys everything around it, but if you prepare canals and dams, you will be able to reduce it's momentum.

• Luck and chance only manifest themselves freely where there's no organization or any kind of resistance.
• Those who know how to use the particularities of each moment will benefit from them.

KEY INSIGHT: Our luck comes from our ability to combine our action with what the particularities of the moment require.

1. Observe the characteristics of the moment and think deeply in how to make the most of them.
2. Before doing anything predict the results both positive and negative, in the short, medium and long term.
3. Prepare for possible storms, always have countermeasures for worst-case scenarios.
4. Never let your guard down, be alert to possible changes in circumstances and if necessary abandon your current stance and change your strategy.

KEY INSIGHT: Plan all the way to the end. Be prepared for changes and worst scenarios.

• When the leader accomplish great works, they become admired by their people, they gives off the impression of being powerful, being able to do feats that no one else has ever done. As a hero he's admired for his deeds.
• They serve as an example of conduct to their people, as a perfect model to follow.
• Therefore, they must be extremely careful with their posture and each of their attitudes, because if the leader sets a bad example, his followers will probably copy his bad attitudes.

KEY INSIGHT: The greatness of someone comes from their great feats.

• A prince must avoid being dependent, submissive, or in control of another prince especially if they're mightier then he. Except out of extreme necessity, to defeat a third enemy.
• Even if a mercenary ally (someone moved only by self-interest) is useful, it has no power or interest to defend a prince from his enemies, and they'd easily betray him if it's beneficial to them. Therefore avoid them.
• Many princes find most loyalty in those who were initially opposed to them, because they have more to prove.

KEY INSIGHT: Allies're very important, as long as the prince's forces doesn't come from them.

If two powerful friends of a prince clash, and they're also his rivals, whose strength is such that the victor may or not be feared by him. It's best for him to take a side and state his position clearly.

• Winners doesn't want suspicious allies that disappear in moments of diversity.
• Thouse who loses will not accept an ally who didn't want to fight by his side when he needed it most.

In that context. If you're neutral, you will be the victor's pray and still not have the vanquished's help.

KEY INSIGHT: If you want to build an alliance with someone, help them when they need you.

• The choice of advisors is a task of extreme importance to a prince. How good thouse individuals are, if they're or not fit for office, depends entirely on the prince's wisdom.
• If they're competent and faithful, it can be said that the leader's wise, if not, his abilities must be suspected.
• It's easy to recognize an advisor's loyalty. When you see that he thinks way more of himself than on the prince, when his actions are selfish, you can know that he's not loyal and nor trustworthy.

KEY INSIGHT: The first impression of a leader's intelligence results from observing those around him.

There're actually three types of intellect.

• The first's able to understand things on their own. EXELLENT
• The second's able to understand what others say, or teach to they. VERY GOOD
• The third last one, don't understands things on their own, nor when they tell they. USELESS

That last one, you should keep away from yourself.

• In addition to being useless, they can still infect the rest of the group with bed ideas and disturb the balance of the group.

KEY INSIGHT: Keep away the dumbs, lazy and the useless. A rotten apple can infect and corrupt the all the fruit basket.

The reputation of generous can be a positive factor, but generosity can get you into huge trouble. If you want to be widely known as generous, you will have to spend a lot, and soon you'll run out of resources.

• Once impoverished, everyone will lose esteem for you.
• For those in power much generosity is always harmful.
• Thouse on way to power can indeed use generosity, but once there, stop using it.

KEY INSIGHT: It brings more honor and respect to a prince to use his resources to accomplish great works, than to burn them through generosity.

There're two ways of fighting, one by law, more appropriate for humans, the other by force, more appropriate for animals. Sometimes you will be forced to use the animal way.

• THE LION: Powerfull and impetuous, it strength frightens everyone, but it lacks the wit to defend itself against traps.
• THE FOX: Smart and cunning, it easily escapes traps, but it lacks the strength to defend itself against wolves.

KEY INSIGHT: A prince must adopt both the qualities of the lion and the fox, power and cunning, to defend himself against wolves and to escape the traps.

Considering that individuals are often false and don't keep their promises to the prince, he's also not obliged to keep promises he made to them. Thus, a wise prince can't and shouldn't keep his promise when:

• It's against his interests.
• When the motives that forced him to make the promise no longer exist.
• HOWEVER: It's necessary to know how to disguise and mask this nature very well, making suitable excuses to cover your word brake.

KEY INSIGHT: Be righteous, but if necessary, act in the opposite way. The conning fox hidden in a righteous lion skin.

• The prince must seek a reputation for piety not for cruelty, but yet he must be careful in employing such piety.
• If the reputation of tough and strict's necessary to keep the team united and prosperous, a leader shouldn't worry about it.
• A leader shouldn't be tolerat to the point of allowing the arise of disorders, indiscipline and desrespect.

KEY INSIGHT: You can be kind, but don't allow indicipline and disrespect.

• Is it better to be feared or loved? For Machiavelli, the best would be both.
• However, it's difficult for a person to combine the qualities to provoke these two feelings. If you have to choose between both, it's better be feared than loved.
• The reason is that in general people are often false, ungrateful and disingenuous, they're less hesitant to offend those they love than those they fear.

KEY INSIGHT: Love's maintained by bonds of obligation, and these bonds tend to be severed as soon as threats to self-interest arise. So be loved and still be feared.

• The prince must be extremely careful to make himself feared in such a way that even if he isn't loved, he doesn't become hated by the people either.
• The best alliance is to don't be hated by the people.
• When a leader's loved by the people he shouldn't mind conspiracies, but when he's hated, he must fear everyone and everything.

KEY INSIGHT: Even if you are not loved, don't be hated.

• What makes a leader hated is to appropriate directly or indirectly of the assets of those he leads.
• When they feel that their property (their pocket), and their honor (their rights) are being respected and cared by the leader, most people will be pleased with him.
• Other attitudes that bring contempt to a leader and put his power in check are frivolous, coward or irresolute acts.

KEY INSIGHT: To don't be hated, respect your people's pockets and rights. To don't be despised, don't show weakness.

• A ruler can't honestly please the great without offending the small, but the people can be satisfied without offending the powerful.
• The desire of the great's to oppress the people, and the people, in turn, just don't want to be oppressed.
• The prince who respect the property of his people and who cares and collaborates for their benefit and well-being will be loved by the people.

KEY INSIGH: To be loved, first love. Who loves always cares.

• It's possible to conquer power through dishonest, cruel and corrupt means, It's an aspect that can't be omitted.
• However there's no merit in betraying your neighbor, having no faith, fear of God or piety.
• It's possible to achieve power by such means but never glory, and even that power's unsustainable, when the corrupt actions of that prince be uncovered by the people, and by his actions the prince sows hatred everywhere, there's no way for such princes to escape their wrath.

KEY INSIGHT: That kind of person someday will fall, and when they fall, they will never get up to power again.

When a prince gains power by luck:

• He'll need little effort to reach the top because he flew there. Once there, he will find all kinds of difficulties without being prepared to face them.
• UNLESS these princes know how to prepare themselves to keep through hand and claw what luck has placed in their lap for free.
• It always happens when power is bestowed on someone through inheritance, friendship or even fame in other professions. 

KEY INSIGHT: A prince that appears suddenly, like all things in nature that evolve in a hurry, has no roots and is sure to be destroyed in the first storm.

He who desires power must master the art of competition.

• When a prince leaves competition behind and concernerns more with the luxuries of office he holds, he'll soon lose his glory and power.
• It hapens because, a person who ignores the competition settles down and becomes passive, such qualities will force him into submission.

KEY INSIGHT: Just like a commander can't fail to be concerned with the art of war and practice it, both in peace and in conflict, those who desire power can't let their guard down, both in times of prosperity and hard times.

They who want to maintain themselves secure should adopt two habits

• The first's full-time observation. Observing thouse around you, their movements and deciphe their intentions. This way you'll be able to identify who's your enemy.
• The other is simulation. For such it's necessary to analyze the lives of the great, learn from their victories and defeats. Holding that knowledge, the prince must simulate how the great would have behaved if they were in the same situation.

KEY INSIGHT: Keep your eyes open. Study the acts of the mighties, and try to apply their wisdom in your daily life.

• One where there's a centralizing ruler surrounded by advisors, servants, who act only by the grace and concession of their Lord,
• Another where there's a ruler surrounded by leaders, who don't out of submission but of tradition, virtue and power of their own. assume these posts.

 The first's difficult to conquer given the union, but once the ruler's defeated, anyone will have the power to recompose. The second's easier to infiltrate, however difficult to maintain in control, because among the leaders, several candidates emerge to take the ruler's throne.

There's nothing more difficult, nor with doubtful success, nor dangerous than to implement changes that affect the customs and traditions of the people.

• The prince who takes power and tries to implement necessary changes will have as fierce enemies the beneficiaries of the old system and timid defenders who will benefit from the new.
• When opponents have the opportunity to attack the prince's set of measures, they do so like fanatics.

KEY INSIGHT: If the leader's not careful when wielding that double-edged sword, they could end up getting hurt. Thus, know very well what you're doing.

To implement changes, the first step's to examine your circumstances.

• Be aware if to carry out your project you depend on the order of favors from others, or if you're independent and on your own can impose yourself.
• In the first case, when a prince depends on the orders of others, he's always unsuccessful. Because most of the people don't like changes or things that brings more work, therefore, they will not help you.

KEY INSIGHT: The prince who doesn't depend on anyone, that one can indeed succeed in making changes if he knows what he's doing.

To implement changes on the customs of a group or team:

1. Tell them how such changes will benefit them, exaggeration on this point is welcome.
2. Present such changes in a way that makes it look as easy as possible.
3. Demand the changes constantly.
4. Reward them according to their results.
5. If necessary, make use of severe measures.

It's easy to convince the people of something, but it's difficult to establish them into it.

KEY INSIGHT: The prince who wants to implement changes must be able to when the people lose their motivation, make them persist with discipline and force.

• When the people feel oppressed by the mighty, they rise up against their rulers to replace them.
• The great sometimes can manege to change the ruler too. When not satisfied with their many riches and privileges, then seeking to further oppress the people, they employ force to change the ruler.

Both of them, when changing rulers in an attempt to improve, often perceive that they have gotten worse.

KEY INSIGHT: When assuming power, a leader will have as opponents his natural enemies and also those who put him there.

The two main reasons that lead leaders to lose their power.

1. To become hostile to the people.
2. Don't know how to neutralize the great when the people supported .

• The ruler who doesn't make these two mistakes, having cleverness and power, hardly loses his kingdom.

Princes who lose their posts after many years in power can't accuse bad luck as the reason for this loss. They must recognize that what led them to failure was their own incompetence.

How do some individuals commit so many betrayals and cruelties still managing to stay in power?The answer to that lies in which way cruelty is used.

• To remain in power and maintain harmony in his kingdom, even a kind prince sometimes needs to use rigor and atcts that may be considered cruel by some.
• Harsh acts, when well done're those done at once, out of the necessity and then forgotten by the people when their benefits are turned in adventage to them as fast possible.

KEY INSIGHT: Only use severe measures when it's really necessary and turn their benefits in advantage to the people.

Therefore, it's prudent to say that:

• The prince must determine the hard and severe measures to be taken and execute it at once, to avoid using harshness and cruelty day after day.
• As for the benefits, they need to be administered, little by little and one by one, to be slowly digested and better savored.

KEY INSIGHT: The bitter poison must be applied in a single dose, so that its bitterness is felt for as little time as possible. good works, sweet as honey, must be applied slowly, so that their sweet taste lasts longer.

It's important to keep in mind:

• A new leader's much more closely watched in his actions than a veteran.
• When newcomers demonstrate virtue and do great feats, they attract and involve much more than a traditional prince who has been in power for a longer period of time.
• It occurs because people're much more trapped and influenced by the present than the past. When the present's good they're happy and satisfied, they forget the past and don't worry much about the future.

KEY INSIGHT: If you're a new prince, you have an advantage above the elders, use it and do great feats as quickly possible.

In the beginning of his reign the prince needs to implement changes in order to achieve great things.

• To do so with unstable power and without ruin himself by his enemies, the prince need to struggle in great difficulties to conduct himself.
• He finds in his path all kinds of threats that can only be overcomed by persistence, courage and cunning.
• However, once he overcomes the ordeals, he reach the power and becomes prosperous and honored.
• Once a leader's strengthened in his foundations and has powerful allies on his side he will have the respect of his adversaries too.