These maxims are observations and deductions I've made on strategy and human behaviour, this piece being a continuation of the maxims I published back in March.

I think you guys will enjoy it, especially those who struggle to read my usual denser, lengthier prose. I'll leave 25 maxims here, with a further 29 (54 total) available on the blog. Enjoy!

You can find part 1 here: http://illimitablemen.com/2015/12/27/machiavellian-maxims/

And part 2 here: http://illimitablemen.com/2016/03/07/machiavellian-maxims-part-2/

  1. – In matters of persuasion one should appeal to emotion, not reason. Where this fails, use sophistry.

  2. – Logical fallacies double as effective Machiavellian power plays, for logic is antithetical to cunning.

  3. – Anticipate your opponent’s moves, preempting where possible and implementing contingencies where not.

  4. – An intellectual more than anybody must become Machiavellian, for it is this and this alone that will save them from predacious egos. [See More Here.]

  5. – Delivery is more persuasive than substance, optimise appearance and strike when the time is right, for masterful delivery can make even the mundane into magic.

  6. – In matters of defection it is more effective to offer revenge than money.

  7. – It is foolish to sentimentally gauge the chance of betrayal, but rather, one should assess the incentive and capacity for doing so. Offer disincentives to maximise loyalty.

  8. – Your most intimate enemies will admire you, copy you and take all your advice only to use it for an agenda that undermines yours.

  9. – Each personality is a puzzle in which favour can be unlocked by demonstrating the traits desired by the personality, learn a personality and complement it to influence it.

  10. – Apologies are oft ineffectual, for they stir up resentment and exacerbate matters by highlighting wrongdoing. A leader should not show regret, he should ignore, deny acknowledgement, or spin a negative into a positive. To regret is to show weakness and invite belittlement.

  11. – Appear unappealing to those who don’t appeal to you, for it is better to be undesired than to be desired by the undesirable.

  12. – To permit insolence from one is to court it from all; crush the insolent or deprive them a platform, lest you earn a reputation for timidity.

  13. – The most terrible action can be bred from the best of intention. Be mindful of bad advice from the well intended, they may mean well but unintentional or not, their misinformation will destroy you.

  14. – The power players have learned to harness the zealous delusions of their pawns to dress unvirtuous agendas in the clothing of nobility.

  15. – Anybody who can conceive of evil can enact it.

  16. – Conceal your intentions whilst ascertaining the competition’s, he who has the most correct data wins; always be mindful of misinformation.

  17. – Most believe one should never be ruthless (because it’s evil) or that one should always be ruthless (because otherwise you’re weak). Both are wrong.

  18. – Provocation is an invitation to act in a way that reduce’s one’s power; as such, ignoring is a skill any would-be Machiavellian would do well to master.

  19. – Mastery of interpersonal psychology is micro Machiavellianism, mastery of military strategy is macro Machiavellianism and business strategy is both.

  20. – Transactional analysis: Every time somebody asks you a question, they want you to give them value, or they’re looking to sabotage you. Be mindful of the blur between curiosity and inquisition.

  21. – Strive for success but be cautious of it, for one who knows not how to handle it will be robbed of the qualities that made them great; rampant success introduces an overconfidence that diminishes reason and a complacency that destroys drive – do not be a victim of your success.

  22. – The histrionic weaponises their storytelling talent on the slightest whim, for blackmail is how they obtain and chaos is how they indulge. Be wary the histrionic, for they take root and disrupt venomously like a toxin.

  23. – Should you see the trifecta of: confrontation, dismissiveness and attention seeking – you have yourself a histrionic. Tread on their egg shells and succumb to aggressive sensitivity, or reject them by refusing to deign acknowledgement.

  24. – Absence increases respect only when the absence is legitimate. If you ignore somebody but are observed by the ignored engaging others, you are not absent, and so elicit disrespect rather than respect. True absence is in disappearance, not observable silence.

  25. – It’s subtler to deprive than to inflict. Inflict to make a statement, deprive to attack with the stealth of plausible deniability.

FULL ARTICLE: https://illimitablemen.com/2016/04/30/machiavellian-maxims-part-3/