The Prince - Niccolo Machiavelli

This is a slim Bantam classic and a must read for anyone who is into power and politics. Machiavelli wrote down this practical treatise on 'seizing and holding power' in 1512 as an offering to Lorenzo de Medici, the reigning King. Incidentally the same Medici kings threw Machiavelli in jail and tortured him, before he was set free, upon being exonerated of the crimes he was accused of.

I found it difficult to read it initially as Machiavelli describes the happenings in his time and uses them as examples - something which confused me- and it took me almost two or three weeks to figure out how to read it. Cut to the parts where he is giving the advise to the Prince and you get the gist without complex names and situations in the sixteenth century.

Bantam Books, Rs. 199, 166 p

Machiavelli is disturbing. He challenges all that is good and honest and says that to hold on to power one needs to be practical and not idealistic. It is so and one can understand that few want power and even fewer can hold on to power one way or another. To retain it one must be ready to fight, ready to deceive, ready to be ruthless - in order to achieve the end - of ruling a happy and satisfied people. It does take a while to let it all sink in but one knows that for the greater good (or for the greater perceived good which is more important) the one in power must hold on to it, use it and be ready to fight for it and retain it. I totally think it is practical (and not devious as the name evokes) and agree with all that he says. Machiavelli has been synonymous with all that is deceitful but it is not so - he really brings forth a view that rulers and diplomats must know.  

Some stuff that interested me.

"One may note that men must be either pampered or annihilated. They avenge light offenses; they cannot avenge severe ones; hence the harm that one does to a man must be such as to obviate any fear of revenge."

"Dominions thus acquired have been accustomed either to live under a prince or to be free; and they are acquired either by fortune or ability."

"That states accustomed to the family of the ruler are easily kept than new ones, because it is sufficient if the prince does not abandon the methods of his ancestors and proves adaptable when unforeseen events occur."

"He who causes another to become powerful ruins himself, for he brings such power into being, either by design or by force, and both of these elements are suspect to the one whom he made powerful."

"All principalities have been ruled in two different ways: either by a single prince aided by servants functioning as ministers and governing by his favor and concession; or by a prince with barons holding title not by his grace but by right of inheritance."

"To keep a state used to live in freedom there are three ways - destroy it, live in it or let it continue to live under its own laws taking tribute from it.  The surest procedure is to either destroy them or to live in them."

"Men always walk in paths beaten by others or act by imitation. A prudent man must tread the path of great men and imitate those who have excelled so that even if his ability does not match theirs, at least he will achieve some semblance of it."

"Those who become princes by virtue of their abilities acquire dominion with difficulty but maintain it with ease."

"People are by nature changeable. It is easy to persuade them about some particular matter, but it is hard to hold them to that persuasion. Hence it is necessary to provide that when they no longer believe, they can be forced to believe."

"The wise prince must provide in such a way that in whatever circumstances, the citizens will always be in need of him and of his government."

"Men are always opposed to ventures in which they foresee difficulties."

"It is the nature of men to feel as much bound by the favors they do as by those they receive."

"Experience shows that only princes and republics with troops of their own have accomplished great things, while mercenary forces have brought nothing but harm. No state unless it has its own arms, is secure."

"A prince must have no other objective, no other thought, nor take up any profession than that of war. He must devote himself to military exercises in time of peace even more than in time of war."

"The Prince ought to read history and reflect upon the deeds  of outstanding men, note how they conducted themselves in war, examine the causes of their victories an defeats and thereby learn to emulate the former and avoid the latter.  Above all, he ought to do as some wise men have done and take to imitating some celebrated predecessor whose deeds and actions he may keep before him."

"Every wise prince should never submit to idleness in times of peace, but rather endeavor to turn such time to advantage so as to profit from it in adversity. Thus when fortune turns against him, he will be prepared to resist it."

"A man who strives for good in all his acts is sure to come to ruin, since there are so many men who are not good. Hence it is necessary that the prince who is interested  in his survival learns to be other than good, making use of this capacity or refraining from it according to need."

"A wise pince will not object to being reputed a miser. With the passage of time he will come to seem more generous."

"Of all the things that the prince must guard against, hatred and contempt come first, and liberality leads to both. It is better to have a name for miserliness, which breeds disgrace without hatred than, in pursuing a name of liberality, to resort to rapacity, which breeds both disgrace and hatred."

"Every prince ought to wish to be considered kind rather than a cruel."

"He ought to be slow to believe what he hears and slow to act. Nor should he fear imaginary dangers, but proceed with moderation, prudence and humanity, avoiding carelessness born of overconfidence and unbearable harshness born of excessive distrust."

"Men are ungrateful, fickle, dissembling, anxious to flee danger and covetous of gain. So long as you promote their advantage they are all yours."

"A prince should make himself feared in such a way that, though he does not gain love, he escapes hatred; for being feared and not hated go readily together. Such a condition he may always attain if he will not touch the property of his citizens and subjects, nor their women."

"The prince who has little regard for their word and had the craftiness to turn men's minds have accomplished great things and in the end, have overcome those who governed their actions by their pledges."

"Men are so simple and so much inclined to obey immediate needs that a deceiver will never lack victims for his deceptions."

"A prince cannot observe all those virtues for which men are reputed good, because it is often necessary to act against mercy, against faith, against humanity, against frankness, against religion in order to preserve the state. He must be disposed to change according as the winds of fortune and alterations of circumstance dictate. He must stick to the good so long as he can, but, being compelled by necessity, he must be ready to take the way of the evil."

"Men judge by the eye rather than the hand, for all men can see a thing, but few come close enough to touch it."

"I approve of those who erect fortresses and of those who do not. But I condemn anyone who, putting his trust in fortresses, will think it no great matter if he is hated by the people."

"A prince gains esteem when he acts as  a true ally or a true enemy, that is, when he declares himself openly for or against one of two conflicting parties - a policy that is always better than neutrality."

"A prince should also demonstrate that he loves talent by supporting men of ability and by honoring those who excel in each craft. Moreover he ought to encourage his citizens peacably to pursue their affairs, whether in trade, in agriculture or in any other human activity so that no one will hesitate to improve his possessions for fear that they will be taken for him and no one will hesitate to open a new avenue of trade for fear of taxes. Instead the prince ought to be ready to reward those who do these things and those who seek out ways of enriching their city or state."

"Minds are of three kinds: one is capable of thinking for itself, another is able to understand the thinking of others, and a third can neither think for itself nor understand the thinking of others. The first is of the highest excellence, the second is excellent and the third is worthless."

"A prince should always seek advise but only when he, not someone else, chooses. He should discourage everyone from giving advise unless he has asked for it."

"No one should ever allow himself to fall down in the belief that someone else will lift him to his feet, because it will not happen; or if it does happen, it will not prove to be to his advantage. Such a means of defense is cowardly, in that it does not derive from one's own initiative and only those methods of defense which depend on one's own resourcefulness are good, certain and enduring."

"Since fortune changes while human beings remain constant in their methods of conduct, I conclude that men will succeed so long as method and fortune are in harmony and they will fail when they are no longer in harmony."

"It is better to be impetuous than to be cautious, for fortune is a woman and in order to be mastered she must be jogged and beaten. And it may be noted that she submits more readily to boldness than to cold calculation."

"Whoever organises a state and establishes its laws must assume that all men are wicked and will act wickedly whenever they have a chance to do so."

"The welfare of a republic or a kingdom does not lie in its having a prince who governs it prudently while he lives, but rather in having one who organises it in such a way that it may endure after his death."

And much more.

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Cricket - 10 Things a Medium Pacer Can Try on Flat Wickets

Here are 10 things a medium pacer can try on a flat wicket. For the uninitiated, a flat wicket is one where one gets no assistance at all for the wicket and the bowler has to use his imagination, intelligence, guile and skill to get batsmen out. Most medium pacers are short in this department hence the advise.

1) Stick to the basics: Bowl on one side of the wicket i.e. bowl on or outside the off stump if you have an off side field. The line is important. And since the wicket is flat, even the length is crucial. You cannot over pitch the ball or bowl short else you will be punished . (If you bowl on the middle and leg or outside the leg, unless there is a plan to bowl that way, you are dead.)

2) Keep it tight: Since the wicket is flat, the margin for error is little. So keep it tight and frustrate the batsman by not giving any runs.

3) Vary the angle of delivery: Change the angle of delivery. Bowl over or round the wickets, but stick to the line and make the batsman play. Or go wide of the crease or close to the wicket, again keeping the line constant, but changing the angle.

4) Bowl cross seam: Bowl one delivery holding the seam across as you would for a bouncer. This way you have a better chance of hitting the seam and making the ball get some extra bounce. This ball you must bowl in an area where the batsman would be surprised by the extra bounce, say a length delivery, just on the off stump, so he is forced to play the ball and not leave it - as he would a bouncer.

5) Bowl from a short run up: Cut your run up to five paces and bowl one odd ball just to surprise the batsman and catch him off guard. Kapil Dev used to do that. Especially if the ball is semi new it will deceive the batsman because he will be surprised with the change in run up, the length (which will be fuller) and the nip off the wicket. On and around the off stump will fetch maximum results - either a snick or a lbw or even a bowled if you are on off stump.

6) Bowl bang on the off stump: Focus on the off stump and try to hit it with a good length delivery. If the batsman makes an error in judgement he could leave the ball or even play the wrong line for a wicket.

7) Use cutters: Use cutters to deceive the batsman. A slow leg cutter or even a fast leg cutter can either get a batsman bowled or get a leading edge. An off cutter can get an lbw decision. Use the cutter after a couple of tight straight balls so you catch the batsman off guard.

8) Keep the ball up on the middle and off for an lbw or caught and bowled: After a few balls which are short of length (and thus keep the batsman on the backfoot), this ploy could help. Or once in a while keep the ball up, a tad slower though (use one finger to grip the seam), so that the batsman hits the ball back at you. After many tight balls he may want to go after a loose ball and may just knock it back to you or get lbw if he plays across.

9) Go wide of offstump and aim for the offstump directly: More effective if you are a left arm fast bowler bowling to a right hander but even right arm medium pacers can try it. If you have been bowling a different angle all through, just switch the angle, go wide of the crease for one ball and aim straight for the off stump. (Left hand bowlers bowling over the wicket must go around the wicket and bowl from wide of the crease into the right hander's off stump. Alternately use the cross seam for more effect because the angle will hurry and discomfit the batsman.)

10) Slant the ball across the batsman towards the first slip from a length: This is a specific variant of the 'change in angle' ball. In this, (as a right arm bowler) go close to the stumps, bowl length or just short of length but aim towards the first slip, so the ball, by nature of its angle, is leaving the batsman when it passes him. Since the angle is tight, he will normally play at it, and if it all works out, you should get an edge.

Happy bowling and hope it will fetch more wickets for you guys on flat tracks.

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Thought for the Day - Importance of Belief In Children

This is for all those parents and mentors who are highly proactive about pushing their children ahead - many times out of turn - in various areas of life. For your own child's sake - please don't. You are taking away the most important part of your own child's armoury - self belief. Without self-belief, it gets difficult for the child handle things on his or her own in the times when it counts.

You have to walk the path yourself (Pic courtesy - Satish)

 
Performance at a higher level is based on the child's own self belief - that he or she is equipped to handle it. By giving the child a crutch, a supporting hand, when the child is supposed to learn to get up and find his or her way and build belief, you are taking away a huge part of the child's growth. The child will start looking over the shoulder for help whenever he or she finds the going tough, and believe me, the going will get tough as the child grows higher up the ladder. So in a way, by giving a helping hand in this manner, you would have ensured that the child will never be able to perform to potential at a higher level.

For example let's take someone who is a good hockey player. The child is talented which is a good thing. But let us say he or she fails at a higher grade. The best thing to do would be to put him or her in a place where he or she trains harder and prepares harder for that grade. Few parents take that route.

But by pushing the child ahead when he or she is not fully prepared ahead of the ranks, the parent deprives the child the opportunity to introspect, to understand what it takes to go to the next level, to prepare accordingly and to build belief to perform at the higher grade the next time. Many times it also happens that the child feels completely out of sorts at being a non-entity at the higher grade - and may develop a dislike or aversion for the sport that he or she loves so much. After all sports and performance arts are about honesty and no honest sportsperson or artist would like to play under a shadow of doubt.

The higher levels are not so much about talent as about belief in oneself. It would be interesting to know how many talented sons and daughters of celebrities do not fare well in the same line as their parents. The feeling that their growth and recognition, the ease of access, is primarily due to their parents' status or stature makes many of them perform under par as they constantly feel 'judged', feel inadequate and sometimes plain give up that line. Most do something totally different to prove a point.

One understands that this form of parental love is but natural, but the truth is that no child will learn to walk or run without falling. If we insist on carrying them all the time because we are scared that they may fall, we deprive them of learning how to walk and explore the world. They will always look at you instead of growing and going ahead to meet their destiny. Let your child grow. Let them understand and prepare for the process. It will make them far better performers and far better humans for that. These are lessons best learned early.

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What We Leave Behind - Remembering Mom

Today I went to the Vijayanagar Gas Company at Balkampet to get my cooking gas connection papers regularised. I stood in queue and watched as the LPG agencies small employee force tried to handle a growing crowd that presented them with varying degrees of complications with their gas connection papers - from change of name to change of address to not knowing their consumer number to not knowing their mobile phone number - the clerks were driven up the wall. The clerk I was to meet was having a tough time convincing the person ahead of me and when I finally got to him I could see that he was completely frustrated and angry. With a silent prayer I quietly placed my papers in front of him and waited for his action.

Surprisingly  his furrowed brow straightened when he saw the address. He flipped through the supporting documents - death certificates of my parents - and then stopped at my mother's certificate. 'She passed away in 2012 did she?; he observed softly. I nodded. When he looked up to him his face had a wistful smile, one that was playing a memory he kept through all this madness - a memory that seemed to serve him well.

'I remember her voice over the phone when she ordered a refill,' he said looking at me. 'Very strong voice even on the phone. And very polite, gentle and sophisticated. Plot no 35 right? I even came once to your house to replace a regulator. She had a very impressive and powerful personality.'

I nodded again, surprised mildly that my mother had left such a strong impression on a clerk in a gas company. Yes, she was an impressive personality no doubt and a strong one at that, a fifth class dropout who came from a village but one who commanded undying loyalty from friends who were far highly placed in education and stature. But this was a revelation. When I walked out I could feel some moistness in my eyes. Wow! So many years after - you still make a difference to a person you mostly dealt with on the phone.

And that is what we can all leave behind really. By being ourselves, by being gentle, strong and polite, she somehow connected to this man, who was probably only a twenty year old then. She left behind a memory that stayed with him, perhaps an aspirational or inspirational memory where he might have been inspired to be like her on the phone or when he met other people. A memory that made him smile wistfully after a long and frustrating customer interaction. Perhaps even a memory that makes him more gentler and more helpful when he deals with his many illiterate customers who do not understand these procedures. I loved his smile, the gentle manner in which his eyes softened, and knew my mother's memory was preserved here surely. Maybe in many other places too - I know the Binny shop, the Rajeshwari Stores, the jewellers, the cloth store in Eluru, the chicken shop guy - and a whole list where she would have left an impression of how to conduct oneself, of carrying a dignity that does not come from education but an innate power, of making magic by the way one carries oneself.

I knew that in more ways than one we all are probably doing the same to people around us right now. And if we can leave behind a memory that can make a difference to an overworked clerk, we can consider ourselves having lived lives that certainly made a difference.

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The Sky Is Crazy - Yvonne Lee

This is a fun and easy-to-read book, a humorous collection of stories from an air hostess who has flown to over 50 cities according to the blurb. The tag line 'Tales from a trolley dolly' gives you an indication of how Yvonne treats her book - always tongue-in-cheek, sometimes deeply insightful and poignant, the book is a perfect travel companion.

Marshall Cavendish Editions

Yvonne's experiences include passengers who struggle with their seat belts, with food and drink on board, bomb scares ad engines on fire, flying bras and sex in the sky by the Mile High Club, lost money and jewels, immigrant tales, toilet troubles, nasty superiors, gays, being on standby, living out of suitcases, people who cheat to get upgrades to business class and much more. Yvonne tells her tales well and gives a great insight into the things that the crew experiences in the air, the long hours, the types of passengers, the stuff they do and so on - enough for us to understand the life of an air hostess. Serving 100 passengers,answering their questions that range from the altitude, the place where the plane was flying over, handling medical emergencies and so on are part of her life. Yvonne manages to see the funny side of life through it all which makes it highly readable.

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Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince, 52 Ideas Interpreted - Tim Phillips

I read this book by Tim Phillips first, before I got my hands on the original 'The Prince' by Niccolo Machiavelli, his interpretation of 52 ideas of Niccolo Machiavelli for the modern day world. I made some notes of a few thoughts he expressed one way or another, either his own or someone else's.

Research Press, 109 p

'Preparation isn't about hoping for the best; it's about having a strategy to cope with the worst, whatever that takes.'

'Nastiness works too - nothing says 'obey me' like a bloody head on a fence post.'

'Use power or lose it. Power is the ability to change things. Use it.'

'A politician thinks of the next election. A statesman thinks of the next generation.'

'Troublemakers must be caressed or crushed. They will try to avenge slight injuries but not if they're very serious.'

'If you don't know what's going on, drop yourself in the middle of it.'

'Support weak neighbours. They'll help you achieve your ambitions.'

'Aim high. Tough targets produce lasting results. Only weaklings go for easy targets.'

'Act like a man of thought. Think like a man of action' - Thomas Mann

'In mergers, get cracking. Push them hard to integrate in days. Obliterate the past. Bulldoze offices.'

'Talent+Opportunity+ Drive = Success'

'Leaders are successful because they're right for the moment.'

'Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.' - Frederick Douglas

'Don't talk about it. Do it. If you have to tell people you are powerful, you aren't. Your acts should show it.'

'Stand up. Bullies have power over you if you consent and let them use it.'

'You can have power over people as long as you don't take everything from them. But when you've robbed them of everything, he's no longer in your power.'

'To be a leader, look for the jobs, however small and nasty - where you can make the difference.'

'The act of policing is, in order to punish less often, to punish more severely.' - Napolean Bonaparte

'When you criticise be unemotional and be direct, be brief and be factual, and end the conversation. This is not about humiliation but about leadership.'

'Cut out middle men.'

'Don't make the same mistakes again. It will test the loyal followers.'

'Appease powerless people when it doesn't cost you anything to do so. They will respect you for it. Earn people power.'

'Under pressure, defend the important stuff.'

'The buck stops here. Make it clear that your authority comes with the job and never negotiate it.'

'Ally with institutions and leaders we don't question.'

'Do it yourself. If you want to conquer, you need people who are committed to the cause.'

'Power is my mistress. I have worked too hard at her conquest to allow anyone to take her away from me.' 
- Napolean Bonaparte

'Take the tough decisions. If you're in charge do.'

'A leader shall personally lead his armies.'

'Partners spell doom.'

'Prepare for the worst. Prepare for disaster when there isn't a disaster happening.'

'Be physically and mentally fit to be a leader. Discover your capabilities. Train your weakest attribute.'

'Keep bad habits private. Build your image.'

'Stop being nice. Accept your vices.'

'Be a miser.'

'Better feared than loved.'

'Mercy is overrated.'

'Bestial strength and cunning are advantages. As a leader you need to know when to use them.'

'Deceit is easier than you think.'

'Keeping your word is not a good idea if it damages you.'

'Men judge more with their eyes than hands.'

'Seeming to have virtue can be useful.'

'Tell things your way.'

'Encourage the enemy.'

'Keep them guessing. Launch new campaigns. Keep them busy.'

'All courses of action involve risk. Face it.'

'Celebrate milestones. Perform acts that display munificence and affordability.'

'Keep your manager in place. Keep them in control.'

'Be careful of flattery.'

'Change your mind but not too often. Don't sit on the fence always. Make decisions early.'

'Set your setbacks right yourself. Accept mistakes and set them right.'

'Look to your future, not your past, for inspiration.'

'I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.' - Ralph Nader

'Luck is what you have left over after you give 100 percent.' - Langston Coleman, American Football Player

'Unless you do your best the day will come when, tired and hungry, you will halt just short of the goal you were ordered to reach, and by halting you will make useless the efforts and deaths of thousands.' - General George Patton.

'If you trust luck, eventually luck is bound to run out.'

'Copy ideas.'

'Say what you mean. Name names and say exactly what you mean.'

'You've got faults. So does everybody else.'

'Nothing brings honor to a new ruler as new laws and practices.'

The book by itself could have been better presented I felt. Some ideas did not connect to the core idea to me. But there are takeaways certainly for those who deal with power of any kind or for those who wish to get there.

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Super weather in Delhi and Chandigarh

No pictures to tell a thousand words and you will have to take my word(s) for it. I was away in Chandigarh for five days but I first stopped over at Delhi for a day to meet up with Raja and to spend some time meeting my publisher. The early morning flight from Hyderabad to Delhi was pretty comfortable. The moment we touched down in Delhi I saw the fog, felt the cool weather and the toasty sunlight. I loved it.

Met Raja outside the airport and we drove straight to his institute IMT, Ghaziabad where we spent some time chatting, eating lunch, checking mails before I went to talk about 'The Winning Attitude' to the EDP students post-lunch. It was a two hour session and a highly enjoyable one at that, at least for me. After the session, Raja and I drove back from Ghaziabad to Delhi, fetched some food from the market, ate and crashed. The weather was cool and I loved the way it was foggy all day and through the evening. It was karva chauth the next day so many young ladies were getting their hands hennaed in the market place for exorbitant prices.

The next day I went with Raja to his institute again, dropped him there and went to meet my publisher in Noida. It appears that most publishers have set base in Noida and I saw many big publishers housed there. Noida itself was huge and it took forever to find the places we needed. Anyway after meeting the publisher I headed off to the airport, grabbed a bite and took the evening flight to Chandigarh.

Chandigarh airport was really small. I hired a taxi to get to the place I was to stay, in Sector 35 B, and enjoyed the ride along the well organised city. I found no tall buildings, lots of greenery and wide roads, shopping arcades etc. The weather was brilliant - you could walk about in a T shirt - when I really thought it might be colder!

But the next few days fell into a lovely rhythm. I'd get up at six and go for a long walk along those wonderful roads, go to a lovely park I found with a huge walkway and a jogging track and come back after an hour or more. The day would go by in work and then I'd get back to the room and work on the laptop until dinner. And then a small walk by myself walking along te shopping area, watching the young crowd enjoy themselves, and crash when I was tired. Loved it

On the last day I had some time so I went and roamed around the famous Rock Garden of Nek Chand, walked about the promenade on the beautiful Sukhna lake, roamed about the Sector 17 market place and returned. As always I felt the need to explore these places a lot more, imbibe the culture in its essence, meet more people, go into the countryside and so on. Some other time perhaps.

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