Men shrink less from offending one who inspires love than one who inspires fear. – Niccolò Machiavelli
If you people can meet the next deadline, you can have chairs. Otherwise...
What does that mean?
This quote describes a lot of human interactions. When bad news arrives, it is usually told first to someone who does not inspire fear. When something that would be considered offensive to a ‘Prince’ (a person of authority, at home, at work or in society), there is a greater reluctance to tell such news to one who inspires fear than to one who inspires love.
If one looks at history, who would volunteer to tell Genghis Khan that he had a hygiene problem and should bathe more often? Anyone? On the other hand, would anyone fear for their life in delivering the same message to either President George Washington or Abe Lincoln?
Why is fear important?
If you had to pick one ruler from any point in time to insult or offend, would you pick one who inspired fear, or one who inspired love? Like the example in the section above, would you deliberately insult Genghis Kahn? Perhaps you would, if you already were certain of your death and had nothing to lose. But otherwise not, right?
Fear is a powerful tool for a ruler to have. However, it has a dark side, a weakness that limits it’s effectiveness. That is why he states that it is best to be both loved and feared if at all possible. For a political leader, in the Renaissance, being insufficiently feared often lead to sloth, crime and unrest. A firm hand was required to keep the peace, and fear was a powerful weapon.
Where can I apply this in my life?
This quote sounds like my family. Growing up, we always told bad news to mom and hoped she didn’t tell dad. That’s because, in our house, dad was the dispenser of justice and retribution. Dad wasn’t feared all of the time, just when we had messed up. How was it when you were growing up?
I mention this to point out the difference between fear of a person (such as the Hollywood version of Genghis Khan, or any other vengeful despot) and fear of the system (such as the criminal justice system, or dad in the case of household infractions). One is fear of a whim of the despot, the other is a known consequence for breaking a law or a social norm. One is random and capricious, the other is well known and steadfast.
In this manner, one can be a loved ruler (of country, in business, or in the home) and still invoke fear. In this case, the fear is not of arbitrary retribution (popular at the time of this quote), but fear of punishment for breaking known and (usually) socially accepted norms or laws. This is the life one hopes to live, at least I do.
How can you inspire fear? I don’t know, I’m not that into projecting fear. However, given the book the quote comes from, I would recommend simple clear rules with significant punishment for infractions. You can add love to the mix (his preferred pairing) by being generous without spoiling the people you govern.
How would one do this at home? For me, the key punishments are fines (hit them in the wallet or piggy bank) and writing sentences (which both of my children hate even more than spankings – your mileage may vary). The rules are fairly simple, be honest, be respectful, be hardworking and have integrity.
With the rules in place, there is lots of room to be a loving father and friend to my kids while still reserving the right to inspire fear of consequences, should they misbehave. In this manner, I have positioned myself to be both loved and feared, as well as fair and occasionally, merciful.
How would one do this at work? I would do basically the same thing, were I the boss. Time tables (deadlines), budgets and resources would be carefully planned. Everyone would know what their duties and responsibilities were. Everyone would know what the time, budget and resource limits were, and what work needed to be accomplished while not violating them.
With the rules in place, there is still some room for being appreciated and respected (love is an odd word for me to use in the workplace), while reserving the right to inspire fear of consequences, should they fail to meet objectives. In this manner, I would have set up a situation where I could be both feared and appreciated, as well as fair and occasionally, merciful. You did remember to build a ‘management reserve’ into your deadlines, budget and resources, right?
From: Twitter, @philo_quotes
confirmed at : http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/n/niccolomac384979.html
Photo by dpstyles™
