Managing in the Gray
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At another deep level, Machiavelli’s ideas resonate with the
great religious traditions, and in a surprising way. The Prince,
his best-known work, is essentially godless. It barely mentions
sin, divine rule, or redemption. And yet Machiavelli’s view of
human nature is wholly consistent with long- standing reli-
gious perspectives on human nature, which show us as mal-
leable, easily corruptible creatures.
At the beginning of the Old Testament, for example, Adam
and Eve violate God’s rules and eat the forbidden fruit. Cain,
one of their sons, proceeds to betray, deceive, and kill his
brother Abel. Then book after book of the Bible describes the
foibles, perversities, treacheries, and cruelties of individuals
and groups, of ordinary people and exalted rulers—despite
the clear edicts and harsh sanctions of an all-powerful and
all-seeing God. Other religious traditions give us a similar
view. For example, one account of ancient Hindu traditions
says, “The human condition is thus an ongoing experience
of fragmentation, isolation, and loneliness. Consequently, our
social worlds are riddled with crime and hostile conflict.”
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Ancient secular texts also give us a similar view of our fel-
low human beings—and ourselves. Perhaps the best-known
classical Chinese guide to effective leadership is The Art of
War, written in roughly 500 BC. Its author, Sun Tzu, was a
philosopher, so he thought deeply about basic questions, but
he was also a general and understood the practical challenges
of leadership. Sun Tzu wrote to advise other military leaders,
but men and women in many other walks of life, in Asia and
in the West, have turned to him for practical advice.
Sun Tzu saw the world as a battlefield, where success
demands foresight, strategy, cunning, adaptability, and
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