The Prince is one of these books. We have all listened to countless mash-ups by podcasters or high school professors; It’s like we already know the argument before we even entertain it. Or at least we think we do… The Prince actually starts with a long exposé on principalities which contains the justification for machiavelism: Italian XVI century states are constantly at war with each others and their populations could use some stability - at any cost. Somewhat similarly to modern day consultants, Machiavel then proceeds to offer recommendations to the person in charge, CEO or ruler. This results in a series of simple statements, some of which interesting, others disappointingly obvious.