

159: Machiavellian Rules for Warfare, and Life."The Art of War", Niccolo Machiavelli.
16 snips Jan 9, 2019
Dive into Machiavelli's tactical wisdom with insights on the burden of command and the importance of listening to opposing views. Discover strategic principles like readiness, attrition, and the value of secrecy in warfare. Emphasizing training and discipline, the discussion reveals how to transform defectors into assets. Uncover the significance of understanding terrain and logistics while learning to adapt in leadership. Finally, Machiavelli’s advice on arming society and cultivating resilience offers lessons for both conflict and personal growth.
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Crushing Weight Of Command
- Jocko describes a gut-wrenching feeling of responsibility when mistakes happen under command and you cannot fix them.
- That humbling experience forced him to listen for blind spots and constantly seek others' input to prevent repeats.
Actively Seek Contradictory Input
- Listen to opposing viewpoints deliberately to reveal blind spots and improve decisions.
- Use others' ideas as experiments: if they work, adopt them; if not, teach why the original method exists.
Benefit/Harm Mirror Rule
- Remember that anything helping the enemy hurts you, and anything helping you hurts the enemy.
- Use that principle to evaluate actions strategically across war, business, and life.