0:02 Who are you and where are you going? What do you want? [Music] Hello and welcome to Business Lessons from the Military. I'm your host, Kevin Beml, and I'm here every Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time to talk about military history. doctrine practices of milit military leaders and distill from them lessons that we can apply to our
0:37 businesses and professional practices. So today I'm going to be talking about one of the classic texts in not not just military military power but really military and political power almost governance and that is the prince by Nicolo Makavelli. So this is this is my copy of the book. It's this is uh published by Eaton Press. Where's the frontest piece? So,
1:12 you can just see it. And there's there's a picture of Makaveli. And you can see this this these are very beautiful copies. They have the you know gold on the end papers and all of that. They're leather bound. Um and it's it's you know a pleasure to read um a book of this quality. So, uh, Mchavelli has quite a reputation, I'll I'll say, and and the phrase, of course, Mchavellian,
1:48 uh, is is is in the lexicon, and it really refers to doing something underhanded or of a sort of um, uh, what's the word I'm looking for? um uh shoot the word's not coming to mind but but doing doing of a conspira conspiratorial nature and I I think that's somewhat of a misread of Mchaveli. It's it's taking part of what he says and making it the
2:24 whole thing that he's about. So I I want to start by giving you just a brief biography of of Nicolo Makavelli himself so you can understand his background. He was not a military man in the sense of a soldier or you know a general or an officer of some kind in the military. He was in fact a diplomat, a political thinker, an historian and a writer. So he was born in Florence in 1469. Florence of course at at that time Israel was Israel sorry at that time
3:01 Italy was not a united country. It was a series of principalities. Um Florence being one of them. um Milan, the the the major cities really were essentially the seats of principalities that made up what eventually became modern Italy. And uh when when Mchaveli was at the height of his uh influence, we'll say it was when he served for about a decade uh the
3:36 Florentine Republic and he held several key roles in in diplomatic and military affairs during those 10 years. So uh Florence previously was uh run by the Medici which is one of the best known uh families uh in Italy. Uh they um the family was expelled from Florence in 1494 and and that started the Republican
4:11 period. uh when the Medici returned to power in 1512 with the poping of with the backing of Pope Julius uh I so Makaveli who had been loyal to the republic he was removed from office and subsequently he was con accused of conspiring against the Medici who then imprisoned him and at le for at least briefly tortured him. So eventually he was released from prison but he was barred from government service uh for the rest of his life and he withdrew to
4:47 his estate outside of Florence and in exile he turned to writing and the prince which he wrote in 1513 but w which was not published until uh 1532 is far and away his best known work. uh and it set out pragmatic guidelines for state craft basically. Now some of these uh some of these principles
5:22 might sort of be offensive to modern sensibilities, but the reality is they are still used today. And a a an intelligible and sensible ruler will minim minimally be aware of these ideas and these tools because he may face them coming from another country, an adversary or even an ally. Okay. Now just to wrap up u Makaveli's biography, uh he did write other works. He wrote histories. He wrote some plays.
5:58 His other well-known book is Discourses on Libby. Libby was a Roman historian. Uh and and he I think rightly so earned a reputation as one of the founders of modern political science and and Mchaveli uh died in Florence in 1527. So uh you know he lived for what about uh 50 yeah 58 years thereabouts 57 58 years and and had to this day uh a
6:37 profound impact on the way uh rulers rule countries. Now it's I think it's important to keep in mind that at a time when most countries were monarchies or principalities uh dupdoms whatever uh Mchavelli worked in a republic okay which is what for example the United States is people call our country a democracy but we're not we're a republic the difference being in a democracy every citizen votes on every issue in a republic public
7:13 citizens elect representatives who then represent them in the government and vote on and create the various legislative initiatives etc that that are used to run the country. So the prince is the is divided into uh 26 chapters. So you you can see just a a part of them there. That's about half of them. And uh here's here's the other half right there. Okay. Um and without
7:48 going into every one, you can by the way, you can see the book. It's not particularly long. Couple hundred pages as I recall. Uh yeah, not even that. 185 pages at least in this edition. Uh so it's it's a fairly quick book uh to read. So without going through what's covered in every chapter there there are a few ideas that I want to pull out from the prince that then I'm going to in in some cases expand on uh when I talk about the business lessons we can learn from the prince. So uh Mchaveli starts
8:24 out by talking about the different kinds of principalities uh hereditary or new or you know each and and he talks about how each type of principality uh requires a different style of governments. So that again that's where he starts. uh and then he talks about some different aspects both historical and philosophical in statecraftraft. So in chapter 4 for example he talks about why Alexander's empire uh didn't rebel Alexander being
9:00 Alexander the Great the you know most one of the most notable conquerors in human history. So what he observes is central states are or centralized states are harder to conquer but easier to hold because power is centralized. Decentralized states are easier to conquer because power is diffuse but they're harder to hold because that power is diffuse. So just as a principle, okay, that that's that undergirds much
9:35 of how Mchaveli looks at statecraft. And I think while I'm not going to talk about this in the context of a business lesson, I think we can see that in a business, you know, there are businesses where uh the founder or the the um the the you know senior leadership running the business, they keep a very very tight hold on the business. Okay? And so uh that can make it easier for example for the business to be taken over. Um um but um the
10:12 business does what the senior leadership wants them to do. On the other hand, decentralized businesses where where power is more diffuse. So um they they may be uh easier to uh to acquire to conquer in that sense. Um but they're harder to hold on to. They're harder to hold control over once you, you know, once an acquirer owns the business because again power is diffuse. Okay. So, another one of his principles and this is one of the controversial ones is ruling through what he calls wickedness.
10:48 So power gained by cruelty can last, excuse me, if it's used decisively, but and this is the big but but not excessively, right? And so um he he talks about this again, but that that by the way that that's chapter 8. In chapter 17, he talks about cruelty and compassion. And he says it's better to be feared than loved but never hated. Right? So from a leader's standpoint
11:26 uh you know that that's his perspective on being an effective leader in you know the uh 15th and and and into the um I'm sorry in the yeah 15th into the 16th century. So, uh, I'm going to talk about this as it applies to business. So, I'm I'll kind of put a pin in that one for right now. Okay. Um, civil principalities, that is those with civilian support. So, in chapter nine, he talks about how a ruler backed by the common people, is more
12:01 secure than one backed only by nobles. Now that you know obviously came out of his working within a republic where the Medici, the nobles had been essentially deposed and now the more general populace uh what essentially were the the you know the rulers of of the country or they they had to back the ruler in order for the ruler to be able to reign so to speak. Okay. So uh again
12:36 I'll talk about that a little bit more um on mercenaries in chapter 12. So he says mercenaries are mercenaries of course are uh soldiers that are hired to do fighting as opposed to citizen soldiers. Right? See the United States has never used uh mercenary at least not in any large degree. um maybe in covert actions uh the United States has but World War I, World War II, you know, the Civil War, there were no mercenaries. They were all citizen soldiers. So,
13:12 uh Mchaveli's take on mercenaries are they're disloyal, they're undisiplined, and they're dangerous to rely on. Right? Because the hold that you that a ruler has over mercenaries is monetary, not philosophical, right? And so if they don't get paid, well, you know, they'll walk off because if they're not getting paid, they have no reason to fight anymore. Okay. Um next in chapter 20 on fortresses and
13:48 arms. So, Mchaveli recognizes that fortifications are less useful than loyalty and good governance, right? and and in doing so in in governing well and in gaining the loyalty of the populace that means that you have a citizenry that will defend the state as opposed to having to build fortifications which even then technology was learning how to uh overcome. Okay. Um and then uh just a
14:25 couple more to give you a little bit more flavor of of the book. So in chapter 23 he talks about avoiding flatterers. So a ruler must seek honest counsel and avoid syncopants. I think again um I I think I'm going to talk about this uh a little bit more. Let's see. Uh no actually this isn't that's not one of the principles I'm going to talk about. So I'll mention it here from the standpoint of running a business or a professional practice.
15:02 So having wise honest counselors is crucial especially if you don't have a big organization. And I know in my own practice, there have been times when I should have sought more counsel than I did. Had I, I probably would have avoided some of the mistakes that I made. Okay? And so the worst thing we can do is hire or hire consultants or um you
15:39 know employees who will just nod their heads, you know. Yes. Yes. Yes. uh you know like uh like the um in Blazing Saddles Mel Brooks plays the governor of of the state that in which it takes place which goes unnamed and he has all yesmen around the table uh and and of course that's deadly to anybody in a leadership position right we need to have people who will speak truth to power as a Marine Corps colonel once uh said to me uh as a compliment. Thank
16:14 you. Thank you very much indeed. Okay. And then finally on fortune. So half of human success says Makaveli is luck and the other half is skill and boldness. And I think it's important to keep that in mind. We tend to think that oh all of our ac all of our success is due to you know us. But but that's that's not really true. Now, if you have a god- centered view of the world, you might say, "Well, there's no such thing as luck." And and I I would certainly agree
16:49 with that. Uh there is no s there from from the from the standpoint of God running the world, there is no such thing as luck, but there is in essence God's grace or God's intervention, right? And so, it's we can pray for that, but we can't count on it. And so I think what what Mchaveli is saying here is is don't get all caught up in your own PR, right? Recognize that there at least half of what happens in your life is not something that you control
17:25 and be mindful of that as you make decisions. Okay? But otherwise build your skills and be bold. that that is the recipe uh for success. Okay. So that gives you an idea of of some of the philosophy in uh in in that that um Mchavelli talks about in in the prince. So let's let's talk about some business lessons now. Okay. And and number one the first lesson is uh power comes from
18:01 competence and control. Okay. So um this one kind of combines some of the lessons but u mchavelli you know kind of pulling together several of of aspects of his philosophy. A prince can't depend on mercenaries or auxiliaries, but only a trained force under his command can truly secure power, right? And and so in in business, uh sometimes companies rely too heavily
18:37 on consultants or freelancers, and in doing so, they risk instability. or they they risk not really understanding what their business is about. So the strongest organizations they invest in building internal capabilities. Now does that mean that all your capabilities have to be internal? And I think I think that's not the case. And I don't think that that's
19:12 what uh Mchaveli was saying either. What he was saying is the core capabilities that allow a leader to remain in power translated into business. The core capabilities that make a company vital that are central to its success those should be internal. Okay. Other capabilities though can be external, right? So, uh I think um uh
19:49 Boeing is is a good example of this if you've been following what's been going on with Boeing for the last few years. So, uh, they they started a program of contracting out large parts of the construction of their aircrafts, especially the the Dreamlininer, the 787. And it turned out it it it was disastrous for them. They lost control of their quality control. Okay? And so
20:25 one of their prime subcontractors, they've now originally it was part of Boeing. They spun it off as a separate company and now they they're reacquiring that company and it's it's the one that makes the fuselages, right, that everything else attaches to. So it's not that Boeing has to make every part of its jets in order to be successful, but it has to recognize what are the core capabilities, what is most important to building a quality uh airplane. Those are the capabilities
21:02 it needs to have internally. and the new CEO whose name has been in the news the last day or so. I'm I'm not recalling it, but anyway, that's one of the things that he's looked at most closely is what does Boeing need to bring back in house in order to um have competence and control over the central aspects of aircraft manufacturing. Okay. So the hard question for us all to answer is what really are is the core
21:37 part of our businesses, okay? And and what can we what can we essentially contract out? So I know for my company the core part of my business is understanding the admin the the trust and estate administration process and how the various pieces need to work together in order to create as smooth an administration as possible. What I don't need to know is uh well or what I don't have to have in house. Let
22:13 me put it that way. It's not I don't need to know it. What I don't need to have in house is for example the ability to sell a piece of real estate or for that matter to manage a piece of real estate or to manage securities and uh you know securities, bonds, stocks, etc. Those are not core capabilities for my practice. And in fact, I'm better off contracting those out to experts. Okay. while I focus on my core capabilities which is the administration the
22:49 coordination of all the moving parts involved in any particular estate. Okay. So power comes from competence and control. Let's take a break. America is a maritime nation. Our freedom and security depend on strong sea services. The Beverly Hills Council of the Navy League stands with our Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marine through community support, education, and advocacy. For over 120 years, Americans of all walks of life
23:26 have heeded our call. No prior military services required to join our mission. The Beverly Hills Council of the Navy League of the United States. Help us support those who serve at sea. Visit navyleague.org. All right, so this is Business Lessons from the military and I'm your host Kevin Bemel. I'm talking about one of the classic texts of military and uh military power and statecraft. The Prince by Nicolo Mchaveli. Gave you a short, if you're just joining me now, I
24:02 gave you a short uh biography of Mchaveli and talked about some of the uh key points in his philosophy. And now I'm going through some business lessons that that we can take from from the prince. Okay. So, number one, power comes from competence and control. Number two, adapt or fail. Okay. So uh Mchaveli again you you would get this from reading the overall book. A successful prince adjusts his strategy to the shifting humors attitudes what were
24:37 called humors then of the people and to the unpredictability of fortune. Right? So, in the Marine Corps, we used to say Seer Gumby, right? And Gumby being the clay uh claymation cartoon figure very popular in the I believe 1960s, 1950s and 60s. He had a pal, a horse named Pokey. Okay. I I had a Pokey uh when I was a little kid that I loved and you could bend him all around, right? uh and and the idea is is
25:12 uh one has to stay flexible. So in in business right markets, technology, consumer preferences, they change sometimes they change rapidly. Okay? And survival depends on agility, right? And so to stay too high bound to a particular path especially these days will almost surely mean that your
25:48 business becomes irrelevant. Right? So look at a company like uh Kelloggs the cereal maker right? So Kelloggs of Battle Creek, Battle Creek, Michigan, where the company was founded and and is still based, right, was a maker of breakfast cereals, okay? Kellogg's Special K, one of my favorites growing up. Um, lots lots of different cereals. And here's the thing, and it was it's been it was a successful company for decades and decades and decades. And eventually Kelloggs expanded into other
26:23 products. And one of the things they found starting maybe about 10 15 years ago thereabouts was uh children were not eating breakfast cereal in the same amounts that prior generations had. So u whereas uh cereal is a carbohydratebased food generally it's made from grains wheat whatever wheat corn etc. uh you know nutritionists were touting uh
26:58 having protein for breakfast. So eggs, meat, those kind of things. And so cereal as a breakfast as it's the cereal's popularity as a breakfast food has been declining. And uh I think that you know Kelloggs was a little slow realizing that and as a result eventually what they did is they split Kelloggs into two companies. There was Kenover that uh I I believe was the the part of it that um that that held
27:33 the more sort of uh current products if you will. Um and and then there was the serial company and unfortunately Kelloggs is still struggling to keep up and stay relevant. And I think one of the reasons is they are fundamentally a serial-based company, right? So even the other products that they acquired were more in the same vein where cereal bars and that kind of stuff, right? And so, uh, you know, if they had gotten into
28:08 protein bars, maybe that would be different, okay? But, but not but that's not really what they did. And so, they're really struggling to adapt. Um, and if they don't, they will end up failing, right? And lots of companies do. The reality of the capitalist system, the free market system is not every company is meant to survive forever, right? And so it's really it's you know it again one of the most difficult judgment calls we have to make is is it
28:45 time for a company to wrap up or is it time for a company to dramatically shrink in size maybe become an adjunct of a larger company but recognize that the trend is away from from you know this the products this company is selling. So on a on a smaller kind of more local basis. So one of my favorite chocoliers here in Los Angeles is John Kelly. So John Kelly started I think about 15 maybe 20 years ago. And they make what the French would call bon bons
29:22 filled chocolate. So chocolatecovered like they they have a most of their chocolates have a a a fudge type filling. They are extraordinary. So, for example, they have a vanilla walnut chocolatecovered bon bon that is it's just scrumptious. There's no other way about it. Um I I shared some with my sister. Um I I couple three weeks ago, you know, and she loved them. She's not a big dark chocolate fan. Um but these chocolates are marvelous. So, uh I I hadn't been to John Kelly's for a while. And when I went to pick up some
29:58 chocolates to share with my sister, I went to their main shop in Hollywood and I noticed on the shelves, uh, they were, in addition to John Kelly, uh, they were also selling Charles chocolates. Now, I know I Charles's Chocolates is a San Francisco based chocolier, different kind of chocolate products than John Kelly. Um they sell like chocolatecovered nuts and and and things like that and and and more bar chocolate like bars of chocolate and they're fantastic as well. Okay. Just
30:33 different than John Kelly. So I I asked the the lady behind the counter about it. She said, "Oh, well uh John Kelly uh sold to Charles Chocolates." Oh. I asked her, "Why did they do that?" She said, "Well, Charles Chocolates has better established distribution channels, and it was the most sensible way for John Kelly, to expand. Now, by the way, John Kelly, it's it's two two men, John
31:09 and Kelly, uh, who who started the business, right? They could have continued to try and expand on their own, but by joining with another premium chocolier that already has established distribution channels, they enabled their growth to happen much more surely and rapidly, right? So, they're adapting to the market realities. Okay? And in doing so, I think their business will, you know, be even better. Now, interestingly enough,
31:44 um John Kelly here in Los Angeles has two stores. One in Hollywood that I just mentioned, another in in Santa Monica on Montana Avenue. I'll give him a free plug. They for a while had a store in Beverly Hills as well. And I noticed driving by where the store was a few weeks ago, wasn't there anymore. So, I also asked the lady about that. She said, "Yeah, we we closed that location. It just wasn't working out." Good for them. right now. Not good for me because that was the closest location. Um, so I have to go, you know, farther away to get my John Kelly's chocolates. Um, but
32:22 smart for them to adapt to market realities rather than end up failing, right? I'm sure it was an expensive location. There's no such thing as inexpensive real estate in Beverly Hills, as you might imagine, right? So adapt or fail that that and and these these this is why astute leadership that will be bold but will also be honest with itself is important okay that's number two adapt or fail number three perception is reality so uh Mchaveli
33:01 says a prince must appear merciful faithful humane and religious even if at times times he must act otherwise. Okay. And I think that that's that's important, right? We we want to act with integrity and that's that's the goal. Certainly, we certainly want to act with honesty. Um but the reality is sometimes we just can't be quote unquote merciful when we're operating a business. Now, of
33:37 course, we're not talking about, God forbid, you know, killing people like you might have in a war. Of course not. But we may have to lay people off. We may have to fire people. It's not a pleasant thing to do. And even though we we cultivate an image of faithfulness and and and and trustworthiness, uh humanity, um you know, sometimes that may take a bit of a hit when we have to do what needs to be done in
34:13 order for the business to remain successful. And the the example I just gave I think is one of the best ones and that is sometimes we we have to let people go. Okay? Either because they're not performing well and so they're a detriment to the business or because the business needs to revamp go in another direction and maybe it needs to contract for a while so we need to lay people off. It's never it's never pleasant to do that. Um to you know to tell somebody
34:48 hey you're not going to be working here anymore after whatever the next week, two weeks, month, whatever the period is. Okay. Uh but the fact that sometimes we have to do things that at least some other people will view as harsh doesn't mean that we should just allow the people who think we're being harsh to define who we are. Okay? We need to create the perception. We need to create how our businesses and
35:23 practices will be viewed. Okay? And make that the reality. Understanding that sometimes reality is going to be different than the image we put forth. It's just it's just how it is. Okay. Now, by the way, let's say we do have to lay some people off. Okay. But when we want to maintain our um appearance of a humane company, well, how we do it matters. Okay. Now, some no matter how humanely we lay people off, u they may still be angry.
36:00 They may accuse the company of being heartless. Okay? Nothing you can do about that, right? But you know providing people with uh you know salary in in in lie of notice or providing them transition assistance training to find a new job somewhere else. those kinds of things they can make the disruption in people's lives more humane right uh but it won't necessarily prevent them from accusing us of you know being inhumane in that sense right so
36:37 we we want to stick with the image that we create make it as close to reality as possible but we can't be a slave to that image if it means that the business will fail. Okay, so that's number three. Uh perception is reality. Number four, uh this this will be a little bit controversial I think uh but you you'll see this came from one of the principles I mentioned before. Better to be feared than loved within limits.
37:14 Right? So Mchaveli if you recall he said you know a force to choose um fear secures loyalty better than love but hatred must be avoided that's his principle so I wouldn't in a business of course fear is is is not we don't want to go all the way to fear what I would say is better to be respected than loved that's what's mostant important in business and respect comes from how we
37:51 run a business, how we run our professional practices. Okay? So leaders who command respect through high standards achieve stronger results than those who really strive to be liked or loved. Okay, I'll give you an example. This is not a business example per se. This is actually a military example, but I think it it's it's indicative of this issue. So, uh, when I was in the Navy, uh, we were getting
38:28 ready to deploy on our ship, the USS Ronald Reagan. I was airwing chaplain at the time and a message went out to all the senior leadership on the ship that the captain of another nuclear aircraft carrier was under investigation for improper conduct. What had he done? He had recorded a video of sailors, himself and sailors in the men's showers and he was snapping other
39:06 sailors behinds with his towel. Now, if you've been in junior high school in a locker room, at least when I was in junior high, there were friends going around snapping guys in the backside with towels. That was pretty much deriggger back then. I don't know if it goes on now. Haven't been men's locker room in a long time. Okay. But the idea Oh, and and and he he not only made the video, but he played it on the ship's
39:41 video network so that everybody on the ship could see it. And as you might guess on on a ship where you know 80 plus percent of the sailors are you know mid20s and younger for the most part they loved this video. It was very off color and and you know they they dug it but there were a small group of people who looked at this in a different light i.e. that the captain of a nuclear aircraft carrier should not be
40:18 behaving in that offcoled manner. And it really came down to this particular officer wanted to be loved by his crew. It wasn't enough for him to command the respect of being a captain of a nuclear aircraft carrier. one of the most challenging and soughtafter commands in the United States Navy. He wanted the adulation of his sailors and for his trouble he was relieved from
40:53 command as well he should have been. Right? That's not what he's there to do. Right? What's going to happen if that ship is in a crisis? Does he really think his sailors are are, you know, 100% on board? I hope not because what he did was foolish. And when they really thought about what he was doing, I think his sailors would have been less likely to follow his
41:28 leadership. Okay? I think this is why we're seeing with increasing frequency companies who are um firing senior leaders who for example get involved in affairs with underlings with people more junior to them. Especially if the senior leader is married and he's having an affair with someone who's by definition, you know, not his wife or not her husband, right? That does not breed
42:05 respect among leadership. Okay? And that's that's what leaders need. They need to be respected. They need to behave respect respectably. Okay. Respect fully and respect doubly. Okay. And so I think that's how we translate uh Makaveli's idea about better to be feared than loved. Better to be respected than loved. Okay, that's that's what we
42:40 should strive for as leaders in in business. Okay, that's number four. Number five, manage risk through independence. So again, this is related to some of the philosophies that I I mentioned at the beginning. Princes who depend on mercenaries or foreign powers eventually lose control. Okay. And it this this is this is I think related uh to the first um idea which is um which is power comes from competence and control. So we
43:15 really as businesses we need to maintain our ability to act independently. Okay. And if we are overrelyant on one supplier, one partner or one customer. So this is likely to expose our business to big swings if not a cataclysmic failure. So, my first company when uh back before I I uh joined the Navy, I had a real
43:52 estate appraisal and management company here in Los Angeles. And unfortunately, the business developed in a way that one of my clients was responsible for about half my income. And I realized that unfortunately in a way too late uh to do you know to solve the problem i.e. to diversify my clientele and there was a point at which this client had a changeover in management and the new management decided that it was a large
44:28 uh uh publicly traded lender. the new management decided that um they didn't want to deal with small contractors like me. Uh they only wanted to deal with very large contractors. So if a problem ever arose, they'd have deep pockets that they could sue. And so they stopped giving me business. And as a result, my business struggled quite a bit for for quite a while. I figured out how to, you know, get that ship writed to use a uh Navy term, right? Uh and and you know,
45:04 the same thing happens it can can happen kind of reverse where a business is too reliant on one supplier. What happens if that supplier has problems and now you know you need these crucial parts and you can't get them? Right? This this is part of the strategy behind the international relations of the United States and China. So the United States wants to stay dominant in AI development. And one of the ways they're doing that is by prohibiting Nvidia from
45:40 giving from selling to China, not giving to China, selling to China the state-of-the-art uh chips, microchips that are necessary for developing more advanced AI, right? And so and and China recognizing that that this is the the situation now. So they are working to incentivize their domestic chip suppliers to creating the kinds of chips, the sophistication, the chips of of a of a higher level of
46:15 sophistication and technology to so that they aren't relying on Nvidia chips, right? And all of this plays into managing risk through independence. So we need to look at our businesses and our practices and and look where where is our re from where is our revenue coming? Who are our key suppliers? What will happen if one of those suppliers has a problem and no longer can supply us? Who are our key contractors
46:52 who while their while their capability is not a capability that's central to our business or practice, nonetheless is an important capability on which we rely in serving our customers or clients. And what are we going to do if that key contractor is no longer able to deliver? Right? All of these are part of managing risk through independence. And it may be that we need to develop more a
47:27 relationship with more than one supplier, more than one contractor so that we have some duplication and are not 100% rellyant on uh you know one what becomes a you know a sole point of failure. Okay. So manage risk through independence. Okay. And then finally, balance uh fortune with what what um uh what Mchaveli calls Veru. Uh and and this
48:02 gets back to the one of the last uh points that I mentioned. So fortune controls half of events. Boldness and skill allow leaders to shape outcomes. Right? So again whether you believe in luck or whether you believe in God you know either one of those work within this idea. Okay. So so what we have to do is be bold in in deploying our skills to shape outcomes as best as we possibly
48:39 can. Okay. So in business we don't control the market. We don't control the economy. We don't in we don't control changes in customer or client or investor sentiments. Okay. What we can control is how well we seek to understand those variables and then how we respond to them. Okay. So let's take the recent example of the imposition of tariffs, right? Uh
49:16 although uh President Trump and his incoming administration had made it clear they were going to impose tariffs, I'm not sure businesses were as ready for that as they, you know, probably should have been. Um maybe they just didn't think that in the end President Trump would impose the tariffs or maybe they just weren't prepared for uh how broad the tariffs how broad the uh imposition of the tariffs was. Can't say. What I can say
49:53 is it created a lot of turmoil for businesses and probably more than it needed to if businesses had planned ahead. if they had planned some bold action. Now, some companies were planned did plan to take bold action. And so, for example, knowing that tariffs were going to be imposed at at certain dates, they, you know, bought a lot of uh product, a lot of um components that they needed for their businesses that they that they
50:28 were getting from outside the country before the tariffs were imposed. And in that way they mitigated at least some of the turmoil and some of the expense that the imposition of tariffs would have created. Okay, good. It's that kind of foresight we need to work to develop and then we need to have the courage of our convictions to act boldly, right? And and that's really I think what Mchaveli
51:03 is getting at in in its essence especially in this point is there's lots and lots of things that we do not cannot control as leaders of principalities and moving into the business world as people who run businesses who lead businesses who have professional practices. lots of things we can't control. That does not mean we can resign ourselves to the to the vicissitudes of life. Quite to the contrary, we need to
51:39 keep a breast of what's going on as well as possible. We need to think about what these potential changes may mean. And we need to make plans and execute on those plans rather than allowing ourselves to be overtaken by events. And so that that is I think what what we can learn from Mchaveli's the prince um about running our businesses about business lessons. And if if we follow Makavelli's advice,
52:18 we are more likely to be successful and build enduring organizations. So, I thank you very much for joining me today, especially live viewers, always a treat. Uh, tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time is my show, People Making Money. Hope you'll join me for that. And then a week from uh next week on Monday 10:00 a.m. is my show uh Trust and Estates Weekly. And then uh I I actually will be off on uh Tuesday of next week
52:54 for uh additional Jewish holidays. Uh but normally we would be back in uh seven days for the next edition of Business Lessons for the Military. So I thank you very much for joining me. Wishing you a wonderful rest of the day and signing off as I always do.