10 Reasons You Can’t Ignore Machiavelli
If you only act once you’ve been broken: you were never a strategist.
Most people never truly study Machiavelli until it’s too late.
By the time his wisdom makes sense, you’ve already lost.
Ignoring Machiavelli is foolish.
Wisdom and ability should come before a rebuild is required: It helps you prevent the collapse that would demand it.
Strategy isn’t moral. It’s consequential.
The ends justify the means.(Reprehensible actions may be justified when their effect is good.)
The proclamation of principles, values and ethics is, at best, irrelevant.
It doesn't matter, and even becomes a problem when it doesn't lead to the outcomes you need because the system
isn't aligned with them. Acting contrary to your moral stance in order to bend the system
in your favor is already a sign of power slippage.
What Machiavelli did not say was that leaders need to act immoral: Quite to the contrary, he emphasized that immoral leadership actions behaviour should never arise from malice, only as the cure for a broken system. Just like a painful, surgical amputation is better for the patient than death by blood poisoning.
A prudent leader will not let themselves be maneauvered into a corner where the choice becomes to either violate integrity or become irrelevant.
VXS doesn’t ask what you believe to be good.
It shows what your system actually is aligned to, and whether that’s survivable.
It gives no moral judgment, but reveals the path to survive and thrive.
Power without discernment is theater.
A prince who is not himself wise cannot be wisely advised.
Machiavelli understood what few would dare to speak out loud: for those who lack discernment, there is no such thing as good advice. They lack the wisdom to see that not all options are equally valid, and don't lead to equal outcomes.
The value of advisors is to tell you what you may not be ready to hear, not to give you an easy way forward. You must be able to tell the difference between winning and failing moves, or you have already lost.
VXS creates options and pre-judges them for you. It's up to you to define "desirable" and "undesirable."
Timing beats talent.
Fortuna is a woman, and if you wish to master her, you must strike and beat her down.
It's not about what you can do: It's about what you do when the unexpected happens. You must be in the right place, at the right time, and be prepared for your move. If just one of these conditions isn't met, you have lost control.
Machiavelli emphasized that courage without timing is suicide.
VXS gives you the signals early - so you know where the stars are aligned or misaligned -
and what needs to happen in order to make that winning move.
Or, as we like to say as the VXS team:
Do what matters. When it matters. And do it right.
That's strategy-execution alignment in action.
Loyalty is not a plan.
The promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a necessity of the present.
Your most loyal people today can become your biggest threat tomorrow. And the real danger isn't malice, but rather misalignment: The situation may change, and they haven't caught up. Their pursuit of what they continue to believe is the right thing could become sand in your gears just at the moment when you need to rapidly change course.
Machiavelli exposed this. VXS makes it visible before it turns fatal.
Visibility without leverage makes you a target.
Men in general judge more from appearances than from reality.
Anything that's visible invites judgment and scrutiny.
Most people will judge instantly, not even caring to understand the nuance. Instead, they will resort to their expectations to fill in the gaps.
Wield transparency as a weapon, and only reveal what benefits you. When everyone knows your Achilles' Heel, it's just a matter of time until someone strikes. Perceived invulnerability is a stronger defense than any form of policy, process or perimeter ever could be.
Authenticity without power is a double-edged sword.
VXS helps you shape the narrative
It helps you discern what to reveal, when and how to reveal it - and what to leave hidden until it's under control.
There's no prize for being right.
The vulgar crowd is always taken by appearances.
What people care for isn't truth, logic or reason. Most are superficial, and will only care about what they see.
You think that analyzing, justifying and explaining helps you win. It doesn't. While you're distracted making your case with words, someone else is creating undeniable facts.
You can talk about the benefits of your approach. But the match is won by the first person hitting hard enough to end the debate.
Execution is the language of power, and results the currency it deals in.
VXS turns clarity into executable moves.
It's not providing better reasons, but defining moves that land. And hit hard.
Respect beats relatability.
It is much safer to be feared than loved, if one must choose.
Preferably, you don't get yourself into a situation where you must make this wicked trade-off. And most definitely, it doesn't mean you should become an evil tyrant. But there's something about human nature: Once you're in a weak spot, you can not rely on other's affection. The only thing you can rely on is that if they know you're in control, they will behave different from when they believe you aren't.
VXS shows you how to act with clarity and consequence, so you don't get yourself into a situation where you rely on other's mercy.
Inaction is betrayal: to yourself.
Tardiness often robs us of opportunity, and the dispatch of our forces.
A surefire sign of a failing system is leaders who don’t decide, but rather wait. That's rooted in the belief that the cost of inaction is lower than the cost of intervention. What Machiavelli did was not call for blind actionism, but raising awareness to the consequences of passivity.
There's no such thing as a passive leader: waiting causes reactionism, i.e., firefighting. And once it starts, it never ends. The right move is not hesitation. It's preparation. For what is likely to happen.
VXS won't prevent you from getting hit.
It will show you where you will get hit, what damage that will cause, and what you can do about it.
Failure learning is the last resort, not the first.
A wise man ought always to follow the paths beaten by great men.
Resilience sounds like a virtue, but it's always the result of a scar.
Most people don't adapt: They cope, and call it progress. They run headfirst into disaster, then spend their energy trying to sort the mess.
The wise don't wait to be taught the lesson of failure.
They predict what will derail them by observing others, then counteract early.
VXS guides you while there's still a choice.
It shows you what's coming, what will block success - and what is necessary.
Empowerment is a lie.
The main foundations of every state are good laws and good arms.
Those who gave you power - can take it just as easily.
That’s not "empowerment." It’s merited privilege.
Real power, on the other hand, can't be granted. You have to invest into building it by yourself. Gradually. Through structure, leverage, and consequence.
Demanding to be granted authority is an unconditional declaration of surrender.
Machiavelli describe a blueprint for rebuilding after collapse.
VXS helps you shape a system that doesn't.
Closing Cut
It's to get you to think like someone who sees what he saw.
Then remain decisive, act effectively, and keep your options open.
The Way Forward
The worst mistake is waiting for a crisis. Once it hits, you're trapped in reaction, and your options will be limited.
Rebuilding from ruin builds grit - and also scars. For those who survive the calamity.
The true Machiavellian move is building up strength so that disaster can't break you.
That’s what VXS was made for.
As long as you have freedom to act, VXS will help you use it to turn that action into strength.
VXS offers clarity in any stage: early on, during routine,
in crisis, before a pivot, and after the fact.
Most people only wake up when it’s already too late.
You don’t have to. Not this time. Not with VXS.