Effective Project Management

Section D Mobilization

The choosing of ministers is a matter of no little importance for a prince; and their worth depends on the sagacity of the prince himself.

There is one important subject I do not want to pass over, the mistake which princes can only with difficulty avoid making if they are not extremely prudent or do not choose their ministers well. I am referring to flatters, who swarm in the courts. The only way to safeguard yourself against flatters is by letting people understand that you are not offended by the truth; but if everyone can speak the truth to you then you lose respect. So a shrewd prince should adopt a middle way, choosing wise men for his government and allowing only those the freedom to speak the truth to him and then only concerning matters on which he asks their opinion and nothing else. But he should also question them thoroughly and listen to what they say; then he should make up his own mind, by himself. And his attitude towards his councils and towards each one of his advisers should be such that they will recognise that the more freely they speak out the more acceptable they will be. Apart from these, the prince should heed no one; he should put the policy agreed upon into effect straight away and he should adhere to it rigidly.

Machiavelli, Niccolo, translated by Bull, G., The Prince, Penguin Books 1961

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The project manager wants all the best people who have the experience of having done the job before. However, line management ...