Francesco Guicciardini

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1. 01

   Effective leadership requires the ability to conceal intentions.

   Ricordi · 1530

   Effective leadership requires strategic discretion, not total candor.

   Guicciardini, a Renaissance diplomat, says that ruling – whether a country or a team – means managing information. Those who cannot dissemble show all their cards and become vulnerable. This is not about lying but prudence. For example, a negotiator who reveals from the start how much they are willing to concede loses all advantage.

   “He who does not know how to dissemble, does not know how to rule.”

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