What Machiavelli and St. Francis can tell us about the motivations of CEOs

We found very high correlations between power motivation and CEO behavior.

Niccolò Machiavelli, the infamous author of The Prince, wrote in the 1500s that the ideal leader makes and breaks solemn agreements. He creates alliances with weak allies to defeat a powerful enemy and then eliminates them one by one. He blames his next-in-charge for his own mistakes, and he executes opponents in public.