BRAIN FOOD: It just might work - Beyond Machiavelli

The successful manager is no mean Machiavelli. However, according to Arizona professor Robert Cialdini in the Harvard Business Review, if you can master the following six not-so-innocent tricks you can out-Machiavelli anybody:-

1, Liking: we feel the highest regard for those who flatter us. 2, Reciprocity: gifts turn people into givers. 3, Social proof: peer endorsement works wonders. 4, Consistency: make people put it in writing - they won't want to be seen changing their minds. 5, Authority: tell people you're an expert, even if you're not. 6, Scarcity: survey information that others don't have and, even if it's so-so, they will lap it up.

One last tip: use the Secret Six in combination for maximum effect.