To comment on the Machiavelli quote, I have heard the passage as follows
"Nothings more difficult to undertake, more perilous to conduct,
more uncertain in its outcome, than to take the lead in introducing a new
order of things; for the innovator has for enemies all those who did well
under the old and lukewarm defenders amongst those who may do well under
the new."
I received this passage of Maciavelli, or an interpretation, from Jack
O'Toole, UAW Vice President of People Systems at Saturn Corporation.
Anyway, it has kept me vigilant over the last many years in our quest to
introduce a new order of things.
Jim Reynolds
Engineering Management Consultant
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
--reynoldsjd@ornl.gov (Jim Reynolds)
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>