Article: The five power secrets of office politics; How do you win power in the office? The secret, says consultant psychiatrist Dr Raj Persaud of the Maudsley Hospital, can be found in a 500-year-old book.

Byline: DR RAJ PERSAUD

MOST of us hate office politics, but if you do not play the game, you will not get on. Talent and hard work alone are not enough to survive and prosper. The one who inevitably holds sway is the manipulator, who often does not work nearly as hard as his or her less-cunning colleagues.

Psychologists describe manipulative types as Machiavellian - a word that derives from Niccolo Machiavelli, an Italian adviser to senior politicians in 16th century Florence. He wrote The Prince, possibly the most famous book on how to win power and keep it.

His book has been used as a self help manual by despots ever since.

Napoleon ...

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