Machiavellian Intelligence
Machiavellian intelligence isn't just manipulation - it's multi-dimensional relationship management at scale.
The most cognitively advanced primates don't just form coalitions - they manipulate them. This requires understanding second-order relationships: 'A is allied with B, who is rival to C, so if I ally with C, I make enemy of B but gain C's strength against A.'
Measured Machiavellian behaviors in chimps: Deceptive grooming (grooming rival's ally to weaken their coalition, 23% success rate), Third-party interference (breaking up rival grooming sessions, 61% success rate), Reconciliation blocking (preventing two rivals from making peace, 34% prevention rate), Coalition recruitment (actively recruiting against current alpha, 19% success rate leading to overthrow).
The cognitive requirements - Testing 'theory of mind' in coalition building: Level 1: 'I know A is stronger than me', Level 2: 'A knows I'm forming coalition with B', Level 3: 'A knows I know that A knows about my coalition with B'. Chimpanzees demonstrate Level 3 cognition: They hide coalition-building activities from rivals, engage in deceptive affiliative behaviors, and punish coalition attempts before they solidify.
Business Application of Machiavellian Intelligence
Machiavellian intelligence isn't just manipulation - it's multi-dimensional relationship management at scale. Carlos Ghosn's coalition building at Nissan demonstrated similar multi-level strategy: identified which executives controlled key resources, built relationships in ways visible to some and hidden from others, used visible alliances to signal credibility while building hidden coalitions for contentious decisions.