Be considered rather prudent than astute. Sincerity in behaviour pleases all, though not all can show it in their own affairs. Sincerity should not degenerate into simplicity nor sagacity into cunning. Be rather respected as wise than feared as sly... to be considered a hypocrite is deceptive and arouses mistrust.
Baltasar Gracián, 1647 (tr. Joseph Jacobs, 1892)
This is the corrective to a whole book of strategy, and it draws the line carefully. Prudence and sagacity are good; being known as sly and calculating is not, because the reputation of cunning arouses a mistrust that undoes everything the cunning was meant to achieve. The balance runs between two failures: sincerity must not decay into naive simplicity, and sagacity must not harden into manipulation. The aim is to be respected as wise rather than feared as sly. The reputation you want is of a person who knows what they are doing and can be trusted, not one whose every move is suspected of an angle. Once people believe you are always playing them, even your honest acts read as tactics, and the standing that took years to build is spent.
Practice
- Aim to be read as wise and trustworthy, not clever and calculating; the reputation of slyness costs more than any single scheme gains (maxim 45 conceals cunning, this one says do not become known for it).
- Keep sincerity from decaying into simplicity; being open is not being naive, and you can be candid and shrewd at once.
- Do the honest thing visibly often enough that your standing is trust, not suspicion; once you are seen as always angling, even truth reads as tactic (maxim 175 keeps the foundation real).
Use this when
- Use this as the governor on all the strategy maxims; prudence yes, a reputation for manipulation never.
- Use it when you notice people starting to second-guess your motives; that mistrust is the early cost of seeming sly, and it compounds.
Ignore this when
- Don't swing into naive transparency; sincerity that becomes simplicity gets deceived, and the maxim warns against that too (maxim 98 keeps intentions private).
- Don't confuse being trusted with being an open book; you can be trusted and still discreet, wise and still sincere.
A picture of it
Two managers are equally strategic, but they are known differently. One is transparent about his reasoning where he can be, honest in his dealings, and read by everyone as prudent and trustworthy, so his moves get the benefit of the doubt. The other has earned a reputation as a schemer, and now every action he takes, including the straightforward ones, is scanned for the hidden angle, and colleagues guard against him by reflex. Both are shrewd. But one is feared as sly and gets resistance at every turn, and the other is respected as wise and gets cooperation, and the difference is a reputation, built over years, that either invites trust or invites suspicion.
Be shrewd, but be known as trustworthy. Once you are seen as always angling, even your honesty is read as a trick.