The Lessons of Ciceros Banker

Summary

The goal of this book is to instruct the reader, via a set of 20 lessons, in a ‘bare knuckles’ approach to career survival in the marketplace - a marketplace where events are often not just complicating your daily business life, but are conspiring to destroy both your livelihood and your accumulated wealth. To accomplish this goal, the author examines the decisions and actions of an exceptional businessman who lived and worked over two thousand years ago in ancient Rome - the Rome of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, Marcus Brutus, and Cicero. For among these giants of history operated Titus Pomponius Atticus. Atticus witnessed years of civil war and bloodshed that the rise of Julius Caesar engendered. After surviving all that turmoil Atticus then faced one of the most jarring events in history, the assassination of Julius Caesar on the Ides of March in 44 BC - but Atticus was no mere witness to these events - he was involved financially with the major players!  We will look beyond the distaste of some historians and use Atticus as a source of shrewd wisdom, for the lessons to be gained from his amazing ability to survive and prosper are both timeless and directly applicable to the modern business world. An employee fighting for his or her own survival in today’s turbulent workplace could do much worse than the selection of Atticus as an advisor.

Paperback: 232 pages

Publisher: Multi-Media Publications Inc.; 1st edition (May 1, 2014)

Language: English

ISBN-13: 9781554891702

Overview of the Book

Atticus witnessed years of civil war and bloodshed that the fall of the Roman Republic and the rise of the dictator Julius Caesar engendered. After surviving all of that horrific turmoil, Atticus then faced one of the most jarring events in history, the assassination of Julius Caesar on the Ides of March in 44 BC - but Atticus was no mere witness to these events - he was involved financially with the major players! But while all of the aforementioned power brokers perished in the bloody political conflicts of the day, Atticus managed to live to a ripe old age. This is why the life of Atticus is such an ideal case study, for Atticus managed to survive where many others did not. However, despite Atticus’ successful navigation of all the turbulence that engulfed his life, he has been criticized by many a modern historian and even labeled as cowardly. Historians, it would seem, find little to praise in a man who survived all the turbulence and destruction of multiple civil wars but demonstrated too little passion in the effort (when passion as exemplified by his friend Cicero brought death), and who exhibited too great a passion for financial self-interest (as if those passionately committed to the waging of civil war were doing so only for the most altruistic of reasons).