Wrong. Not everyone can be No. 1, and more importantly, not everyone wants to be.

Consiglieri turns the spotlight on the second-in-commands - the advisers, assistants and counsellors (or 'consiglieri') - who are too often disparaged as the 'No. 2'. Far from being also-rans, these are the crucial vice-presidents, first lieutenants and right-hand men and women whose influence can determine the fate of countries, companies and individual ventures all over the world.

In this timely celebration of the done-down deputy, Richard Hytner (himself a former CEO and now deputy chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi) presents a remarkable array of powerful advisers, from Alastair Campbell and Hillary Clinton to Rasputin, Machiavelli and Peter Mandelson, and talks to outstanding consiglieri in contemporary business, politics, sport and the arts, revealing in the process what motivates these so-called No. 2s, what makes them great and what their bosses can do to help them flourish.

Stylish, clever and entertaining, Consiglieri is packed with invaluable advice for every kind of leader, whether in the limelight or the shadows. It may also be one of the wittiest business books ever.