The Entrepreneur’s Bookshelf: 48 Laws of Power

“A prince being thus obliged to know well how to act as a beast must imitate the fox and the lion, for the lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten wolves.”
Machievelli, “The Prince”

I always tell my students who yearn to be entrepreneurs,“Good leaders manage small teams, but great leaders manage big teams.”. One of the important attributes required by an entrepreneur is the ability to manage and lead people. An entrepreneur directs his team to stick towards meeting the timeline and achieving the milestones for the startup. At times of difficulty and crisis, the entrepreneur needs to exhibit leadership to steer the team from a low morale to a high one. The art of leadership stems from the understanding of exercising power. I have always preached that the best leaders are those who can acquire power by giving it away, i.e. they are able to delegate well to their team mates to get the job done while focussing on other tasks at hand. Hence the post today is to talk about the laws of power.

48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
Imagine a book which summarizes all the best concepts and lessons in power from all the known classics, such as Sun Tzu “The Art of War”, Machievelli “The Prince”, Baltasar Gracian “The Oracle: A Manual of the Art of Discretion”, and taking examples from human history which demonstrate both the trangressions and observance of the laws of power, Robert Greene’s book is truly a classic.

Before you will move through the list and start memorizing the laws, it is important to take a step back. FIrst of all, you will notice some laws contradict each other. Among my personal friends, we have a common interpretation of the book. Here is our insight which I believe that you should heed before thinking about using every law to hurt others. I call my insight “Law 0” and use this book as a mirror to classify behaviour of different people using these laws of power and think about how to defend yourself against it. We all agree that if a person will to use every law in this book, it is just a matter of time when these laws will backfire on the person. Hence, the warning shot is being fired here for the reader.

1. Never Outshine The Master
Always make those above you feel comfortably superior. In your desire to please or impress them, do not go to far in displaying your talents or you might accomplish the opposite – inspire fear and insecurity. Make your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain the heights of power.

2. Never Put Too Much Trust In Friends, Learn How To Use Enemies
Be wary of friends – they will betray you more quickly, for they are easily aroused to envy. They also become spoiled and tyrannical. But hire a former enemy and he will be more loyal than a friend, because he has more to prove. In fact, you have more to fear from friends than from enemies. If you have no enemies, find a way to make them.

3. Conceal Your Intentions
Keep people off balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions. If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot prepare a defense. Guide them far enough down the wrong path, envelop them in enough smoke, and by the time they realize your intentions, it will be too late.

4. Always Say Less Than Necessary
When you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear, and the less in control. Even if you are saying something banal, it will seem original if you make it vague, open ended, and sphinx like. Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less. The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish.

5. So Much Depends On Reputation – Guard It With Your Life
Reputation is the cornerstone of power. Through reputation alone you can intimidate and win; once it slips, however, you are vulnerable, and will be attacked on all sides. Make your reputation unassailable. Always be alert to potential attacks and thwart them before they happen. Meanwhile, learn to destroy your enemies by opening holes in their own reputations. Then stand aside and let public opinion hang them.

6. Court Attention At All Cost
Everything is judged by its appearance; what is unseen counts for nothing. Never let yourself get lost in the crowd, then, or buried in oblivion. Stand out. Be conspicuous, at all cost. Make yourself a magnet of attention by appearing larger, more colorful, more mysterious than the bland and timid masses.

7. Get Others To Do The Work For You, But Always Take The Credit
Use the wisdom, knowledge, and legwork of other people to further your own cause. Not only will such assistance save you valuable time and energy, it will give you godlike aura of efficiency and speed. In the end your helpers will be forgotten and you will be remembered. Never do yourself what others can do for you.

8. Make Other People Come To You – Use Bait If Necessary
When you force the other person to act, you are the one in control. It is always better to make your opponent come to you, abandoning his own plans in the process. Lure him with valuable gains – then attack. You hold the cards.

9. Win Through Your Actions, Never Through Argument
Any momentary triumph you think you have gained through argument is really a Pyrrhic victory: The resentment and ill will you stir up is stronger and last longer than any momentary change of opinion. It is much more powerful to get others to agree with you through your actions, without saying a word. Demonstrate, do not explicate.

10. Infection: Avoid The Unlucky And The Unhappy
You can die from someone else’s misery – emotional states are as infectious as diseases. You may feel you are helping the drowning man but you are only precipitating your own disaster: The unfortunate sometimes draw misfortune on themselves; they will also draw it on you. Associate with the happy and fortunate instead.

11. Learn To Keep People Dependant Of You
To maintain your independence you must always be needed and wanted. The more you are relied upon, the more freedom you have. Make people dependent on you for their happiness and prosperity and you have nothing to fear. Never teach them enough so that they can do without you.

12. Use Selective Honesty And Generosity To Disarm Your Victim
One sincere and honest move will cover over dozens of dishonest ones. Open – hearted gestures of honesty and generosity bring down the guard of even the most suspicious people. Once your selective honesty opens a hole in their armor, you can deceive and manipulate then all at will. A timely gift – a Trojan horse – will serve the same purpose.

13. When Asking For Help, Appeal To People’s Self Interest, Never To Their Mercy Or Gratitude
If you need to turn to an ally for help, do not bother to remind him of your past assistance and good deeds. He will find a way to ignore you. Instead, uncover something in your request, or in your alliance with him, that will benefit him, and emphasize it out of all proportion. He will respond enthusiastically when he sees something to be gained for himself.