Robert Greene wrote a book that offers a series of Strategies for Obtaining and Maintaining Power in various situations. Here I leave you a summary of the 48 Laws:
1.
Don’t Outshine the Boss: Make your Superiors feel Superior. Don’t expose your Talent too much or you might Trigger their Insecurity.
2.
Don’t Trust friends too much, use your Enemies: Friends Betray you more easily, but if you manage to WIN an Enemy, they will be more Loyal.
3.
Hide your Intentions: Keep People Off Balance so they can’t anticipate your Actions.
4.
Always say Less than Necessary: Silence Breeds Power, and Talking too much Reveals your Plans.
5.
Protect your Reputation at all Costs: Reputation is the Cornerstone of Power.
6.
Call Attention at all Costs: Be Visible to be Relevant.
7.
Make others Work for you and Attribute it: Take Advantage of the Work and Effort of others to your Advantage.
8.
Make others come to you: Don’t Run after Others, make them Look for you.
9.
Win with Actions, Never Arguments: Prove your Point through Actions, Not Words.
10.
Avoid Losers and Unhappy: The Misfortune of others is Contagious; stay away from those who Bring you Down.
11.
Make People Depend on you: If others Depend on you, you’re in Control.
12.
Disarm with Sincerity and Selective Generosity: Emotional Disarmament will give you an Edge.
13.
When you ask for Help, Appeal to the Interests of Others: Appeal to what Benefits Others, not Gratitude or Compassion.
14.
Introduce yourself as a Friend, act as a Spy: Learn to Extract Valuable Information from others without them Noticing.
15.
Crush your Enemy Completely: Do not let your Enemy Recover, or he will seek Revenge.
16.
Use Absence to Increase Respect: The Value of Something Increases with Scarcity..
17.
Keep Others in Suspense: Be Unpredictable, you will Confuse Others and Gain Power.
18.
Do Not Isolate yourself: Loneliness Weakens you; Engage yourself in the Web of Influence.
19.
Know Who You’re Dealing With: Choose Your Opponents And Partners Wisely.
20.
Don’t compromise with anyone: Maintain your Independence so you don’t get Caught up in other People’s Affairs.
21.
Pretend to be a Fool to Catch the Sly: Let others think they have an advantage over you.
22.
Use the Surrender Tactic: Sometimes giving in at the Right Time gives you the Advantage.
23.
Focus your Forces: Keep your Energy Focused on what really Matters.
24.
Be a Master at Simulation and Disguise: Don’t reveal all your cards.
25.
Recreate your own identity: Be the architect of your own destiny.
26.
Keep your hands clean: Make sure the responsibility for the problems falls on others.
27.
Play with people’s needs to create devotion: Satisfy their deep desires to earn you their loyalty.
28.
Be bold in acting: Timidity is dangerous, and boldness is powerful.
29.
Plan everything to the end: Having a detailed plan allows you to avoid unpleasant surprises.
30.
Make your accomplishments look easy: Minimize the effort you put in to make others think you have innate talent.
31.
Control Other People’s Options: Guide the decisions of others by giving them limited options.
32.
Play with people’s fantasy: Appeal to people’s emotions and dreams to gain clout.
33.
Discover the weaknesses of others: Identify what drives people to manipulate their actions.
34.
Be a rule in your behavior: Power lies in the appearance of greatness and dignity.
35.
Master the art of timing: Don’t rush; everything has its right time.
36.
Despise what you can’t have: Don’t obsess over things that are out of your reach.
37.
Create engaging spectacles: Theatrics and spectacles capture attention.
38.
Think as you wish, but behave like everyone else: Do not openly defy social norms.
39.
Stir the waters to catch fish: Destabilize others to make mistakes.
40.
Despise-free: What is free usually comes with a hidden cost.
41.
Avoid imitating great men: Forge your own path instead of following in the footsteps of others.
42.
Beat the shepherd and the sheep will scatter: He demolishes leaders to weaken his followers.
43.
Work on the hearts and minds of others: Conquer the spirit of people to control them.
44.
Disarm and anger with mirror effect: Reflect the actions of others to destabilize them.
45.
Preach the need for change, but never reform too much: Radical change can generate resistance.
46.
Never look too perfect: Perfection breeds envy and haters.
47.
Don’t exceed your goal: When you achieve what you want, retire on time.
48.
Be amorphous: Be adaptable, don’t limit yourself to a rigid form.
These laws are designed to handle situations of power, but it’s important to consider context and personal ethics when applying them.
