[Long post] "The 48 Laws of Power" [Q&A includ

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I borrowed Robert Greene’s “The 48 Laws of Power” from the library after returning Jeffrey Pfeffer’s “Power: Why Some People Have It and Some People Don’t” to the library. Um, I would like to give Greene’s book three stars out of five.

Why I dislike Greene’s book…

1. Some of his 48 laws either replicate or contradict one another, I assume that people will say “Oh, the laws contradict one another because you are supposed to follow different laws in different situations”, but I still think that Greene should have eliminated as many laws as possible from this book.
2. Pfeffer’s book starts off as dark/pessimistic/Machiavellian in tone but ends up rather bright/optimistic/Pollyannaish in tone. I had an easier time digesting Pfeffer’s book as compared to Greene’s book. Greene maintains a “Hey all! I’m teaching you how to be dark, defensive and demonic.” tone throughout his book. A netizen had already pointed out that if Greene had employed some other tone while writing this book, maybe this book would just be another harmless “ how to improve your soft skills” self-help book.

Why I like Greene’s book…

1. He mentioned lots and lots of historical figures in his examples, making his book a breeze to read (very lively examples) despite its thickness. I’m pleasantly surprised that he even mentioned some historical figures whom I’m currently obsessed with.
2. He used “an image” (a metaphor) to illustrate every law; interesting indeed. For example, for “Law 1: Never outshine the master”, he wrote “Image: The Stars in the Sky. There can only be one sun at a time. Never obscure the sunlight, or rival the sun’s brilliance; rather, fade into the sky and find ways to heighten the master star’s intensity.”
3. I have countless questions about why certain people behave in certain ways. This book solved some of my questions.

Q&A (Mostly based on my own experiences)

Q: Once upon a time, there were two politicians, Mr. Square and Mr. Circle. Mr. Square was older, better-looking, more charismatic, more experienced and more scholarly than Mr. Circle, but somehow he ended up as Mr. Circle’s deputy. Mr. Square started ruining his own image since then. For example…
1. Whenever he was photographed with Mr. Circle, he always slouched and grinned like an idiot, causing Mr. Circle to appear far more photogenic than him.
2. Other politicians noticed that if Mr. Circle ever wore cheap and shabbier clothes, Mr. Square would wear cheaper and even shabbier clothes if he had to accompany Mr. Circle.
3. Mr. Square dumbed his own speeches down. As a result, Mr. Circle’s speeches always drew louder applause than Mr. Square’s speeches.
4. Mr. Square portrayed himself as a lout through his mannerisms. Furthermore, he was indeed a lout who accomplished various dirty deeds on Mr. Circle’s behalf so that Mr. Circle didn’t have to dirty his own hands.
Was Mr. Square nuts???
A: Mr. Square wasn’t nuts. On the contrary, he was very clever. He understood “Law 1: Never outshine the master” well. Masters such as Mr. Circle adore men who make them shine in the eyes of others, not men who outshine them.

Q: In a Chinese period drama, there was a character named An Ling Rong. She was a royal concubine who had made many enemies in the palace. Two such enemies were former friends (fellow royal concubines) who helped Ling Rong in gaining the Emperor’s affection when she was still a nobody among royal concubines. Why did Ling Rong treat these two former friends more viciously than all other enemies?
A: According to Greene, some people feel ashamed of themselves whenever they interact with friends who frequently helped them out in the past. These friends remind them of their past humiliations. They feel that nothing they do can ever repay their friends’ kindness, so they will repay their friends’ kindness with ingratitude instead. In some cases, these people would turn such friends into enemies so that they wouldn’t have to repay the friends’ kindness.

Q: Why do some people talk a lot but say very little? I think that they are merely empty vessels making lots of noise!
A: According to Greene, if you are usually silent, some people are inclined to harm you because your silence intimidates them, but if you talk too much about your true opinions regarding various issues, you might end up offending people whose opinions differ from yours. One solution is to talk frequently about frivolous topics because the more frivolous the topic, the less likely what you say will offend people.

Q: Why do my bullies enjoy such good reputations? Even worse, none of the people around me believe that I have been bullied because my bullies’ reputations are so good!
A: Generally speaking, people would rather judge you based on your reputation than who you really are. Your bullies have targeted you because they believe that no matter how fiercely you fight back, you can’t even leave a single dent in their reputation.

Q: Why do people take credit for the work of those below them in the hierarchy while giving credit for their own work to those above them in the same hierarchy?
A: To be honest, I’m not very sure if I can answer this question well. If I were to be politically correct, I would say that good leaders deserve to take credit for others’ works because they have been good delegators. Um, a leader’s responsibility is to delegate work to followers while a follower’s responsibility is to make leaders look good. (I once had a teacher who told the class, “As a leader, if any of your followers messes up, you will be held accountable for that mistake.”)

Q: Both Jane Doe and I are equally at fault in this conflict, so why is Jane Doe forcing me to apologize to her?
A: According to Greene’s “Law 8: Make people come to you—use bait if necessary”, he/she who makes others react to his/her moves is the winner because he/she has been in control of the situation. That’s why Jane Doe has been forcing you to come to her with an apology. (Argh! I have fallen for this ploy numerous times, apologizing to people even though they are at fault too.)

Q: I remembered posting on WP long ago that the people around me keep telling me not to bottle my feelings up, but they all shun me when I’m looking for a shoulder to cry on. Why???
A: According to Greene’s “Law 10: Avoid the unhappy and unlucky”, if you surround yourself with happy people, you will feel happy too. If you get too close to a sad person, his/her sadness will infect you. Therefore, if you want to stay happy, don’t lend your shoulder for anybody to cry on.

Q: When I was watching “The Apprentice” long ago, I got upset whenever some jerk remained in the show episode after episode just because his/her teammates found him/her “competent, hence indispensable”. Why?
A: According to Greene’s “Law 11: Learn to keep people dependent on you”, teammates do keep jerks on the team as long as those jerks possess certain skills essential to the team’s success that everybody else on the team lacks. Those jerks usually earn fear rather than love, but Machiavelli once said, “It’s better to be feared than to be loved.”

Q: Why nobody agrees to help me out even though I’m nice and polite whenever I ask people for help?
A: According to Greene’s “Law 13: When asking for help, appeal to people’s self-interest, never to their mercy or gratitude”, when you ask people for help, being nice and polite isn’t enough. You should explain to people how they will benefit themselves by helping you.

Q: Why do some people dig out information that they later use against me through small talk?
A: Let me quote an excerpt from Greene’s “Law 14: Pose as a friend, work as a spy”… “During social gatherings and innocuous encounters, pay attention. This is when people’s guards are down. By suppressing your own personality, you can make them reveal things.”

Q: Why do some people blow hot and cold when interacting with me, taking a dreadfully long time to reply my emails even though they aren’t as busy as they seem?
A: According to Greene’s “Law 16: Use absence to increase respect and honor”, rare things are expensive because they are difficult to obtain. Likewise, people who are difficult to contact might seem high in status.

Q: Why are my bullies trying out various ways and means to isolate me?
A: According to Greene’s “Law 18: Do not build fortresses to protect yourself—isolation is dangerous”, when you are isolated, you are vulnerable to attacks from all directions because no ally will arrive to rescue you.

Q: Why do most people resemble chameleons?
A: Let me quote an excerpt from Greene’s “Law 25: Re-create yourself”… “Learn to play many roles to be whatever the moment requires.”

Q: Why do some people force me to be the bearer of bad news when they jolly well know that the messenger is always shot?
A: Let me quote an excerpt from Greene’s “Law 26: Keep your hands clean”… “You must seem a paragon of civility and efficiency. Your hands are never soiled by mistakes and nasty deeds. Maintain such a spotless appearance by using others as scapegoats and cat’s paws to disguise your involvement.”

Q: Why do some of my classmates keep lying to me that they have never studied for any test although the truth is that they have been studying very hard?
A: If you create the illusion that you have accomplished every task effortlessly and gracefully, people will admire you as though you were a god.

Q: My company would be merging with another company soon. The most powerful clique within my company strongly opposed the merger because the other company’s boss had always hated the clique leader to the core. Anyway, my boss promised that he would give everybody the chance to vote regarding the merger. To my horror, he gave everybody the following options, all cloaked in legal jargon…
Option A: I agree to the merger…
Option B: I agree to the merger…
Option C: I agree to the merger…
The most powerful clique started urging everybody to spoil their votes, but upon hearing that, my boss said cheerfully, “Oh, if I see any spoilt vote, I will convert that vote into a vote for any of the three options given.”
The most powerful clique sent some representatives to complain about my boss to the industry association. To their horror, the industry association (which mainly consisted of bosses all in the same industry) refused to take any action against my boss. Some bosses even contacted my boss, requesting him to teach them “how to be a good boss”. What’s going on?
A: Your boss understood “Law 31: Control the options: Get others to play with the cards you deal” very well. No wonder other bosses view him as a “good boss”. Give people the freedom to choose, but give them limited choices.

Q: Why do some people blog that “I’m not offended by what those cyberbullies have done to me at all” although the truth is that they are offended to the extent that they have already reported the cyberbullies to the police?
A: According to Greene’s “Law 36: Disdain things you cannot have: Ignoring them is the best revenge”, when somebody else attacks you, look away and answer sweetly that you haven’t even noticed the attack.

Q: Why do students disrespect teachers who frequently lose their temper?
A: Let me quote an excerpt from Greene’s “Law 39: Stir up waters to catch fish”… “People may temporarily be cowed by your tantrums, but in the end they lose respect for you. They also realize they can easily undermine a person with so little self-control.”

To all: Have you read "The 48 Laws of Power" before? If you did, how many stars would you give it out of five?

"Generally speaking, people would rather judge you based on your reputation than who you really are."

Wow, this explains a lot.