It's long, but a worthy read.
http://www.tech.purdue.edu/Cgt/Courses/cgt411/covey/48_laws_of_power.htm
by Robert Greene and Joost Elffers
Law 1
Never Outshine the Master
Always make those above you feel comfortably superior. In your desire
to please or impress them, do not go too 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.
Law 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.
Law 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,
envelope them in enough smoke, and by the time they realize your
intentions, it will be too late.
Law 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 sphinxlike. Powerful people impress and intimidate by
saying less. The more you say, the more likely you are to say
something foolish.
Law 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 you slip, 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.
Law 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.
Law 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 a 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.
Law 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 fabulous gains – then attack. You
hold the cards.
Law 9
Win through your Actions, Never through Argument
Any momentary triumph you think gained through argument is really a
Pyrrhic victory: The resentment and ill will you stir up is stronger
and lasts 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.
Law 10
Infection: Avoid the Unhappy and Unlucky
You can die from someone else's misery – emotional states are as
infectious as disease. 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.
Law 11
Learn to Keep People Dependent on You
To maintain your independence you must always be needed and wanted.
The more you are relied on, the more freedom you have. Make people
depend on you for their happiness and prosperity and you have nothing
to fear. Never teach them enough so that they can do without you.
Law 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 them at will. A
timely gift – a Trojan horse – will serve the same purpose.
Law 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.
Law 14
Pose as a Friend, Work as a Spy
Knowing about your rival is critical. Use spies to gather valuable
information that will keep you a step ahead. Better still: Play the
spy yourself. In polite social encounters, learn to probe. Ask
indirect questions to get people to reveal their weaknesses and
intentions. There is no occasion that is not an opportunity for artful
spying.
Law 15
Crush your Enemy Totally
All great leaders since Moses have known that a feared enemy must be
crushed completely. (Sometimes they have learned this the hard way.)
If one ember is left alight, no matter how dimly it smolders, a fire
will eventually break out. More is lost through stopping halfway than
through total annihilation: The enemy will recover, and will seek
revenge. Crush him, not only in body but in spirit.
Law 16
Use Absence to Increase Respect and Honor
Too much circulation makes the price go down: The more you are seen
and heard from, the more common you appear. If you are already
established in a group, temporary withdrawal from it will make you
more talked about, even more admired. You must learn when to leave.
Create value through scarcity.
Law 17
Keep Others in Suspended Terror: Cultivate an Air of Unpredictability
Humans are creatures of habit with an insatiable need to see
familiarity in other people's actions. Your predictability gives them
a sense of control. Turn the tables: Be deliberately unpredictable.
Behavior that seems to have no consistency or purpose will keep them
off-balance, and they will wear themselves out trying to explain your
moves. Taken to an extreme, this strategy can intimidate and
terrorize.
Law 18
Do Not Build Fortresses to Protect Yourself – Isolation is Dangerous
The world is dangerous and enemies are everywhere – everyone has to
protect themselves. A fortress seems the safest. But isolation exposes
you to more dangers than it protects you from – it cuts you off from
valuable information, it makes you conspicuous and an easy target.
Better to circulate among people find allies, mingle. You are shielded
from your enemies by the crowd.
Law 19
Know Who You're Dealing with – Do Not Offend the Wrong Person
There are many different kinds of people in the world, and you can
never assume that everyone will react to your strategies in the same
way. Deceive or outmaneuver some people and they will spend the rest
of their lives seeking revenge. They are wolves in lambs' clothing.
Choose your victims and opponents carefully, then – never offend or
deceive the wrong person.
Law 20
Do Not Commit to Anyone
It is the fool who always rushes to take sides. Do not commit to any
side or cause but yourself. By maintaining your independence, you
become the master of others – playing people against one another,
making them pursue you.
Law 21
Play a Sucker to Catch a Sucker – Seem Dumber than your Mark
No one likes feeling stupider than the next persons. The trick, is to
make your victims feel smart – and not just smart, but smarter than
you are. Once convinced of this, they will never suspect that you may
have ulterior motives.
Law 22
Use the Surrender Tactic: Transform Weakness into Power
When you are weaker, never fight for honor's sake; choose surrender
instead. Surrender gives you time to recover, time to torment and
irritate your conqueror, time to wait for his power to wane. Do not
give him the satisfaction of fighting and defeating you – surrender
first. By turning the other check you infuriate and unsettle him. Make
surrender a tool of power.
Law 23
Concentrate Your Forces
Conserve your forces and energies by keeping them concentrated at
their strongest point. You gain more by finding a rich mine and mining
it deeper, than by flitting from one shallow mine to another –
intensity defeats extensity every time. When looking for sources of
power to elevate you, find the one key patron, the fat cow who will
give you milk for a long time to come.
Law 24
Play the Perfect Courtier
The perfect courtier thrives in a world where everything revolves
around power and political dexterity. He has mastered the art of
indirection; he flatters, yields to superiors, and asserts power over
others in the mot oblique and graceful manner. Learn and apply the
laws of courtiership and there will be no limit to how far you can
rise in the court.
Law 25
Re-Create Yourself
Do not accept the roles that society foists on you. Re-create yourself
by forging a new identity, one that commands attention and never bores
the audience. Be the master of your own image rather than letting
others define if for you. Incorporate dramatic devices into your
public gestures and actions – your power will be enhanced and your
character will seem larger than life.
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.
Law 27
Play on People's Need to Believe to Create a Cultlike Following
People have an overwhelming desire to believe in something. Become the
focal point of such desire by offering them a cause, a new faith to
follow. Keep your words vague but full of promise; emphasize
enthusiasm over rationality and clear thinking. Give your new
disciples rituals to perform, ask them to make sacrifices on your
behalf. In the absence of organized religion and grand causes, your
new belief system will bring you untold power.
Law 28
Enter Action with Boldness
If you are unsure of a course of action, do not attempt it. Your
doubts and hesitations will infect your execution. Timidity is
dangerous: Better to enter with boldness. Any mistakes you commit
through audacity are easily corrected with more audacity. Everyone
admires the bold; no one honors the timid.
Law 29
Plan All the Way to the End
The ending is everything. Plan all the way to it, taking into account
all the possible consequences, obstacles, and twists of fortune that
might reverse your hard work and give the glory to others. By planning
to the end you will not be overwhelmed by circumstances and you will
know when to stop. Gently guide fortune and help determine the future
by thinking far ahead.
Law 30
Make your Accomplishments Seem Effortless
Your actions must seem natural and executed with ease. All the toil
and practice that go into them, and also all the clever tricks, must
be concealed. When you act, act effortlessly, as if you could do much
more. Avoid the temptation of revealing how hard you work – it only
raises questions. Teach no one your tricks or they will be used
against you.
Law 31
Control the Options: Get Others to Play with the Cards you Deal
The best deceptions are the ones that seem to give the other person a
choice: Your victims feel they are in control, but are actually your
puppets. Give people options that come out in your favor whichever one
they choose. Force them to make choices between the lesser of two
evils, both of which serve your purpose. Put them on the horns of a
dilemma: They are gored wherever they turn.
Law 32
Play to People's Fantasies
The truth is often avoided because it is ugly and unpleasant. Never
appeal to truth and reality unless you are prepared for the anger that
comes for disenchantment. Life is so harsh and distressing that people
who can manufacture romance or conjure up fantasy are like oases in
the desert: Everyone flocks to them. There is great power in tapping
into the fantasies of the masses.
Law 33
Discover Each Man's Thumbscrew
Everyone has a weakness, a gap in the castle wall. That weakness is
usual y an insecurity, an uncontrollable emotion or need; it can also
be a small secret pleasure. Either way, once found, it is a thumbscrew
you can turn to your advantage.
Law 34
Be Royal in your Own Fashion: Act like a King to be treated like one
The way you carry yourself will often determine how you are treated;
In the long run, appearing vulgar or common will make people
disrespect you. For a king respects himself and inspires the same
sentiment in others. By acting regally and confident of your powers,
you make yourself seem destined to wear a crown.
Law 35
Master the Art of Timing
Never seem to be in a hurry – hurrying betrays a lack of control over
yourself, and over time. Always seem patient, as if you know that
everything will come to you eventually. Become a detective of the
right moment; sniff out the spirit of the times, the trends that will
carry you to power. Learn to stand back when the time is not yet ripe,
and to strike fiercely when it has reached fruition.
Law 36
Disdain Things you cannot have: Ignoring them is the best Revenge
By acknowledging a petty problem you give it existence and
credibility. The more attention you pay an enemy, the stronger you
make him; and a small mistake is often made worse and more visible
when you try to fix it. It is sometimes best to leave things alone. If
there is something you want but cannot have, show contempt for it. The
less interest you reveal, the more superior you seem.
Law 37
Create Compelling Spectacles
Striking imagery and grand symbolic gestures create the aura of power
– everyone responds to them. Stage spectacles for those around you,
then full of arresting visuals and radiant symbols that heighten your
presence. Dazzled by appearances, no one will notice what you are
really doing.
Law 38
Think as you like but Behave like others
If you make a show of going against the times, flaunting your
unconventional ideas and unorthodox ways, people will think that you
only want attention and that you look down upon them. They will find a
way to punish you for making them feel inferior. It is far safer to
blend in and nurture the common touch. Share your originality only
with tolerant friends and those who are sure to appreciate your
uniqueness.
Law 39
Stir up Waters to Catch Fish
Anger and emotion are strategically counterproductive. You must always
stay calm and objective. But if you can make your enemies angry while
staying calm yourself, you gain a decided advantage. Put your enemies
off-balance: Find the chink in their vanity through which you can
rattle them and you hold the strings.
Law 40
Despise the Free Lunch
What is offered for free is dangerous – it usually involves either a
trick or a hidden obligation. What has worth is worth paying for. By
paying your own way you stay clear of gratitude, guilt, and deceit. It
is also often wise to pay the full price – there is no cutting corners
with excellence. Be lavish with your money and keep it circulating,
for generosity is a sign and a magnet for power.
Law 41
Avoid Stepping into a Great Man's Shoes
What happens first always appears better and more original than what
comes after. If you succeed a great man or have a famous parent, you
will have to accomplish double their achievements to outshine them. Do
not get lost in their shadow, or stuck in a past not of your own
making: Establish your own name and identity by changing course. Slay
the overbearing father, disparage his legacy, and gain power by
shining in your own way.
Law 42
Strike the Shepherd and the Sheep will Scatter
Trouble can often be traced to a single strong individual – the
stirrer, the arrogant underling, the poisoned of goodwill. If you
allow such people room to operate, others will succumb to their
influence. Do not wait for the troubles they cause to multiply, do not
try to negotiate with them – they are irredeemable. Neutralize their
influence by isolating or banishing them. Strike at the source of the
trouble and the sheep will scatter.
Law 43
Work on the Hearts and Minds of Others
Coercion creates a reaction that will eventually work against you. You
must seduce others into wanting to move in your direction. A person
you have seduced becomes your loyal pawn. And the way to seduce others
is to operate on their individual psychologies and weaknesses. Soften
up the resistant by working on their emotions, playing on what they
hold dear and what they fear. Ignore the hearts and minds of others
and they will grow to hate you.
Law 44
Disarm and Infuriate with the Mirror Effect
The mirror reflects reality, but it is also the perfect tool for
deception: When you mirror your enemies, doing exactly as they do,
they cannot figure out your strategy. The Mirror Effect mocks and
humiliates them, making them overreact. By holding up a mirror to
their psyches, you seduce them with the illusion that you share their
values; by holding up a mirror to their actions, you teach them a
lesson. Few can resist the power of Mirror Effect.
Law 45
Preach the Need for Change, but Never Reform too much at Once
Everyone understands the need for change in the abstract, but on the
day-to-day level people are creatures of habit. Too much innovation is
traumatic, and will lead to revolt. If you are new to a position of
power, or an outsider trying to build a power base, make a show of
respecting the old way of doing things. If change is necessary, make
it feel like a gentle improvement on the past.
Law 46
Never appear too Perfect
Appearing better than others is always dangerous, but most dangerous
of all is to appear to have no faults or weaknesses. Envy creates
silent enemies. It is smart to occasionally display defects, and admit
to harmless vices, in order to deflect envy and appear more human and
approachable. Only gods and the dead can seem perfect with impunity.
Law 47
Do not go Past the Mark you Aimed for; In Victory, Learn when to Stop
The moment of victory is often the moment of greatest peril. In the
heat of victory, arrogance and overconfidence can push you past the
goal you had aimed for, and by going too far, you make more enemies
than you defeat. Do not allow success to go to your head. There is no
substitute for strategy and careful planning. Set a goal, and when you
reach it, stop.
Law 48
Assume Formlessness
By taking a shape, by having a visible plan, you open yourself to
attack. Instead of taking a form for your enemy to grasp, keep
yourself adaptable and on the move. Accept the fact that nothing is
certain and no law is fixed. The best way to protect yourself is to be
as fluid and formless as water; never bet on stability or lasting
order. Everything changes.
