The World's Best Book Summaries
Overview of Law #19: Know Who You’re Dealing With—Do Not Offend the Wrong Person There are many different kinds of people, and each will react differently to attempts to deceive them. You need to know who you’re dealing with and avoid the types who will waste your time or exact revenge.
Who was Otto von Bismarck? How did he keep his power in a rapidly-changing Europe? What can he teach us about maintaining power? Otto von Bismarck was a Prussian diplomat and politician who controlled German foreign affairs for 30 years in the mid- to late-1800s. We’ll cover what made Otto von Bismarck so powerful and how you can apply those lessons to your relationships and careers.
Overview of Law #12: Use Selective Honesty and Generosity to Disarm Your Victim You can use selective honesty and generosity to disarm your victim and distract others from your schemes. It works because even the most suspicious people respond emotionally, like a child, to acts of kindness.
Overview of Law #11: Learn to Keep People Dependent on You The more that a superior needs you, the more security and freedom you have to pursue your goals, so make him dependent on you. Never let superiors think they can get along without you. Learn to keep people dependent on you.
Overview of Law #15: Crush Your Enemy Totally Crush your enemy totally. Don’t go halfway with them or give them any options whatsoever. If you leave even one ember smoldering, it will eventually ignite. You can’t afford to be lenient.
We’re taught that in order to be powerful and innovative, we need to break the rules. But while some rules are made to be broken, many principles became rules because they were effective. More often than not, it pays to play by the rules, especially if your goal is power. Below, discover the top 15 rules for power. We’ll cover how these rules of power came from the aristocratic court system and how we can still play by the rules today to gain power in the modern world.
Overview of Law #18: Do Not Build Fortresses to Protect Yourself—Isolation is Dangerous Never isolate yourself when you come under pressure. This just cuts you off from information you need and people who could help you, and when real danger arises you won’t see it coming. Instead, make a point of being outgoing. Contact with others increases your power. Isolation is dangerous.
Overview of Law #3: Conceal Your Intentions Always conceal your intentions. If you keep people off-balance and in the dark, they can’t counter your efforts. Send them down the wrong path with a red herring or create a smokescreen and by the time they realize what you’re up to, it will be too late for them to interfere.
Ever wonder how you can be mysterious? Or how being mysterious might benefit you in work and life? Mystery can bring you power. If you’re mysterious, people want to know more, and their lack of knowledge and desire to figure you out gives you power over them. Use the examples below to learn why and how to be mysterious to gain more power over others.
Overview of Law #14: Pose as a Friend, Work as a Spy Collecting information through spying is essential to wielding power. When you know your opponent’s secrets, you can predict his behavior and control him. You can enlist spies to gather intelligence for you, but it’s better to be a spy yourself. Adopt a friendly manner and you’ll get people to spill their plans and weaknesses. Pose as a Friend, Work as a Spy.