{"id":1386,"date":"2019-09-23T15:34:09","date_gmt":"2019-09-23T19:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=1386"},"modified":"2022-03-08T09:44:54","modified_gmt":"2022-03-08T13:44:54","slug":"48-laws-of-power-law-41-avoid-stepping-into-a-great-mans-shoes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/48-laws-of-power-law-41-avoid-stepping-into-a-great-mans-shoes\/","title":{"rendered":"48 Laws of Power | Law 41: Avoid Stepping into a Great Man&#8217;s Shoes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Overview of <strong>Law #41: <\/strong>Avoid Stepping into a Great Man&#8217;s Shoes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you succeed a great person or famous parent, find or create your own space to fill. Sharply separate and distance yourself from the past. Create your own identity, style, and symbols, and follow your own course. Beware of slipping back into the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Principles<\/strong> of Law 41<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Many successors struggle when they have to succeed a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/characteristics-of-a-good-leader\/\">great leader<\/a> or famous parent<\/strong>. It\u2019s difficult because the predecessor succeeded by building power from scratch. The successor is starting with a fait accompli, which is difficult to improve on. This is why you should avoid stepping into a great man&#8217;s shoes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s also outside pressure on the successor to continue on the same course, since it\u2019s working, rather than break with tradition and precedent. The successor may be afraid to lose his inheritance as well, and therefore hesitates to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/48-laws-of-power-law-45-preach-the-need-for-change-but-never-reform-too-much-at-once\/\">change things<\/a>.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But power requires you to appear larger than other people. When you\u2019re stuck in a great predecessor\u2019s shadow, it\u2019s difficult to project even more greatness. But if you find yourself in this situation, there are ways to overcome it.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Law 41 of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-are-the-48-laws-of-power\/\">48 Laws of Power<\/a>, you need the ability to fill a vacuum, or to occupy and dominate a new space. <strong>When you succeed a great leader, you must find or create your own space to fill.<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To avoid stepping into a great man&#8217;s shoes, start creating your space by separating yourself from your predecessor:<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>\u201cKill\u201d the past and your predecessor by disparaging them<\/strong>. Contrast young with old, the new era against the old era. When John F. Kennedy was elected president, he did everything he could to distinguish himself from Dwight Eisenhower and the fifties era, by making the old look stodgy and the new vigorous and exciting. For instance, instead of playing golf, which was associated with Eisenhower and an older generation, Kennedy played football on the White House lawn.<\/li><li><strong>Use symbolism to physically distance yourself<\/strong>. King Louis XIV built his own palace, Versailles, which was unlike any that had come before. He established his own rituals, rejecting those of the past.<\/li><li><strong>Burn the instruction manuals<\/strong>: When General Douglas MacArthur took charge of American forces in the Philippines in World War II, an aide gave him a book of instructions from predecessors. MacArthur told him to burn the manual and any copies; he would make his own decisions in his own way. Similarly, you should reject precedent, and learn to respond to circumstances, which will be different from those of the past.<\/li><li><strong>Most importantly, look for vacuums to fill<\/strong>. While there may not be physical territory or kingdoms to conquer, there are always problems and challenges that have defied solution. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/48-laws-of-power-law-28-enter-action-with-boldness\/\">Act boldly<\/a> \u2014 most people are afraid to break sharply with tradition, but they respect and admire those who do.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>On a cautionary note, <strong>beware of becoming more like your predecessor over time<\/strong>, as children get more like their parents as they age. Continually <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/48-laws-of-power-law-25-recreate-yourself\/\">recreate yourself<\/a>, and fill new voids. Don\u2019t rest on your laurels or slip into the ways of the past.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Putting Law 41 to Work<\/strong><br><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Here is an example of how to apply Law 41 of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-48-laws-of-power-about\/\">48 Laws of Power<\/a>: Alexander the Great, who succeeded his father, King Philip of Macedonia, set out to be completely different. Philip created an era of strength and prosperity, but Alexander despised his domineering stance toward his son, as well as his cautious and prudent style of ruling, and pleasure-seeking lifestyle.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When he became king, Alexander was bold and reckless, strengthening his hold throughout Greece, conquering Persia and expanding into India. On a march into Persia, he came upon a chariot tied to a tree with a so-called Gordian knot that no one had been able to untie. He slashed it with his sword, demonstrating he would do things his own way.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He didn\u2019t stop with conquering Persia \u2014 he didn\u2019t want past triumphs to surpass the present, so he never rested on his laurels.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Exceptions to Law 41<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Are there any exceptions to Law 41 of the 48 Laws of Power? Should you ever <em>not<\/em> avoid stepping into a great man&#8217;s shoes? There are times when it pays to do something the way it was done in the past. Don\u2019t reject something useful out of spite; you\u2019ll look childish. Emulate what was done well, but beware of getting stuck. In general, it&#8217;s safest to follow Law 41 of the 48 Laws of Power: Avoid Stepping into a Great Man&#8217;s Shoes.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, keep your eye on potential future rivals, who are rising up in hopes of taking your place. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Overview of Law #41: Avoid Stepping into a Great Man&#8217;s Shoes If you succeed a great person or famous parent, find or create your own space to fill. Sharply separate and distance yourself from the past. Create your own identity, style, and symbols, and follow your own course. Beware of slipping back into the past.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1244,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[38],"class_list":["post-1386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career","tag-48-laws-of-power","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>48 Laws of Power | Law 41: Avoid Stepping into a Great Man&#039;s Shoes - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In The 48 Laws of Power, Law 41 is \u201cAvoid Stepping into a Great Man&#039;s Shoes.\u201d Learn what Law 41 means and how to use it to gain power.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/48-laws-of-power-law-41-avoid-stepping-into-a-great-mans-shoes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"48 Laws of Power | Law 41: Avoid Stepping into a Great Man&#039;s Shoes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In The 48 Laws of Power, Law 41 is \u201cAvoid Stepping into a Great Man&#039;s Shoes.\u201d Learn what Law 41 means and how to use it to gain power.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/48-laws-of-power-law-41-avoid-stepping-into-a-great-mans-shoes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-09-23T19:34:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-03-08T13:44:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/48-laws-of-power-law-41.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"777\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"516\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Amanda Penn\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Amanda Penn\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/48-laws-of-power-law-41-avoid-stepping-into-a-great-mans-shoes\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/48-laws-of-power-law-41-avoid-stepping-into-a-great-mans-shoes\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Amanda Penn\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/01b0e4c9ddb993e51d03808839d538b0\"},\"headline\":\"48 Laws of Power | Law 41: Avoid Stepping into a Great Man&#8217;s Shoes\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-09-23T19:34:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-03-08T13:44:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/48-laws-of-power-law-41-avoid-stepping-into-a-great-mans-shoes\/\"},\"wordCount\":792,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/48-laws-of-power-law-41-avoid-stepping-into-a-great-mans-shoes\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/48-laws-of-power-law-41.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"The 48 Laws of Power\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Career\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/48-laws-of-power-law-41-avoid-stepping-into-a-great-mans-shoes\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/48-laws-of-power-law-41-avoid-stepping-into-a-great-mans-shoes\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/48-laws-of-power-law-41-avoid-stepping-into-a-great-mans-shoes\/\",\"name\":\"48 Laws of Power | Law 41: Avoid Stepping into a Great Man's Shoes - 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