{"id":1387,"date":"2019-09-23T17:34:01","date_gmt":"2019-09-23T21:34:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=1387"},"modified":"2022-03-08T09:45:24","modified_gmt":"2022-03-08T13:45:24","slug":"48-laws-of-power-law-42-strike-the-shepherd-and-the-sheep-will-scatter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/48-laws-of-power-law-42-strike-the-shepherd-and-the-sheep-will-scatter\/","title":{"rendered":"Law 42: Strike the Shepherd and the Sheep Will Scatter (48 Laws of Power)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Overview of Law #42: <\/strong>Strike the Shepherd and the Sheep Will Scatter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Trouble in a group often starts with a single individual who stirs the pot. You need to stop them before others succumb to their influence. Neutralize their influence by isolating or exposing them. Their followers will scatter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Principles<\/strong> of Law 42<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In every group or organization, there are one or two people who like to stir the pot<\/strong>, or spread discontent. These troublemakers may operate overtly, subtly, or both. They may or may not be the group\u2019s leaders.
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In any case, their rumblings undermine a group\u2019s effectiveness and cooperative spirit <\/strong>by stirring dissension and dissatisfaction and creating factions. Their dissatisfaction is like an infection that spreads quickly, if not caught and treated in the earliest stages. This is why it’s wise to know: Strike the Shepherd and the Sheep Will Scatter. In other words, quash the leader, and their followers will disburse and cause less harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ancient Athens recognized the harm such people could do and typically banished them. To maintain your power and prevent your objectives from being derailed, you also need to identify and nip troublemakers in the bud.
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According to Law 42 of the 48 Laws of Power<\/a>, when you sense trouble brewing, look for the disgruntled individual that people seem to be listening to and quoting<\/strong>. Troublemakers are typically overbearing and they\u2019re complainers. To stop them you need to isolate them immediately.
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Sometimes people in a group don\u2019t realize the effect a troublemaker is having \u2014 some pot stirrers like to work quietly and even disguise their actions. Sometimes you can diminish the effect just by pointing out the person and what she is doing. 
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More likely, however, you\u2019ll need to separate the troublemaker from her audience or power base<\/strong>. The overt troublemakers are people with charisma. You can\u2019t reform or educate them, and if you attack them they\u2019ll work underground to get revenge on you. Separate them from the group before they become the eye of a storm.
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Use whatever means of isolation works: Physical (if they work for you, reassign or move them, for instance), political, or psychological (turn others against them; find a way to co-opt them or use leverage).
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Lure or send the person away at a critical moment,<\/strong> using your skills of distraction and deception. Con artists<\/a> have always understood that steering someone from their usual social context<\/a> to a less familiar environment makes them vulnerable to you, and increases your power to influence them.
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Putting Law 42 to Work<\/strong>
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Here is an example of how to apply “Strike the Shepherd and the Sheep will Scatter”: Athens had a way of getting rid of antisocial people for behavior such as a holier-than-thou attitude, scheming, being overly ambitious and undermining leaders, and asserting superiority over others.
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The city held an annual event in which citizens gathered and voted on the person they wanted to banish for 10 years, by writing the name on a piece of earthenware. The event was cathartic and became a kind festival.
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For example, they banished:<\/p>\n\n\n\n