Most of the 48 laws draw on a specific situation from history, and even though some of them seem to contradict one another, there’s a precious lesson to be learned from every single one. Now let’s checkout the various laws and how we can use them for greatness.
Here are 3 lessons about power to help you understand it better:
- Always make superiors look smarter than you.
- Confuse competitors by acting unpredictably.
- Don’t force others to do what you want, seduce them instead.
LAW 1: NEVER OUTSHINE THE MASTER
“Being defeated is hateful, and besting one’s boss is either foolish or fatal. Most people do not mind being surpassed in good fortune, character, or temperament,but no one, especially not a sovereign, likes to be surpassed in intelligence.”
– Baltasar Gracián
We all have our teachers, our gurus, our mentors.
A teacher always wants his student to achieve the greatest heights.
But but but…
He will always see you as his student.
And when you try to become your teacher’s teacher, or you try to outshine him, shit happens.
You lose your guru right at that moment as he is pissed off.
So…
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.
Everyone has insecurities.
When you show yourself in the world and display your talents, you naturally stir up all kinds of resentment, envy, and other manifestations of insecurity.
This is to be expected.
You cannot spend your life worrying about the petty feelings of others.
With those above you, however, you must take a different approach:
When it comes to power, outshining the master is perhaps the worst mistake of all.
Lessons:
- Present your ideas in such a way that they echo your bosses thought.
- Act less smarter than your boss.
- Do not take your position at work or in life for granted.
- Always make sure to make it seem like you want to seek the superiors expertise and advice.
The one thing people in a position of power don’t want is to look powerless. But when you flaunt your skills right in front of them, that’s exactly what happens. The French minister of finance under King Louis XIV. Nicolas Fouquet,
paid for that lesson with a life in prison. When he threw an excessive party at his chateau in favor of the king, the king accused him of stealing, for no one man could legally be that wealthy, and threw him into prison.
So instead of showing off how good you are, make your boss look like she’s the smartest person in the room, even if you know she isn’t. Give away credit and you’ll be given responsibility in return.
WinrightCode 