One of my favorite books on strategy is The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene and
Joost Elffers. Where The Art of War, by Sun Tzu is written as an
overview of the whole topic of strategy, seeking to provide an overall
understanding of the subject; and The 36 Strategies tries to impart the
knack of strategic thinking through 36 maxims related to well known
Chinese folk stories, Mr. Greene focuses on how we influence and
manipulate one another, ie "power".
Mr.
Greene draws from both Eastern and Western history and literature as
his source material. Sun Tzu and Machiavelli as cited as much as
wonderful stories of famous con men. Among my favorites is about a scrap
metal dealer thinking he bought the Eiffel Tower.
Each
of the 48 Laws carries many examples, along with counter examples where
it is appropriate that they be noted, and even reversals.
It is a very thorough study of the subject and the hardback version is beautifully produced.
One
of the things I admire about Greene is that he not only studied
strategy, he applied what he learned to his own situation and prospered.
Today's law is #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.
No comments:
Post a Comment