An abridged review of Robert Greene's Laws of Power, and how to use them in a politically charged workplace to your advantage.
It appears inevitable, and perhaps even to be expected, that every work place has the proverbial water cooler, the locale for various employees gathering, gossiping, and spreading the different rumor of the day. As modern technology has evolved, however, the water cooler has become more global. Social medias have become platforms for lamentation of the day's woes and worries, broadcasting negative feelings further than a confined conversation around the water cooler ever could. Worse yet, at least from any given individual's perspective, these social medias are named and traceable. Timmy from Accounting has very little plausible deniability when the HR team has a screenshot of his gossip-mongering straight from Facebook, timestamped and all. There is a level of wisdom in the notion of not utilizing social media to do "shop-talk" and leave work problems at work, but the world tends to be too complex for such a simple approach to be effective, let alone sustainable over a career. Rather than avoid the politics, the problems, or the gossip, and potentially placing a cross-hair on yourself, the ability to navigate, and navigate expertly, is crucial. Robert Greene devised 48 Laws of Power to help with such navigation, and we are going to be examining some of them briefly to help lay the foundation for political navigation to further your own desires.
Obviously, reading Greene's book is the most encompassing way to learn all the Laws, and how to apply them, but perhaps you have been unaware that Greene's book exists - or that there were any laws you must obey to cultivate power in the workplace. It is heavily encouraged that you add Greene's book to your reading list, but for a different reason than you might be thinking. Navigating the political landscape of your workplace, and cultivating power to yourself would appear, on the surface, to come with nefarious connotations. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, right? The fact is, the Laws of Power, unto themselves, are totally and completely amoral. That is, the Laws are neither good nor evil by themselves. The use of the Laws, and the use of the power they bring, however, can most definitely be used for either. A screwdriver, a powerful tool, cares not whether it is used to build life-saving hospital equipment, or life-ending war machines; screwdrivers, exactly like Greene's Laws, are only tools. The intent behind the use of the tool matters. Of course, Bickert Management, with the focus on holistic success, presents these laws as a method by which you can better balance work-life relations, prevent undue stress, leave work problems at work, and succeed quicker at your goals. As a small author's note, if you are curious how these Laws can be abused for selfish gain, read Machiavelli's The Prince. This book outlines, in great depth, using the Laws of Power to gain sufficient power to (theoretically) subvert and rule a country.
Whether you are aware of the Laws or not, if you begin to look for specific telltale signs, you will begin to notice who among your employee group, or even friends, has an implicit understanding of them. Some will have innate social skills that can be categorized as one of the Laws, and they could be unaware that they are even invoking any said Law. Others may have read Greene's book and are using it to their own benefit, as they should. As an example, and to set the stage for the Laws of Power, imagine a typical office: XYZ corporation has a downtown skyrise firm HQ, perhaps around 100 employees, and has been around for a while. XYZ is well established in the community as a successful and astute business. Its employees are well paid, though worked hard, and XYZ has several stories of employees climbing the corporate ladder from beginner to manager to vice-president, earning substantially increasing benefits and paychecks. You are an employee of XYZ, having started there 5 years prior, and worked your way into the middle management. Having spent the last year working yourself ragged, you have several impressive achievements to your name, including reducing an expense account by several percent points. Your boss continually commends you for your long hours, though your wife and child do not. In fact, youh begun to fight with your wife about the number of hours you are spending at the office. Just a little longer, you say, and you will get the big promotion you have been talking about with the boss. It will all be worth it; you are investing so much into the company that there is no way you are not getting the promotion.
Can you see yourself in the XYZ building? Perhaps the story even sounds incredibly familiar, or hits a little too close to home. Can you predict how the story ends? You are not going to get the promotion. Your co-worker, who has not been working as hard, has not been as successful, and not made sacrifices the way you have got the big promotion. You are bewildered, and the only thing your boss can offer you is that it was a group decision, that your co-worker just has that special something that makes him a better fit. All that time, effort, and sacrifice, for nothing. And why? You may not be able to tell, but it is because you were not playing by the rules - rules that you did not even know existed. You were not using the Laws of Power. Within our example, let us call the boss Ed and your coworker Gary. Gary played by the Laws of Power, and was able to reap the benefits. Which laws apply to our fictitious scenario? Let us examine them in order:
Law 1 - Never Outshine the Master
Always make those above you feel comfortably superior. In your desire to please and 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.
Gary must have displayed some levels of competency to have been selected for promotion, but his displays of competency were not presented as a threat to Ed. Something as simple as crediting Ed for his brilliant input helping Gary's plan succeed plants the seeds of comfort within Ed. (Bear in mind how Gary might credit Ed, however, when we discuss Law 7). Even within Gary's success, he would never flaunt the success at the expense of Ed. A Facebook post discussing how he came up with an idea no one else in XYZ did may garner several likes and congratulatory comments - all of which stroke Gary's ego - but such a post is the exact type of post that would put Ed on edge. If Gary came up with the idea, it implies that Ed was too lazy or stupid to come up with it. It is critical, then, that Gary plays by Law 1, and never make actions or comments that place him above the proverbial master, at least, until the time to strike is right (which we will cover in Law 15 and 35).
Law 3 - Conceal Your Intentions
Keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions. If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot prepare a defense. Guide them far enough down the wrong path, envelop them in enough smoke, and by the time they realize your intentions, it will be too late.
Remember, the Laws are amoral, neither good nor evil, formless, and nothing more than tools. This concept becomes important to bear in mind now, as we begin to touch upon and use words that can have a negative connotation. In our example, conversations between you and Ed about the big promotion were alluded to. Your excitement, and consequentially, your revelation of your intentions, made you predictable. Did Gary ever talk about the big promotion? Thinking about it, you do not remember him ever saying anything, and you might have even thought that he did not care about it. Gary's concealment prevented you from taking actions to ensure that he was eliminated from the running for the promotion until it was too late. Like a chess Grandmaster, your true goals must remain within your head and heart. It is not about deception per se, and the distinction is an important note. Did Gary ever lie to you about not wanting the promotion? Alternatively, did he not comment on it, and left you to your own conclusions? Lies, especially in the work place, can be detrimental to employee-team competency, and as such, deception is not the answer. Conflating deception with concealment is an incorrect understanding of the Law. How, then, does one conceal without deception? Fortunately, we have the next Law to assist us.
Law 4 - Always Say Less than Necessary
When you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear, and the less in control. Even if you are saying something banal, it will seem original if you make it vague, open-ended, and sphinxlike. Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less. The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish.
A fundamental human action is to seek validation. There is nothing wrong with it, as it justifies our existence, our actions, our time spent. Yet, seeking constant validation is a hindrance to power. Law 4 is a tough Law to follow, as it requires having a strong sense of self-approval. Saying less gives less time to brag about our accomplishments, seek approval and validation, but comes with the consequence of concealing intentions, and preventing detrimental commentary. Gary, as discussed previously, invoked Law 4 to help him invoke Law 3. You, and arguably Ed, had no idea that Gary was gunning for the promotion, and all Gary had to do was say nothing. It has a lovely irony; doing and saying nothing can be the hardest thing, even harder than taking action.
Our examination of the Laws will continue in Part 2.
Do you have similar experiences in your organization or in your workplace? How did you handle this type of scenario? We want to hear about it! Share your thoughts in the comments section below!