An abridged review of Robert Greene's Laws of Power, and how to use them in a politically charged workplace to your advantage.
This is part 2 of our look at Greene's Laws of Power.
Gary and Ed, and even you have an agenda at work that each would like to achieve. When agendas conflict with one another, or worse, conflict with the company's agenda, the politics of the office begin to arise. While Bickert Management ensures that each employees' goals and agendas aligned with the interests of the company, it is an unfortunate reality that aligning all employees' interests with one another is not always possible. Every employee may want something different from the other, and those with the most power - or sway, negotiation strength, pull, call it what you will - are the ones who receive what they want more often.
Continuing with the example of Gary and Ed from the last article, let's continue to examine what Laws Gary might have employed to achieve the promotion.
Law 7 - Get Others to Do the Work for You, but Always Take the most Credit
Use the wisdom, knowledge, and legwork of other people to further your own interest. Not only will such assistance save your valuable time and energy, but it will also give you a godlike aura of efficiency and speed. In the end, your helpers will be forgotten and ONLY you will be remembered. Never do yourself what others can do for you.
Significant ability management is the power to discern what tasks are best handled by which staff and the effective delegation of these tasks; in fact, the improper delegation of tasks can quickly sink an otherwise successful company.
Humanly, everyone has a little distrust of others' work competency and proficiency, and this often gives rise to an expression "I'll just do it myself, the way I know it will be done right." This mentality is problematic for several reasons - enough reasons to perhaps even warrant its own examination in another article - but for our purposes here, it matters for the sake of being able to capitalize on Law 7.
Don’t be misunderstood - taking credit for the work of others, nefariously or covertly, is not the intent of this Law; this forged credit could be tantamount to theft, or blatant lies, and does not help anyone. Instead, we seek to incorporate our Law of saying less than necessary and letting others draw their own conclusions.
Gary, for example, will have received several work projects, like you, in his time working for Ed. However, Gary has been finding the right person for the right task, so that task-delegation gets easier yet effective, whereas you, not trusting of others work, have been tackling the tasks single-handedly. Both you and Gary report success back to Ed, but not only has Gary had less work to do himself, but his work also seems time-efficient. Gary is only reporting success, however, and leaves his methodology and time spent working out. Your report might contain a detailing of your efforts, time spent, failures and successes in the covert hope that Ed recognizes you for your hard work. And indeed, Ed will. But, Ed is seeing that your work takes more effort, time, has flaws, and is overall less efficient than Gary's. Your approach is backfiring because you are not using Law 7 - or Law 30.
Law 30 - Make Your Accomplishments Seem Effortless
Your actions must seem natural and executed with ease. All the toil and practice, even all the secret tricks that go into them, must be concealed. When you act, be effortless, as if you could do much more. Avoid the temptation of revealing how hard you worked – it only raises questions; don’t teach your tricks to anyone or they will be used against you.
Jumping ahead on the list of Laws for a moment, Law 30 makes too much sense when paired with Law 7. Gary, in using Law 4 and 7, is also using Law 30 to make himself appear significantly more efficient than he actually is.
A magician is most impressive when his audience cannot possibly fathom how his tricks work, and it almost seems like he may be a real wizard among mere mortals. Likewise, Gary, to his 'audience' of Ed and other superiors, continues to cultivate this aura of godlike powers. The conclusion that Ed will reach, after repeatedly seeing Gary complete tasks without breaking his proverbial stride, is that he can handle more work (or more complex work) that might accompany a promotion. Your struggle, and annunciation of it to Ed in an effort to demonstrate your commitment, remove your self-created aura. Ed will be reluctant to add more complex or important work to your plate, seeing you at your limit currently. The validation you sought for your hard work reaped its reward in Ed's applause and thanks, but Gary's reward was reaped in the long term, winning the promotion. Eyeing, in the long run, is a critical component of any plan.
Gary has also been following Law 29.
Law 29 - Plan All the Way to the End
The ending is everything. Plan all the way to it, taking into account all the possible consequences, obstacles, and twists of fortune that might reverse your hard work and give the glory to others. By planning to the end you will not be overwhelmed by unexpected circumstances and you will know when to stop. Guide fortune gently and determine the future by thinking far ahead.
Gary got the promotion, and you did not.
Now what?
Did you take that possibility into account? More importantly, what would have happened if you had received the promotion? Did you have a plan for that?
We alluded to some vague goals much earlier, such as the promotion will bring more money and more free time to spend with spouse and kids, but did the plan ever go any deeper than that? It becomes obvious, especially in hindsight or when left reeling from an unexpected outcome, how thorough (or in this case, nonexistent) the plan was.
Gary's plan to obtain the promotion almost assuredly was not the end of his plan; he has a plan spanning several years and several possible outcomes. Perhaps Gary wanted the promotion so that he could leverage his new position against another company, and ultimately leave the company for an even higher paid position at a competitor. Perhaps Gary wanted the position so he could learn more advanced management and gain experience that will be critical to starting his own business.
Whatever the end goal, Gary, unlike you, know how to use this new job as a stepping stone. Planning all the way to the end is difficult, making it more important. In our human optimism, we tend to overlook distinct possibilities and fail in our own planning. Eliminating an outcome as possible, or even probable, on a basis of "ah that's not going to happen" sounds crazy in context, but everyone does it constantly.
As an example, do you have a plan for what happens if you get hit by a bus tomorrow, and die? The odds, statistically, are fairly insignificant, but not non-zero. Does this mean that you need to plan - and live - life according to the worst-case scenarios, as a pessimist?
Not at all.
On the contrary, planning to the end brings all of the priorities into acute focus. All the time spent at the office means very little to the family if it ostracizes and breaks the family. Planning to the end is fundamental to holistic success too, which is why Bickert Management focuses on it intently.
With all the Laws covered here, and the full extent covered in Greene's book, it, perhaps, is an overwhelming amount of information. The ability to incorporate these laws into everyday life in a timely manner, and in the right situations, is a skill that must be developed with practice and diligence. It is fitting, then, to end on one last Law.
Law 46 - Never Appear Too Perfect
Appearing better than others is often dangerous, but most dangerous of all is to appear to have no faults or weaknesses. Don’t forget - Envy creates silent enemies. It is smart to occasionally display defects, and admit to harmless vices, just to deflect envy and appear more human and approachable. Only gods and the dead can be perfect with impunity.
In Gary's pursuit of the promotion, as we have seen, he displayed many qualities that make him appear godly in his effectiveness, efficiency, decision-making, and workaholism. We know, though, that Gary is only human. And, in knowing so, especially with the added resentment or jealousy of losing the promotion to him, the tendency to look for flaws becomes more pronounced. Ed, too, will eventually fall to this tendency, if Gary perpetually displays his persona of impeccability. Therefore, it behooves Gary to admit to his own human nature, if only in things that are irrelevant to work. Gary admitted to Ed, unbeknownst to you, that he is really struggling in his golf game, and his putter must be out to get him. This admission of fault humanizes Gary to Ed, who can empathize with Gary. Ed has no reason to seek fault in Gary; Gary readily admits his (irrelevant) faults.
It is fitting to end on this Law, then, to draw attention to the fact that the purpose behind these Laws, these articles, and indeed, Bickert Management, is not to appear perfect. You aren't, despite your best efforts. You can, however, direct the attention away from your faults whilst improving them, onto your imperfections that don't matter. Further than that redirection, though, this Law draws attention to the fact that being human and approachable is vital to success.
Don't lose yourself to a Machiavelian approach to office politics; the only path to true success is through an honest and holistic approach to life and work - something that Bickert Management prides itself on.
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 experiences and thoughts in the comments section below!