Book Summary: 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene. The Full List with Notes

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32 points·laybak··8 comments

I deplore this list as antithetical to good business. Nobody who's had to reform a loss making human organization (think Motorola and SPC, IBM in 1990s, Xerox late 80s, Iacocca and Chrysler, or Dr Schutz of the book Human Element) used or condoned most of what appears here.

Good business (if we define good as synonym of revenue) has nothing to do with ethics, whether we like it or not.

Most companies are "unethical" and do use those laws, even if they are successful to convince you otherwise.

What I am learning ... is you have a lot to learn. The relatively minor and patently obvious point that there are assholes, players, and politicians in human organizations doesn't give us that much to work with. Moreover, you have defined away most of the context by making good business equivalent to revenue. Meanwhile the interplay between revenue, profit, people has been explained into ground over the years perhaps simplest by Iacocca: There are people, profit, product. Without good people you can't get the other two.

You should read the book; it's not about business. It's about power, and if you don't understand how people in power get and maintain their position, you're potentially doing yourself a disservice.

What is the original source of these? I recognize "find each man's thumbscrew" from reading Baltasar Gracián.

Robert Greene, the author of the book, did a bunch of original research and analysis. He then synthesized his findings and wrote a book.

The author is the original source.

Nice summary!

Thanks for checking it out! :D

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