48 Laws of Power - Robert Greene (1998)

Author        : Robert Greene
Publisher    : Penguin Books
Published    : 1998
Pages           : ±452 
Genre          : Nonfiction/ Self-help 

This book contains 48 laws to gain and maintain power, or to get what you want in life. All strategies are applicable for business, climbing the career ladder, or even relationship. Each laws are explained in each chapter. The author starts each chapter with interpretations of the law, then giving examples of people in history who had ignored the law and the consequences he had to deal with, and also examples of people who had followed the law and successfully achieve their goals. The book also had some side notes which contains legends, folklore, or fable related to the law, so readers can understand the law more. The structure is modular, so readers can read any law independently without needing to follow the book in order. Some of the laws are kind of repeated or overlap with those already discussed in the previous chapters. Somehow the repetition offers additional emphasis on the law, presenting it from a slightly different perspective.

This book aligns with The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli in terms of its use of tactics to gain power, with no concern for what’s right or wrong. Especially if you're someone with strong moral standards, you should read this book with a grain of salt. Read it cautiously and wisely. 

Because this book reveals the ways people use others for their own advantage, its strategies may not be applicable for those with high moral standards. However, it can serve as a protective shield for too kind-hearted or naïve individuals—those who have tendency to be people pleaser—by helping them recognize manipulative behavior, set healthy boundaries and avoid being taken advantage of. 

Although many of the laws seem morally questionable, not all laws explained in this books promotes unethical and evil behavior. Some laws plays in neutral or grey area even people with high moral standard can still follow.

Here are some most important law worth to take note:

• Law 19 -  Know Who You're Dealing with—Do Not Offend The Wrong Person which aligns with Law 41 - Avoid Stepping Into a Great Man's Shoes
• I think this one is the core of all laws explained in this book. Be careful about who you're dealing with. Example: Some people actually enjoy being flattered, so being two-faced around them might be an effective strategy. But others are more sensitive and dislike excessive praise. We have to always  learn the characters of people we are dealing with before choosing appropriate approach we use to deal with them.
• By learning who we are dealing with, we can save energy by avoiding unnecessary conflict with them. Never fight in a battle you can never win. 

• Law 9 - Win through your actions, never through argument
• The problem in trying to prove a point or gain a victory through argument is that in the end you can never be certain how it affects the people you’re arguing with: They may appear to agree with you politely, but inside they may resent you. Each man believes that he is right, and words will rarely convince him otherwise. We must be careful, then: Learn to demonstrate the correctness of your ideas indirectly.
• Observance of The Law: Michelangelo was an artist who made a statue for Soderini. Once the statue had been finished, Soderini came to Michelangelo's studio, learned the huge work, and complained that the nose was too big. Michelangelo realized that the problem was because Soderini didn't have a proper perspective because he was standing under the giant statue. Instead of arguing that the nose size had been right, he let Soderini to follow him up the scaffolding, then he cleaned some dust off the nose, looking like he was revising, and show 'the revised nose' to Soderini who now had had a better perspective as he saw the nose more closely and clearly. Only then did Soderini agree that the size of the nose was right.

• Law 10 - Infection: Avoid the Unhappy and Unlucky
• You may feel you are helping the drowning man but you are precipitating your own disaster. The unfortunate sometimes draw misfortune on themselves; they will also draw it on you. Associate with the happy and positive instead.  

• Law 13 - When Asking For Help, Appeal To People’s Self Interest, Never To Their Mercy Or Gratitude, which aligns with Law 43 - Work on The Hearts and Minds of Others
• It plays in grey area. Human are self-centered animals, they don't really care about others but their own interests. So if we want people to serve ours, we should aligned ours with theirs too. Make it about them. 

• Law 36 - Disdain Things You Cannot Have: Ignoring Them is The Best Revenge
• By acknowledging a petty problem you give it existence and credibility. The more attention you pay an enemy, the stronger you make him; and a small mistake is often made worse and more visible when you try to fix it. It is sometimes best to leave things alone. If there is something you want but cannot have, show contempt for it. The less interest you reveal, the more superior you seem.

• Law 40 - Despise The Free Lunch
• What is offered for free is dangerous—It usually involves either trick or a hidden obligation. What has worth is worth paying for. By paying your own way you stay clear of gratitude, guilt, and deceit. It is also often wise to pay in full price—there is no cutting corners with excellence.
• Maybe this principal is more suitable for those on the top who have power in form of money. For 'kaum mendang mending  😂 ' it gives knowledge that there is nothing free.  We actually pay for 'freebies' we get in other forms.

And this is the most evil and manipulative law, one that made me feel suffocated as I read it:

• Law 26 -  Keep Your Hands Clean.
• This chapter teach readers to preserve their reputation by using others as scapegoats and cat's paws to conceal your mistakes or involvement. Any scapegoat will do, even your best friend, family, or colleague. When reading this, I wonder how many people who were publicly condemned—perhaps for corruption or even murder—were not truly guilty, but merely scapegoats, while the real perpetrators were powerful people operating behind the scenes, clean and untouched. 

Overall, the book is eye-opening and enjoyable, but it should be read with caution as some of its ideas are morally questionable.