Law 11 - Learn to keep people dependent on you Flashcards
What is true independence?
When people NEED you and RELY on you so much that they FEAR the consequences of losing you, you are truly independent.
What is the best way to always be independent?
Always be needed and wanted
What is the most accurate measure of your independence?
The amount you are relied on for happiness and prosperity
What happens when there are 100 others who can do what you do?
People don’t lose anything by disposing of you. They choose the cheaper and less experienced options.
How do you avoid the fate of the Condottieri?
Make the fate of your employer so entwined with yours that they cannot possibly get rid of you
Which of the two types of horses should you be?
The workhorse.
The lazy one gets killed for its hide.
How do you make a weak master do what you want him to do?
Play on his insecurities - manliness, challenges etc.
When ascending the ladder of power, whom do you attach yourself to?
The weak masters/rulers, rather than the powerful.
Why should you not attach yourself to the powerful in your ascent of the ladder of power?
You can NOT make them depend on you, because they’re already powerful.
Why is it a good idea to join a weak master/ruler in your ascent to power?
You can become their source of
- Strength
- Intelligence
- A spine
To such an extent that if they got rid of you, their whole edifice would collapse.
How do you become a pillar for a weak master?
You counteract their weakness with your own “iron and blood”
When does your power become untouchable?
When you can get people to WILLINGLY do as you wish, WITHOUT having to
- Force them;
- Hurt them.
When do you know you have leverage over a weak master?
- He requires your services
- He is unable to function without you
- You enmesh yourself with him so deeply that disposing of you brings him great difficulty
What is the difference between independence and interdependence?
Independence is living in a hut on the antarctic.
Interdependence is being surrounded by allies, a weak master, and minions, all of whom are dependent on you.
What is interdependence?
REVERSE independence.
Others become so dependent on you that their need for you frees you.
What are the steps to recruit a weak master?
- Find a weak master
- Figure out his weaknesses
- Use your strengths to get him power
- Show him how it is to function without you
- Use your potential loss as a threat (leverage) to get him to WILLINGLY do what you want
What does it mean to be indispensible?
To get rid of you should spell disaster / death.
Your master should be AFRAID of getting rid of you.
What are the five techniques of making yourself indispensible?
- Unique talent / Creative skill
- Dread – Your suitors»_space; His replacements
- Latch onto a non-master indispensible in the chain
- Spiderweb
- Secret intelligence
What is the BEST way to be indispensible?
Possess a talent or creative skill that can NOT be replaced (like Michaelangelo)
What is the best way to make yourself indispensible if you lack a unique talent or creative skill?
Dread.
Create a situation where you can latch onto another master or patron, BUT your master cannot easily find another servant with your particular talent.
What do you do if you can’t intertwine with the weak master?
You find someone indispensible in his chain and latch onto them
If you cannot concentrate your forces on one specific high level power, what do you do?
Create extensive power - Intertwine with enough branches that getting rid of you would unravel everything
If nothing else works, what is your last resort to make yourself indispensible?
The Secret Intelligence Tactic.
How do you weild the secret intelligence tactic?
You hold onto other people’s information that they wouldn’t want broadcast, in the process sealing your fate with theirs.
Tyrion and Shae.
