A book written by Robert Greene that offers a series of strategies for obtaining and maintaining power in various situations. Here I leave you a summary of the 48 laws:
1. Don't outshine the boss: Make your superiors feel superior. Don't expose your talent too much or you might trigger their insecurity.
2. Don't trust friends too much, use your enemies: Friends betray you more easily, but if you manage to win an enemy, they will be more loyal.
3. Hide your intentions: Keep people off balance so they can't anticipate your actions.
4. Always say less than necessary: Silence breeds power, and talking too much reveals your plans.
5. Protect your reputation at all costs: Reputation is the cornerstone of power.
6. Call attention at all costs: Be visible to be relevant.
7. Make others work for you and attribute it: Take advantage of the work and effort of others to your advantage.
8. Make others come to you: Don't run after others, make them look for you.
9. Win with actions, never arguments: Prove your point through actions, not words.
10. Avoid losers and unhappy: The misfortune of others is contagious; stay away from those who bring you down.
11. Make people depend on you: If others depend on you, you're in control.
12. Disarm with sincerity and selective generosity: Emotional disarmament will give you an edge.
13. When you ask for help, appeal to the interests of others: Appeal to what benefits others, not gratitude or compassion.
14. Introduce yourself as a friend, act as a spy: Learn to extract valuable information from others without them noticing.
15. Crush your enemy completely: Do not let your enemy recover, or he will seek revenge.
16. Use absence to increase respect: The value of something increases with scarcity..
17. Keep others in suspense: Be unpredictable, you will confuse others and gain power.
18. Do not isolate yourself: Loneliness weakens you; engage yourself in the web of influence.
19. Know Who You’re Dealing With: Choose Your Opponents And Partners Wisely.
20. Don't compromise with anyone: Maintain your independence so you don't get caught up in other people's affairs.
21. Pretend to be a fool to catch the sly: Let others think they have an advantage over you.
22. Use the Surrender Tactic: Sometimes giving in at the right time gives you the advantage.
23. Focus your forces: Keep your energy focused on what really matters.
24. Be a master at simulation and disguise: Don't reveal all your cards.
25. Recreate your own identity: Be the architect of your own destiny.
26. Keep your hands clean: Make sure the responsibility for the problems falls on others.
27. Play with people's needs to create devotion: Satisfy their deep desires to earn you their loyalty.
28. Be bold in acting: Timidity is dangerous, boldness is powerful.
29. Plan everything to the end: Having a detailed plan allows you to avoid unpleasant surprises.
30. Make your accomplishments look easy: Minimize the effort you put in to make others think you have innate talent.
31. Control Other People's Options: Guide the decisions of others by giving them limited options.
32. Play with people's fantasy: Appeal to people's emotions and dreams to gain clout.
33. Discover the weaknesses of others: Identify what drives people to manipulate their actions.
34. Be rule in your behavior: Power lies in the appearance of greatness and dignity.
35. Master the art of timing: Don't rush; everything has its right time.
36. Despise what you can’t have: Don’t obsess over things that are out of your reach.
37. Create engaging spectacles: Theatrics and spectacles capture attention.
38. Think as you wish, but behave like everyone else: Do not openly defy social norms.
39. Stir the waters to catch fish: Destabilize others to make mistakes.
40. Despise free: What is free usually comes with a hidden cost.
41. Avoid imitating great men: Forge your own path instead of following in the footsteps of others.
42. Beat the shepherd and the sheep will scatter: He demolishes leaders to weaken his followers.
43. Work on the hearts and minds of others: Conquer the spirit of people to control them.
44. Disarm and anger with mirror effect: Reflect the actions of others to destabilize them.
45. Preach the need for change, but never reform too much: Radical change can generate resistance.
46. Never look too perfect: Perfection breeds envy and haters.
47. Don't exceed your goal: When you achieve what you want, retire on time.
48. Be amorphous: Be adaptable, don't limit yourself to a rigid form.
These laws are designed to handle situations of power, but it's important to consider context and personal ethics when applying them.