Will I love The 48 Laws of Power?

I read this in 2021, just after I launched my advisory, when I started noticing power dynamics in rooms I had never been in before and wanted to understand them.

I read Greene as describing the world, not recommending it. Most people never consciously learn any of this; they have copied behaviours that seem to work, a bit like a cargo cult.

Law ten, avoid the unhappy and the unlucky, still makes me deeply uncomfortable, and I think it only holds if you are a zealot. I recommend it not so anyone can run these plays, but so they can… show more.

I must say that this book was very surprising. At times, it challenges the reader because it compels introspection, giving sharp insights into human nature, ambition, and influence. I highly recommend it as it teaches one how to move with awareness instead of manipulating, while protecting your boundaries, and leading wisely. It reminded me that power does not always look like a title or a loud voice, it can also be the quiet confidence of a woman who knows her worth.

I recommend this book because it equips the reader with a deep understanding of how power moves in the… show more.

This book is extremely cringy, but that’s the entire point.

The author has studied powerful figures from the past and examined the things they did to wield enormous power and “play the game”. Reading through this book takes a particular focus, and for me it was trying to understand what other people were up to - specifically my coworkers.

Humans are a competitive bunch - it’s the simple truth - and the key to getting ahead at work is to see how you’re being manipulated to another’s advantage. If you plan on moving up in your career you’re going… show more.

In The 48 Laws of Power, Robert Greene, an outstanding book that will no doubt remain a classic for a very long time. Those who wonder why it is that certain sub-cultures in the business world, Hollywood, the entertainment industry, politics, finance appear to be incurably cynical, amoral, unethical, corrupt, and untrustworthy would do well to read it, provided they are able to resist being persuaded by its brutal philosophy.

Greene, who has other similarly-oriented best-selling books on business success, is considered a guru by the music industry, and has been embraced with special enthusiasm by hip-hop moguls. What is… show more.

A good coaching conversation should generate not only insight (about yourself, about the situation at hand, about the world) but also action. If nothing changes, well, what’s the point? This is the best of Greene’s books, and it combines a ridiculously wide range of scholarship with some realpolitik lessons on how stuff gets done. When you feel there’s only one way forward, this book will show you the other 47 you might consider.