In the beginning of the book Crazy Rich Asians, there is a scene where the hotel front desk clerk hilariously assumes that, based on their appearance, the guests seeking shelter are not worthy of the establishment. Shortly thereafter, the guests purchase the entire hotel, and the clerk is out of a job.
In the quest for power, know who you are dealing with, and never, ever, offend the wrong person. The ability to identify different types of people – an act accordingly – is a gift (and weapon) crucial to acquiring power.
The 19th Law of Power enumerates five archetypes:
- The Arrogant, Proud Egocentrist: There are no harmless pranks, jokes, or jibes at his expense. Any perceived slight will be met with an unhinged and violent overreaction. Avoid
- The Fragile, Insecure Plotter: Deception, humiliation, or attack triggers a simmering rage, with retribution served in small, seemingly-insignificant cuts that infect and ultimately spread into a festering wound. Avoid
- The Mirror Image: Anticipates hostility, cruelty, and lies, only sees the absolute worst in others because is truly the worst person. Feed the fear, stoke division, and will eat out of your hand.
But … turn this person against you and create the most formidable enemy. - Coiled Snake in Still Waters: Beware … cool, calm, and calculating, in response to a slight, attack, or betrayal lies in wait for revenge, which will be cold, calculated, and devoid of emotion.
Only two options: destroy utterly, or avoid completely. Tread lightly. - Blank Slate Open Book, or the Banality of Boring: Unimaginative, unsuspecting, and unaware, deception flies right past, ascribes wholly to the notion that seeing is believing and therefore any machinations are pointless. Greatest risk? Waste of time, energy, and effort.
This is an oft-told story, but …
Early in the 13th century, a shah named Muhammad forged an empire that extended from modern-day Turkey to Afghanistan. Clearly a bold and arrogant man, this shah could in a matter of days amass an army nearly a quarter of a million men strong. In 1219, a young Mongol leader entreated the shah with gifts and fine goods, inviting him to join in the wealth of the Silk Road. The shah, offended by the offer, ignored the young leader, believing him – and the invitation – beneath him. Assuming there had been a miscommunication, the young leader tried again and sent emissaries with more fine gifts. One of the shah’s intermediaries intercepted the gifts and murdered the young leader’s representatives. The Mongol leader tried a third time, again sending representatives and gifts to the shah, asking that the shah’s treacherous underling be punished. In response, the shah killed another one of the Mongol emissaries and sent the others back with shaved heads, a display of huge disrespect.
Young Genghis Khan had reached the limits of his patience. He sent the shah a message:
“You have chosen war. What will happen will happen,
and what it is to be we know not; only God knows.”
First, he executed the shah’s thieving intermediary by pouring molten silver in his eyes and mouth. Then, over the course of the next year, Khan harassed the shah with guerilla warfare; his Mongol armies were master horsemen and had perfected the art of bow and arrow while mounted on horseback. Genghis Khan ultimately drove the shah from his empire and established himself as sole ruler of not only the regions conquered by the shah but most of northern Asia, controlling lands that comprised the largest coterminous empire in history.
Had the shah been merely courteous, he likely would not have died humiliated and exiled.
Viserys Targaryen learned a similar hard lesson. Khal Drogo ruled the Dothraki for a reason.
Back in the early 20th-century, a Texas cattle rancher named J. Frank Norfleet encountered a band of merry professional cons out of Chicago, who managed to fleece the rancher out of $45,000, or roughly the modern equivalent of $1.5M. Embarrassment would prevent the typical mark from kicking up too much of a fuss … likely to take their lesson and their lumps, be wiser for it.
But Frank was not typical. First, he went to the cops, who essentially told him to take his lesson and his lumps, and be wiser for it. Frank, however, was not that guy. He left the ranch in the care of his wife and went hunting. From California to Montana to Utah to Florida, up north to Canada and down south to Mexico and across the pond to England, Mr. Norfleet found the men who had stolen his money, got his justice, and in the process destroyed America’s largest organized group of con artists. He died broke, divorced, and satisfied.
Thus begs the question: Was it worth it? For some men, those like Frank Norfleet, no price to pay for vengeance is too high. For those men, whatever steps are necessary to overcome the embarrassment, humiliation, and shame of being gullible or greedy, of becoming a victim, become mandatory in the restoration of pride. There are those whose massive insecurity and brittle ego will not suffer even the slightest insult of/to/against their character; therefore, to avoid pitfalls in the quest for power, first test the subject, before engaging in any manipulation,. A gentle jibe at their expense will either trigger a laugh (in the confident) or an insult (in the self-doubting) … proceed cautiously with the former, and wholly avoid the latter.
In any event, because it is impossible to know if a person powerless in the present will become powerful in the future, and thus, in every instance, suppress the urge to insult. A cheap shot might end up costing everything.
The master key to unlocking power is the ability to assess an individual, identify strengths and weaknesses, note ego and insecurities, study the mark, know the target. Amass concrete, reliable information, and never, ever rely on instincts or appearances.
A shrieking peacock may demand the most attention, yet a coiled snake presents the greatest threat.