Law 2: Friends and Enemies
This chapter is the one I’ve been looking forward to since I first heard about this book. I once saw a simple word document that paraphrased the 48 Laws and law 2 is the only one I remember. That document simply said, “If you have no enemies, make some.”
Law 2: Never Put too Much Trust in Friends, Learn to Use Enemies
The full law is a bit more involved than simply “make enemies,” though the opening “Judgement” passage does include a version of my favorite line from above. In all, this law’s focus is on the way that friends and enemies should be considered in working to achieve and maintain your power.
Friends, it seems, are not always the best choice to help you further your cause. Employing a friend in your service can cause a host of unintended consequences. Greene puts it best in this paragraph:
Ingratitude has a long and deep history. It has demonstrated its powers for so many centuries, that it is truly amazing that people continue to underestimate them. Better to be wary. If you never expect gratitude from a friend, you will be pleasantly surprised when they do prove grateful. [12-13]
If friends are best kept for friendship, then who do we employ to further our cause? This is the role of enemies, which is both counter-intuitive and unsettling. Enemies expect our vitriol, so a display of kindness is likely to put them off-balance. Furthermore, as the quest for power requires us to operate consistently in our own self-interest, employing an enemy in some capacity allows us pursue our interests openly. Our enemies will pursue their interests as we pursue ours. This is no different than what our friends will do, but it is more expected, easier to predict, and thus easier to strategize for. Finally, an enemy shown a challenge will have something to prove, and as Greene points out, “a person who has something to prove will move mountains for you” [13].
There are so many examples to choose from when it comes to this law that I have difficulty choosing only one.
One of my particular favorite examples is present often in the sports world. Professional sports is full of big egos and power-hungry people. Examples of friends teaming up to take on the world (think: Miami Heat) are contrast with enemies who are forced to work together and actually succeed (think: Kobe/Shaq). When professional athletes with “superstar” status try to work together, the results are usually abysmal. Chad (Johnson) Ochocinco and Terrell Owens are good friends who got together in Cincinnati, and their friendship can be at least partially blamed for their failure. Meanwhile, rivalry pushes both rivals to higher levels. The Steelers and Ravens have an intense animosity for each other, and the existence of an enemy makes both teams better. In Chicago, Lovie Smith put two former rival head coaches onto his staff. Result? They are in the NFC championship game.
Use your friends for friendship. Work with your competent enemies.
