The document discusses how to maintain power by keeping people dependent on you. It recommends making others rely on you for their happiness and success so that they cannot do without you. It provides the example of Bismarck, who kept the King of Prussia dependent on him by restoring the King's power and becoming his most trusted advisor, allowing Bismarck to wield influence from behind the throne.

1. Law #11: Learn To Keep People
Dependent on You
To maintain your independence you
must always be needed and wanted.
The more you are relied on, the more
freedom you have. Make people
depend on you for their happiness
and prosperity and you have nothing
to fear. Never teach them enough so
that they can do without you.
Tariq Al-Basha @ albashatariq@outlook.com 1

2. ▪ People rarely act unless compelled to.
▪ If you create no need for yourself, then you will be done away with at first
opportunity.
▪ If, on the other hand, you understand the Laws of Power and make others depend
on you for their welfare, if you can counteract their weakness with your own "iron
and blood," is Bismarck's phrase.
▪ Then you will survive your masters as Bismarck did.
▪ You will have all the benefits of power without the thorns that come from being a
master.
Tariq Al-Basha @ albashatariq@outlook.com 2

3. ▪ Bismarck understood the importance of keeping people dependent.
▪ He sought out a weak ruler, Frederick William IV, king of Prussia and created a
relationship of dependency.
▪ He was a key player in restoring the king’s power so much so that when the king
died, his brother William who preceded him depended on Bismarck as well.
▪ Bismarck became their strength, their intelligence and their spine and in the
process, he became a powerful force to reckon with, he was the man behind the
throne, calling the shots.
Tariq Al-Basha @ albashatariq@outlook.com 3

4. 4
Tariq Al-Basha @ albashatariq@outlook.com

5. 10 WAYS TO
MANIPULATE
POWER
1. Do seek out weak people in power: Seeking
out those already in power is foolish. They will
swallow you up and spit you out. They do not
need anything from you
2. Get people to do as you wish without force
or hurt: If you have to bully someone into
doing what you want, that is not power. The
key is making the person believe that your
services are needed and without you they will
be completely lost.
3. Enmesh yourself in the work of your
superior: By doing this your superior knows
that to get rid of you is futile. They can not
afford to train another without losing time and
a lot of money.
Tariq Al-Basha @ albashatariq@outlook.com 5

6. 10 WAYS TO
MANIPULATE
POWER
4. Possess a talent and creative skill that
simply cannot be replaced: People will think
twice before getting rid of you because to get
rid of you may spell disaster or even death.
5. Create a situation in which you can always
latch on to another patron: This just simply
means you have other places that will
welcome your skills and talents in your sights.
Your employer knows that they cannot easily
find another worker with your particular talent
so they will jump hoops to keep you in their
employ.
6. Have the appearance of specialized
knowledge and skill: This gives you leeway
in your ability to deceive those above you into
thinking they cannot do without you. It is
always in your power to make your skills
indispensable.
Tariq Al-Basha @ albashatariq@outlook.com 6

7. 10 WAYS TO
MANIPULATE
POWER
7. Wrap yourself around the source of power:
You have placed yourself in a position that to
cut you away would cause great trauma. You do
not necessarily have to entwine yourself
around the superior; another person will do, as
long as he or she too is indispensable in the
chain.
8. Use the secret intelligence tactic: By
knowing people’s secrets, you seal your
position with them. The downside to this is that
the paranoia and insecurity that the power that
it provides cancels itself out. What good is
power without peace?
Tariq Al-Basha @ albashatariq@outlook.com 7

8. 10 WAYS TO
MANIPULATE
POWER
9. Do not imagine your superior’s
dependence on you will make them love
you: It is more than likely that they resent and
fear you, which is better that they fear the
consequences of losing you rather than out of
love for your company.
10. Better to place yourself in a position of
mutual dependence: The weakness of
making others depend on you is that you are
in some measure dependent on them.
Although this is true, you will not have the
unbearable pressure of being on top, and your
superior will in essence be your slave, for he
will depend on you.
Tariq Al-Basha @ albashatariq@outlook.com 8

9. ▪ Louis XI (1423-1483) the great Spider King of France
once asked his astrologer to tell of his own fate and
how long he had to live. The astrologer replied, “I shall
die just three days before Your Majesty.” The king was
vexed because he had planned to kill the astrologer
that day. His belief in astrology was so strong that he
never doubted the astrologer and spared his life. The
astrologer proved his mastery of power and actually
survived the king by several years.
Tariq Al-Basha @ albashatariq@outlook.com 9