Quotes About Authority

the powerful are often reluctant to take advice

Remember, your own image and presence are materials you can control. The sense that you are engaged in this kind of play will make people see you as superior and worthy of imitation.

When you are trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear, and the less in control. Even if you are saying something banal, it will seem original if you make it vague, open-ended, and sphinxlike. Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less. The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish.

What money should buy is not lifeless objects but power over people.

Authority: The shortest and best way to make your fortune is to let people see clearly that it is in their interests to promote yours. (Jean de La Bruyère, 1645-1696)

The lesson is simple: do not confuse a chummy, clublike atmosphere with team spirit and cohesion. Coddling your soldiers and acting as if everyone were equal will ruin discipline and promote the creation of factions. Victory will forge stronger bonds than superficial friendliness, and victory comes from discipline, training, and ruthlessly high standards.

Freedom consists not in refusing to recognize anything above us, but in respecting something which is above us; for, by respecting it, we raise ourselves to it, and, by our very acknowledgement, prove that we bear within ourselves what is higher, and are worthy to be on a level with it. —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

as Machiavelli said, it is better to be feared than loved. Fear you can control; love, never.

Plus vous vous laissez aller à parler, plus vous avez l'air banal et peu maître de vous-même. Même anodines, vos paroles sembleront originales si elles restent vagues et énigmatiques. Les personnages puissants impressionnent et intimident parce qu'ils sont peu loquaces. Plus vous en dites et plus vous risquez de dire des bêtises.

Asimismo, el modo en que la gente maneja el poder y la responsabilidad te dirá mucho sobre ella. Como dijo Lincoln: "Si quieres probar el carácter de un hombre, dale poder".

Better to have others depend on you out of fear of the consequences of losing you than out of love of your company.

People trying to make a show of their authority are easily deceived by the surrender tactic. Your outward sign of submission makes them feel important; satisfied that you respect them, they become easier targets for a later counterattack

Even while you know you are practicing a kind of deception on yourself, act like a king. You are likely to be treated as one.

Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less. The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish.

When it comes to power, outshining the master is perhaps the worst mistake of all.

You do not have to know all the details. Sometimes you need to delegate—let your subordinates handle the information gathering.

It is occasionally wiser to imitate the court jester, who plays the fool but knows he is smarter than the king.

Always make those above you feel comfortably superior. In your desire to please and impress them, do not go too far in displaying your talents or you might accomplish the opposite—inspire fear and insecurity. Make your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain the heights of power.

Control is an elusive phenomenon. Often, the harder you tug at people, the less control you have over them. Leadership is more than just barking out orders; it takes subtlety.

To show your frustration is to show that you have lost your power to shape events; it is the helpless action of the child who resorts to a hysterical fit to get his way. The powerful never reveal this kind of weakness.

People trying to make a show of their authority are easily deceived by the surrender tactic. Your outward sign of submission makes them feel important; satisfied that you respect them, they become easier targets for a later counterattack, or for the kind of indirect ridicule used by Brecht. Measuring your power over time, never sacrifice long-term maneuverability for the short-lived glories of martyrdom.

Listen to Your Inner Authority

Finally, power itself always exists in concentrated forms. In any organization it is inevitable for a small group to hold the strings. And often it is not those with the titles. In the game of power, only the fool flails about without fixing his target.

Place your iron hand inside a velvet glove.