The 48 Laws of Power
by Robert Greene. Law number seven...
Get Others to Do the Work for You | Use the wisdom, knowledge, and legwork of other
people to further your own cause.
Not only will such assistance save you valuable time and energy,
it will give you an aura of efficiency and speed. In the end your helpers will be
forgotten and you will be remembered.
Never do yourself what others can do for you. Thomas Edison was the consummate
genius of other people’s efforts.
After hiring a Serbian scientist and inventor by the name of Nikola Telsa
who toiled day and night to improve Edison’s antiquated invention, dynamos,
or as we know them today generators. Tesla was told by Edison that he would
receive $50,000
for redesigning this system of electrical current. Within a year Telsa created an
improved version of the dynamo
and instead of receiving $50,000, he was given a raise by Edison
who knew that his company would get credit for the work that was done by
Tesla.
Nikola Tesla is a prime example of what not to do. He was never credited for
any of his work.
He was the inventor of the alternate current system (AC)
which is synonymous with Westinghouse. Financiers divested Tesla from the
credit,
patents and riches that he would have received which approximates at $12
million dollars
instead of the $216,000 that he accepted as payment.
He was not even acknowledged for his patent filed in 1897 when another man,
Marconi took credit for inventing the radio. Tesla is the true father of the
radio.
This is a sad yet true story about a man who was obsessed with his work,
yet really never got the accolades, or the money, nor the respect that he deserved.
Edison on the other hand saw the requisite to hire the best in the field
to do work that he himself would take credit for. This does not beg the
question, who would you rather be?
But it is a cautionary lesson. 4 Reasons Why You Should Utilize Others
Nobody likes a run-down, burned-out hero
If you insist on doing all the work yourself then you will never get very
far.
Hiring someone or others to do the work for you will give you a godlike quality
that others will admire. Take artist Peter Paul Rubens for example,
he assembled a vast array of outstanding artists to paint canvases so that when
a client would visit
Rubens’s studio it appeared to the client that Rubens was working
arduously on his painting when in essence the painting was already nearly finished.
Number two ... There are some skills that you do not possess
Hiring people who possess skills that you yourself lack
is probably one of the wisest decisions you can make. Like in the case of artist
Rubens,
he hired different types of artists. One artist specialized in robes;
another specialized in backgrounds and so on. This is what enabled him to appear
to be working diligently on his paintings.
Although he had procured others to do these paintings, he was able to put his
name on the work, thus being the genius who got the credit and the money.
Number three ... Standing on the shoulders of giants can be brilliantly manipulated
Isaac Newton, a genius in his own right made his discoveries
built on the achievement of others. Shakespeare borrowed plots and other works
from several writers
and we can only guess how many people plagiarized the works of Shakespeare
himself.
Using the knowledge of the past just makes you a clever borrower
and this in of itself is genius. Number four ... Sharing the credit with others
There is absolutely nothing wrong with sharing the credit with someone especially when that someone
especially when that someone is your superior.
Take Henry Kissinger, the secretary of state under Richard Nixon.
If it had not been for Kissinger’s diplomacy Nixon’s historic visit to the
People’s Republic of China
would not have been as successful as it was. Knowing when to hold back by not
hogging the spotlight is also a talent that will be beneficial in the long term.
Be wise in your decision. Make sure that your position is unshakable
or you will be accused of pushing people out of the limelight and deception is
not a word that you want associated with you. Picture the vulture,
he has it the easiest. The hard work of others becomes his work
due to their failure to survive and they become his nourishment.
While you are working hard, he is hovering. Do not fight him, join him.
He is vigilant, ruthless and quiet. Three qualities that you must acquire to
secure credit for an invention or creation until you can make it your own.
The credit for an invention is as important, if not more important
than the invention itself. Bismarck once said, “Fools say that they learn from
experience.
I prefer to profit by others’ experience.” So, with all that being said - thanks for
watching!