Law 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally (Jeff Bezos Example); The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
In his book the 48 Laws of Power, Robert Greene writes that “if you keep your enemies alive, they will become your greatest source of insecurity. They will always be plotting against you, and they will never give up until they have destroyed you.”
This law is often used in business, where companies may compete fiercely with each other. For example, Amazon and Quidsi were both online retailers that sold diapers. Amazon was the larger company, but Quidsi was growing quickly. Amazon saw Quidsi as a threat, so it launched a “plan to win” against the smaller company.
This plan included aggressive price-cutting and the launch of the Amazon Mom program. Amazon’s price-cutting forced Quidsi to make deep discounts of its own, which led to financial losses. Eventually, Quidsi was acquired by Amazon. After the acquisition, Amazon raised diaper prices.
This shows that Amazon was willing to crush its enemy totally, even if it meant losing money in the short term. The company knew that if it didn’t eliminate Quidsi, Quidsi would eventually become a major competitor.
The 15th law of power is a powerful law, but it is also a dangerous law. If you use it too aggressively, you may end up creating more enemies than you destroy. It is important to use this law wisely and carefully.
Here is a simple example of how the 15th law of power can be applied in a personal context:
- Imagine that you are in a competitive job market. You are applying for a position that you really want, but there are several other qualified candidates. You know that if you don’t eliminate your competition, you won’t get the job.
- You could use the 15th law of power by spreading negative rumors about your competitors or by sabotaging their chances of getting the job. However, you need to be careful not to use this law too aggressively, or you could end up creating enemies who will make your life difficult.
The 15th law of power is a powerful tool, but it should be used with caution. If you use it too aggressively, you may end up creating more enemies than you destroy.
In the case of Amazon and Quidsi, Amazon was willing to lose money in the short term in order to drive Quidsi out of business. In fact, Amazon reportedly lost $200 million in a single month from diaper products during its price war with Quidsi.
Amazon was willing to take such a big loss because it knew that if it didn’t eliminate Quidsi, Quidsi would eventually become a major competitor. Amazon was playing the long game, and it was willing to sacrifice short-term profits in order to achieve its long-term goals.
For more details about this competition, you can read the article here: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/07/emails-detail-amazons-plan-to-crush-a-startup-rival-with-price-cuts/: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/07/emails-detail-amazons-plan-to-crush-a-startup-rival-with-price-cuts/
The article provides more details about the emails that were released by the House Judiciary Committee, which show that Amazon was specifically targeting Quidsi with its aggressive price-cutting. The article also discusses the implications of Amazon’s actions for antitrust law and competition in the retail industry.
To learn more about the 15th law of power and how it can be applied in business and in life, please follow this series.
