This is a recorded interview (YouTube) between Ramit Sethi and Robert Greene discussing Greene’s book The 48 Laws of Power. The chunk focuses on the controversial but pragmatic nature of the “laws”: they describe everyday, often hidden, Machiavellian behaviors in industries like Hollywood and Silicon Valley. Greene gives examples (ghostwriting, taking credit, teams behind public figures) and frames his advice as pragmatic: recognize these dynamics, avoid emotional reactions, and learn strategic responses (e.g., accept credit once, escalate boundaries on repeat offenses).
Chapters
Okay, I want to talk about these 48 laws of power, because this is absolutely fascinating and it's pretty controversial. And I'm reading this and. Okay, let's talk about it. And I'm like, this is unbelievable because it's very politically incorrect in this world of transparency and authenticity. But in interviews where a lot of other people have noted this, you basically said, look, you can choose to ignore it, but it's happening every single day.
Yeah.
Talk a little bit about the brutal reality of these laws.
Well, you know, I had worked in Hollywood prior to writing the book, and that sort of was the model for me because everybody appears on the outside to be so loving and wonderful and, oh, I loved your movie, blah, blah, blah. And. And they're all liberal and for the best causes, but behind closed doors, they are unbelievably Machiavellian, unbelievably manipulative. But I saw the same thing in journalism and all the different fields that I've been in. And nobody talks about it. It's like this little secret we talk about. Nobody has any secrets anymore about their sex lives or anything. But when it comes to power, everybody wants to play like they're Gandhi and they're not Gandhi. Okay? We all have a side where we want power. We're constantly shifting. We might even be manipulating that particular law. Do you think that a president writes his own speeches? Do you think a newscaster has done all his own research? And you know Jon Stewart, whom we all love? Do you think he wrote everything that he says? No, he doesn't. He's got a team of 50 people. How many writers writing his material? That's what comedians do. They have people writing their material. That's what newscasters do. Presidents, et cetera. Everybody who's powerful and successful has other people doing the legwork for them. And then they put their name on it, and that's all that we talk about. And same thing happened to me in Hollywood. I wrote whole portions of screenplays, but nobody ever saw my name because the guy who had all the weight and power put his name on it. That's the reality of life. You want to be a child and say, no, I don't like that. That's not fair. Well, okay, fine, it's not fair. But that's how the world is. So my book, I'm trying to say, let's all be adult. This is what really happens in the halls of power when the doors are closed. Let's look at these secrets and be aware of them.
I love that you did it. Because coming from Silicon Valley, it's very similar. Everybody on the surface is super kumbaya, let's sing around a campfire. But at the highest levels, it is absolutely brutal. And you could go your whole career or your whole life thinking, oh, like, I'm just super nice and let's sing together, but not understanding why you can't make it to that next level. It doesn't mean that you have to be brutalizing people, you know, it doesn't mean you have to be ruining careers, right?
No, not at all. You know, like I started, I'm the naive type. I was like Benjamin Franklin. I was bad at these things. And what I talk about in that particular chapter, which is get other people to do the work but always take the credit, is it's going to happen to you. It happened to me, it's going to happen to you. How do you handle that? It wasn't written from the perspective of go out and get other people to do. It was written from the side of the naive person, which was what I was. You have to learn not to get angry, not to stamp your feet and protest and then walk away, et cetera. You have to learn that it's part of life and you're going to have to get the best out of the situation. So if someone is doing that the first time, where you do the work and they put their name on it, you accept it because that's the reality. They do it a second time. All right? Now you've got to have a little different strategy. The third time, maybe say no, because now you've got a little more power and leverage. They're depending on you for the great work you're doing, and you can say no. Give me some credit, okay? Play the game strategically instead of emotionally. That's what it's about.
