When you need to know who really decides
20 cards from 8 books, filed under “Understanding power”. Newest first; every row is the card’s title and the moment you would use it.
#c1538Solon's Seisachtheia and the Cobweb of LawUse when restructuring a debt-ridden organization, overhauling a broken incentive scheme, or drafting compliance rules where powerful…From Lives of Eminent Philosophers
#c1534Barbarian Dualism and the Pythagorean Modesty-PivotUse when repositioning a brand, research program, or methodology against entrenched incumbents who claim to have "solved" a field that is…From Lives of Eminent Philosophers
#c1532Empedocles the Theurgist-Statesman: Wind-Catching and the Brazen SlipperUse when leading a turnaround where you need both hard infrastructural engineering to fix the problem and larger-than-life charismatic…From Lives of Eminent Philosophers
#c1496The Wax Tablet and the Winged MemoryUse when diagnosing why an experienced team misread a new crisis (mistaking a new "Plato" for a familiar "Socrates"), or when establishing…From Handbook of Platonism
#c1462The Executioner's TurnA coworker invents a vague conduct rule to get rivals fired. Document their own daily habits and wait for the rule to turn on them.From A Tale of Two Cities
#c1452The Purge of the Good ReformerA new leadership purge targets everyone from the old department by title. Pack your desk immediately instead of pleading your past good…From A Tale of Two Cities
#c1450The Botanical Law of CrueltyExecutives cut wages to the bone and mock worker complaints. Warn the board that the staff is learning to sabotage the firm.From A Tale of Two Cities
#c1448Surviving The Wild Ruins Your Neighborhood StandingWhen you return to headquarters after running a turnaround in the field, secure an independent role before headquarters committees strip…From The Hobbit
#c1439The Contractor Who Saves You Owns The TableBefore you hand a single vendor or engineer total control of your core infrastructure, cross-train an internal deputy on every credential.From The Hobbit
#c1438Bosses Outsource Danger Behind Flattering Job TitlesWhen management calls you the sole subject-matter expert right before a risky launch, require an executive to co-sign the deployment…From The Hobbit
#c1383Turn the lights offA partner who depends on your results is treating you as the problem.From Matriarch
#c1342Make them earn your voteThe other side links an unrelated favor to your agreement.From Courage Can Save Us
#c1332Deliver an ironclad blocYou lead a small group in a close contest and could trade its unity for influence.From Courage Can Save Us
#c1276Whose story winsYou're relying on authority or size to win an argument that is really about who is believed.From The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy
#c1271Name the stall when you see itA proposal is going nowhere through endless questions, studies and referrals.From The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy
#c1268Spoilers don't get a seat, but they get heardSomeone who loses from a pending agreement is quietly working against it.From The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy
#c1262Ignored allies send the bill laterYou're settling something that affects a partner who isn't in the room.From The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy
#c1261Don't spend your trusted channel on a lieYou're tempted to use a relationship built on candor to deliver a convenient falsehood.From The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy
#c1200Two kings, one yearYou are designing the top job for a group that doesn't want a strongman.From Carthage: A New History
#c1190Write the report under the waxYou are placing someone inside a rival's camp and your own side needs to know the defection is staged.From Carthage: A New History