Lab+6

Rule 1: Power is not only what you have, but what an opponent thinks you have. If your organization is small, hide your numbers in the dark and raise a din that will make everyone think you have many more people than you do.

Out of the 11 rules that Saul Alinsky presents. His first rule seems the most important. The first rule to me possess the most crucial component in confrontational tactics. Reality is highly subjective and not absolute. You don't necessarily have to possess power as long as you can present and sustain yourself in a powerful image.

Presenting your actual power and capabilities allows your opponents to deduce your weaknesses.

To me this phenomenon would be a key to success in almost any situation. It is not about lying about ur assets and weaknesses, but rather, amplifying your powers and eclipsing your weaknessess. All in the name of survival of the fittest. In this highly competetive market it is important for you to show an edge over others.

Such a phenomenon has been present throughout history and isn't confined to humans alone. Throughout the animal kingdom you find animals with that use deception as a defence mechanism. Many butterfly species for example have eye shaped spots on their wings so predators would be fooled into thinking they are a larger creature. An abdomen colour of black and yellow usually meant that the insect or animal is poisonous or dangerous to hunt. A lot of prey animals have evolved to adopt black and yellow colours to fool other predators into thinking they are unpalatable.

The point here is that it is a natural phenomenon for us to present ourselves in an exaggerated way. Being the intellectual and complex creatures we are means that we have to amplify our powers in a subtle and strategic way, specially in this conceptual and competitive age.