Three hundred men, who all know each other direct the economic destinies of the Continent and they look for successors among their friends and relations. This is not the place to examine the strange causes of this strange state of affairs which throws a ray of light on the obscurity of our social future.
In most companies, the formal hierarchy is a matter of public record - it's easy to discover who's in charge of what. By contrast, natural leaders don't appear on any organization chart.
Once again the mastermind was Lionel Curtis, and the earlier Round Table Groups and Institutes of International Affairs were used as nuclei for the new network.
Power is not of a man. Wealth does not center in the person of the wealthy. Celebrity is not inherent in any personality. To be celebrated, to be wealthy, to have power requires access to major institutions.
As such people achieve influence within the organization, whenever there is a conflict between their own interest and the interest of the organization, their interests will win out.
Influence inside depends on outside loyalty.
I influence people, hopefully on the positive side.
I'll put it frankly - Britain has more influence in China than Norway or Switzerland, with all respect for the other countries.
In Hollywood, there's a network of creative executives, and when they hear something is good, it catches fire.
Acquaintances represent a source of social power, and the more acquaintances you have the more powerful you are.
I describe in 'Chimpanzee Politics' how the alpha male needs broad support to reach the top spot. He needs some close allies and he needs many group members to be on his side.
It's better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you'll drift in that direction.
The humblest individual exerts some influence, either for good or evil, upon others.
No one can be truly powerful unless he has access to the command of major institutions, for it is over these institutional means of power that the truly powerful are, in the first instance, truly powerful...
Having been a head of state gives you the possibility of getting into places others can't go.
There is little leadership or followership on the Hill.
Let's say that when every one of us is born we bring with us a little ring of power. That little ring is almost immediately put to use. So every one of us is already hooked from birth and our rings of power are joined to everyone else's. In other words, our rings of power are hooked to the doing of the world in order to make the world.
It's an entertainment sport, and we go out to entertain the fans, but at the end of the day, what really matters is your influence on others.
I have more influence now than when I had the power.
