Law 20 of 48
Do Not Commit to Anyone.
Avoid making commitments to individuals or groups too hastily. By refraining from immediate commitments, you retain flexibility and control over your actions and decisions. Evaluate potential commitments carefully before making any promises.
Independent commentary on a principle popularised in The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene and Joost Elffers. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the authors or their publishers.
What it actually means
The point is not to keep everyone at arm's length, which only makes you useless to all sides. It is that agreeing reflexively, to be liked or to end an awkward moment, spends a commitment you never decided to make. Loyalty given by default is worth nothing to the person receiving it.
Where you would have seen it
Two colleagues are in a slow war and both want you at lunch. Taking either seat buys one ally and one permanent enemy, over a fight that was never yours and will be forgotten long before your appraisal.
Try it today
When you are asked to take a side today, say you want to think about it and mean it. Give your answer tomorrow, not in the room.
Where this shows up
Law 20 tends to come up in these parts of life. Follow a path to read the other laws that belong with it:
At Work · Friends & Family · Negotiating
Laws that go with it
If law 20 landed, these are the entries people usually read next — they cover overlapping ground: law 2, law 13, law 14.
Never Put too Much Trust in Friends, Learn How to Use Enemies.
Friendship makes obligations invisible: nobody states the terms, so nobody can be held to them.
Friends & FamilyAt WorkLaw 13When Asking for Help, Appeal to People's Self-Interest.
People help you when helping you serves something they already want.
PersuasionNegotiatingAt WorkLaw 14Pose as a Friend, Work as a Spy.
Some warmth is reconnaissance.
Friends & FamilyAt WorkPersuasion