Keep people off-balance and in the dark by never revealing the purpose behind your actions. If they have no clue what you are up to, they cannot prepare a defense. Guide them far enough down the wrong path, envelop them in enough smoke, and by the time they realize your intentions, it will be too late.
Direct cousin of Machiavelli's appearing-vs-being (Law 18: the prince who deceives succeeds). Greene adds the operational wrinkle: don't just conceal the fact, conceal the trajectory — let the counterparty invest in the wrong counter-move.
Information asymmetry is a lever. The party who knows the destination and the route the partner will take — and whose partner doesn't — wins by default. Surfaces over substance: let them react to imagined moves.
appearing-vs-being (Law 18: the prince who deceives succeeds). Greene adds the operational wrinkle: don't…
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