Once upon a time my husband worked with friends who owned an energy company. Which means I also worked with friends who owned an energy company. It was a great company with a lot of potential that unfortunately was never realized. It was not realized because all too soon, but perhaps predictably, the company ceased operations. I learned many things about power, both literal power and the idea of power while working with our friends and my husband at this business.  One thing I learned along the way was that one of the reason the company had trouble operating and eventually stopped operating all together, was that the owners did not understand what power was and how to use it. Their home library contained Robert Greene’s 48 Laws of Power. This book, which was originally published in 1998 gives 48 rules on what power is and how to use it. I had not heard of it before I saw it in our friends’ library. When I saw the book and its bright red cover, my eyes were drawn to it. Once I opened it, I saw quite clearly several things our friends learned from the book and were using in their actions not only with my husband and I, but also with the company, its customers, and employees.