Borrowed power vs True power

Borrowed power or true power? Look at the actual case of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt. Those people believed, I guess, that they were there for ever. If you asked Kadafi of Lybia a few weeks ago, I would suspect that he would have been confident to stay in place. Try to probe him now. I'm sure that his convictions are a little more shaky. Even if his country remains in relative peace and harmony... so far.

I've been having this thought for a while now. And my introspection on the subject is not finished. What do Ben Ali, Mubarak and Kadafi have in common? They all stand (or standed) on borrowed power. As long as the people tolerate them, everything goes smoothly in the world. But don't be too exuberant. You better walk with your bottom cheeks tight. Because you never know when the people will have enough.

So what is true power then? It is not Kim Jong-Il. It is not Fidel Castro. Those are the same as the others. They are just pressing the people's balls a little harder. So what is it? What is true power? I think it's money. Look at the big shots in this world. I mean the real ones. The major league ones. Most of them you don't hear much about. But do you think that, because you don't hear about them, that they are not active? Far from it. They are just keeping it low profile. They get people elected. They get bills passed. They endure and prosper. For generations. And when there's a head to roll, its not theirs.

Its the same thing in enterprises and politics. Look at the CEOs. Look at presidents, senators and governors. Are they that powerful? Their heads can roll in a matter of minutes. And it did. They are just as good as the next election or the next profit report. Or until people get tired of them. But the major shareholders, the others playing behind the curtain or the people ... they remain.

So my take away from it all is don't mistake true power from borrowed power. You still want the CEO's job? Fine. But make sure that you do it for the right reasons: money, contacts, prestige. But not power. If you do, you're running after a shadow. Even popularity and prestige are false gods. It takes time to get and it can be removed from you before you know it. And you're left with nothing. Worst! People look at you as they look at their drop before flushing.

Once again look at the very rich. Ok they have the prestige of their wealth. But are they actively after popularity and prestige? No. They are after true power. And it seams that keeping a low profile about it is a good strategy.