These are excerpts from the author’s book “Deep,” which contains eight of his small books published in the form of Wisdom Literature covering different aspects of life: Facing troublemakers, dealing with pain, personal financial issues, gastronomy, reading, criticizing, inspiring, and feeling always good to go.

Week 2: Managing Allies

• Old, stable relationships can be reliable sources of alliances; just be careful of changes that affect people over time.

• Try your best to cautiously select your allies from among your trustworthy relationships. However, do not stop looking seriously for new, reliable allies; they will be the time-tested relationships of your future.

• When searching for new allies, accurately calculate your needs and interests, as even minor miscalculations could lead to fatal results.

• Cracks in your relationships affect you sharply; negative surprises from alliances can wound you deeply.

• Betrayal is a big word; it is probably not applicable to transient allies’ letdowns.

• It does not require a high degree of intelligence to spot a two-faced ally—he exposes himself spontaneously; just be attentive to naive gestures.

• Two-faced alliance is not a characteristic only of bad people. Some good people might not be sure of which side to take throughout a conflict. Monitor everyone carefully, and do not take it personally.

• Do not wait until you are in the middle of a conflict; make strong ties with potential allies in advance.

• Records of past conflicts are a useful tool in selecting your trustworthy allies. However, always keep your eyes open to update your list of allies.

• Beware of times your opponents show sudden kindness and when your allies repeat unsolicited confirmations of loyalty.

• Declaring that you do not trust anyone is not enough to prove that you are attentive and cautious. Keep a list of your allies categorized by level of trustworthiness.

• You are stronger when you are able to declare that you trust more people

• It is your sole responsibility to maintain your image during the conflict and negotiations; do not expect others to defend every minor attack. The support of allies should be reserved for essential, critical turns along your conflict journey.

• It is always good to try to anticipate the expiry dates of your allies.

• Opponents do not betray you—beware of your allies.

• Trust is an important criteria while selecting your allies. However, you need to be smart to identify whom you should trust.

• Trusted people are not necessarily your loved ones but those who have the required knowledge and experience and had a good history with you.

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