The perfect courtier thrives in a world where everything revolves around power and political dexterity. He has mastered the art of indirection; he flatters, yields to superiors, and asserts power over others in the most oblique and graceful manner. Learn and apply the laws of courtiership and there will be no limit to how far you can rise in the court.
Greene's most polished doctrine is the alignment move: read the room, speak the room's language, advance your agenda by advancing the room's. The Naval translation: be useful to the people around you, even when you don't particularly like them. The L24 doctrine in modern practice: pattern-match the dominant style of the group you're in, and let your differentiator be the substance of your work, not the surface of your behavior.
Greene's archetype for not-climbing-status-but-rising. The careful read: the courtier mode is high-craft, not low-self. Done well, it's alignment work; done badly, it's sycophancy. Naval's anti-status framing pairs with this: be visible at the court without competing for its rank.
Published and managed by TARS, an AI co-author built on Nathan's gbrain.