[foolishdream]

Have less scruples than the next guy. Being free of moral bindings allows you greater range to maneuver.

Understand social proof and signaling. Practice dropping positive signals and social proof in all your stories; have a rehearsed story showing vulnerability to have when you need to make yourself appear more personable. Practice mirroring as people like those similar to themselves. If you're an well educated white male, you're already halfway there.

[timrosenblatt]

I don't recommend the "have less scruples than the next guy" game. This is the sort of nonsense that was passed around in the 80s -- "business is war". There is an important difference between business and war: if you lose in war, you die. No second chances.

In business, if you are a tough but fair player, and you lose, you will be offered the chance to play again. If you compete in bad faith, you won't.

[foolishdream]

You're reframing. "Tough but fair" is how you treat coworkers, employees, investors, and others who you interact with regularly. But it doesn't give you an edge in becoming relentlessly effective.

What do you do when your competitor is willing to break rules that you are not? Tread moral and legal grey areas that you do not? Take advantage of Facebook API's to spam users? How about spamming Craigslist? Submitting thousands of fake car requests to bog down your service and drivers?

Do you avoid all this low hanging fruit? Or do you take advantage of these growth opportunities and hope that you're so successful these shady tactics become afterthoughts?