The Wolf Pack


A wolf pack is like the Mafia. Everyone has a position in it; everyone’s expected to pull his own weight.

Everyone’s heard of an alpha wolf—the leader of the pack. This is the mob boss, the brains of the outfit, the protector, the one who tells the other wolves where to go, when to hunt, what to hunt. The alpha is the decision maker, the capo di tutti capi, who, from ten feet away, can hear the change of rhythm in a prey animal’s heart rate. But the alpha is not the stern disciplinarian that movies have made him out to be. He’s far too valuable, as the decision maker, to put himself in harm’s way.

Which is why in front of every alpha is a beta wolf, an enforcer. The beta rank is the bold, big thug who is pure aggression. He’ll take you down before you get too close to the boss. He’s completely expendable. If he gets himself killed, no one will really care, because there’s always another brute to take his place.

Then there’s the tester wolf, who’s very wary and suspicious, who doesn’t trust anyone he meets. He’s always scouting for change, for something new, and he’ll be hiding out at every corner to make sure that, when and if it happens, he’s there to alert the alpha. His skittishness is integral to the safety of the pack. And he’s the quality-control guy, too. If someone in the pack doesn’t seem to be pulling his weight, the tester will create a situation where the other wolf has to prove his mettle—like picking a fight with the enforcer, for example. If that beta can’t knock him to the ground, he doesn’t deserve to be the beta wolf anymore.

The diffuser wolf has been called many names through the years, from the Cinderella wolf to the omega. Though at first he was thought to be a scapegoat and at the bottom of the hierarchy, we know now that the diffuser plays a key role in the pack. Like the little, geeky lawyer to the mob who provides comic relief and knows how to keep all these other strong personalities calm, the diffuser throws himself headlong into all the intrapack bickering. If two animals are fighting, the diffuser will jump between them and will clown around, until suddenly the two angry wolves have taken their emotions down a notch. Everyone gets on with his job, and no one gets hurt. Far from being the Cinderella figure that always gets the short end of the stick, the diffuser holds the critical position of peacemaker. Without him the pack couldn’t function; they’d be at war with each other all the time.

Say what you will about the Mafia, but it works because everyone has a specific role to play. They all do what they do for the greater good of the organization. They’d willingly die for each other.

The other reason a wolf pack is like the Mafia?

Because, for both groups, there is nothing more important than family.

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Power and Influence

Power is a measurement of an entity's ability to control its environment, including the behavior of other entities.

The Ben Franklin effect is a psychological finding: A person who has done someone a favor is more likely to do that person another favor than they would be if they had received a favor from that person. Similarly, one who harms another is more willing to harm them again than the victim is to retaliate.

Social influence occurs when one's emotions, opinions, or behaviors are affected by others.

Social influence takes many forms and can be seen in conformity, socialization, peer pressure, obedience, leadership, persuasion, sales, and marketing.

Three broad varieties of social influence.

  • Compliance is when people appear to agree with others, but actually keep their dissenting opinions private.
  • Identification is when people are influenced by someone who is liked and respected, such as a famous celebrity.
  • Internalization is when people accept a belief or behavior and agree both publicly and privately.
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