# What is Power? - Commoncog
**URL:** https://forum.commoncog.com/t/what-is-power-commoncog/2319
**Category:** Blog Comments
**Created:** [November 25, 2024, 8:08am UTC](https://forum.commoncog.com/t/what-is-power-commoncog/2319 "2024-11-25T08:08:01Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@cedric](https://forum.commoncog.com/u/cedric)
#### Post date: [November 25, 2024, 8:08am UTC](https://forum.commoncog.com/t/what-is-power-commoncog/2319/1 "2024-11-25T08:08:01Z")
Understanding how power works in business is necessary to understanding business in developing markets. A members-only mini series.
* * *
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at [https://commoncog.com/what-is-power](https://commoncog.com/what-is-power)
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### Author:  [@cedric](https://forum.commoncog.com/u/cedric)
#### Post date: [November 26, 2024, 3:12am UTC](https://forum.commoncog.com/t/what-is-power-commoncog/2319/2 "2024-11-26T03:12:01Z")
A note: people with power don’t talk about power. People without power do.
So I’m not going to sell this series much. And I’ll bring it to a close quickly.
The Asian conglomerate series will primarily be for members. This series is to set up for that.
And so this series is just for you.
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### Author:  [@cedric](https://forum.commoncog.com/u/cedric)
#### Post date: [November 26, 2024, 3:12am UTC](https://forum.commoncog.com/t/what-is-power-commoncog/2319/3 "2024-11-26T03:12:01Z")
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### Author:  [@ergestx](https://forum.commoncog.com/u/ergestx)
#### Post date: [November 26, 2024, 11:38am UTC](https://forum.commoncog.com/t/what-is-power-commoncog/2319/4 "2024-11-26T11:38:42Z")
By far my favorite topic
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### Author:  [@mgoodrum](https://forum.commoncog.com/u/mgoodrum)
#### Post date: [November 27, 2024, 6:46pm UTC](https://forum.commoncog.com/t/what-is-power-commoncog/2319/5 "2024-11-27T18:46:12Z")
At the risk of being glib:
A concept that runs through the cited cases is that power exists in context.
Imagine if Kwek Hong Png were not involved in the Republic Plaza deal, and the Australian-Japanese consortium sent minority stakeholder John Malone to meet with Tan Chin Tuan. (Because Malone’s not Japanese, he has ‘high agency,’ and he has a reputation for getting deals done.)
Even if Malone does everything right before and during the meeting, the deal almost certainly doesn’t happen.
Because in context, what would Malone have that Tan Chin Tuan wants?
He’s not part of the fabric of Singapore, past or present; he’s just another would be foreign investor with access to capital. He profiles more as a potential Republic Plaza tenant than as an owner
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### Author:  [@cedric](https://forum.commoncog.com/u/cedric)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2024, 1:29am UTC](https://forum.commoncog.com/t/what-is-power-commoncog/2319/6 "2024-11-28T01:29:52Z")
> [@mgoodrum](#):
>
> Imagine if Kwek Hong Png were not involved in the Republic Plaza deal, and the Australian-Japanese consortium sent minority stakeholder John Malone to meet with Tan Chin Tuan. (Because Malone’s not Japanese, he has ‘high agency,’ and he has a reputation for getting deals done.)
😂
> [@mgoodrum](#):
>
> Even if Malone does everything right before and during the meeting, the deal almost certainly doesn’t happen.
>
> Because in context, what would Malone have that Tan Chin Tuan wants?
This is absolutely correct, of course.