There are many ways to get what you want. You can be Mr. Nice Guy and ask, "please, please, with a cherry on top." You can be a whiner and complain like a finocchio until you get your way. Or, you can be the bad guy and take what you want or stop at nothing to achieve your goals. Basically, be ruthless, my preferred way.

Now let's get one thing straight. Being ruthless is not going to make you loved and admired. It won't even get you respect. It will, though, make you focused and, more importantly, feared. That, my friends, isn't necessarily a bad thing. People ask if it's better to be feared or loved, and the answer is always the same: feared. It lasts longer than love.

Being ruthless in business accomplishes things. Especially when a guy is behind on his payments. But don't mistake ruthlessness with being a tyrant. Being ruthless means you take no prisoners, you develop a killer instinct, but you are consistent in your fierceness. There's nothing worse than a bad arse who changes his mind every time the wind blows east. That's not being ruthless, it's being a lunatic.

So let's look at what you need to do to be ruthless:

1- Leave emotions at the door
When you're ruthless, you have to make decisions without feelings. Emotions cloud your judgment. They weaken you when it comes to the people you like. When you decide to be ruthless in business or in your personal life, emotions should go out the window. Don't bend the rules for no one; be consistent in your actions.

If you get hired for a job and your first order is to fire half your staff, you have to be cold and calculating. Eliminate the useless employees. You wouldn't keep a guy who doesn't know his arse from his elbow in business but bakes you cookies every Friday, just because you think he's a stand-up guy.

This emotional detachment applies to all aspects of business. If your enemy is weak, show no compassion and use the opportunity to destroy him. When you're ruthless and aggressive, you have to make tough decisions. It's going to take brass balls; you don't have time to worry about feelings. Remorse exits your brain forever.

You never apologize. You don't have pity. You don't feel sorry for no one. Why should you? It's business, not personal, and if the other guy doesn't understand that, what the hell do you care?

If you tolerate idiots or forgive anyone, you might as well just cut off your balls right now, little girl,
- No tolerance for incompetence
Someone who's ruthless wants to be surrounded by people that can execute his vision. A ruthless person needs to be surrounded by intelligent people if he wants to get things done. When you're ruthless, you have no tolerance or patience for stupid people.

Get rid of waste immediately. If someone is too stupid to think before they act, they don't deserve respect or dignity -- so get rid of them. You're only as strong as your weakest link, so don't let stronzos get in the way of your ambition. Zero tolerance.

3- Never forgive
Forgiveness makes you weak. Ruthless people don't understand the meaning of forgiveness. You can't ever forgive idiocy, betrayal or disloyalty. Someone screws up, they're gone, fired, out of your life. No excuses, no explanations. Forgiving someone always leaves the door open for others to betray you as well (after all, you are Mr. Softy Pants who gets all mushy and forgives everyone after a little sucky-sucky ).

4- Punish quickly & brutally
Beyond not forgiving someone for treachery or infidelity, you need to make an example of those responsible to ensure that it doesn't happen again. Your reaction to being betrayed has to be consistent, quick, and it has to be heartless enough that it sends a clear message to others: Don't f*ck with me.

What's important here is that you punish in a consistent manner. If you like putting guys in cement shoes when they screw you over, do it across the board. Don't make an exception for the cafone you caught sleeping with your wife and give him the "extra treatment." That's letting emotions rule.

If you delay your punishment, like the Count of Monte Cristo, you defeat the purpose of punishing someone. If your dog eats the plate of cannoli you've been looking forward to all day, plotting revenge and hitting him out of the blue three weeks later isn't going to send the message, "Don't ever touch my freakin' cannoli again, you stinking mutt."

Learn to scare the crap out of people and stick to the plan,
5- Instill fear in others
Whether you do it by your actions, by your words, by hiring some muscle, or by carrying a Beretta, instill fear in others. They are more likely to surrender if they fear you. And when you want to take over the world, you want to get there as quickly as possible, and with as little bloodshed as possible. Blood is a big expense. Turn those around you into the French, and they'll surrender like patsies.

6- Stay focused & determined
When you aim to be ruthless, you have to stick to it all the way. And if you have a "master plan" to go along with your ruthlessness, make sure you never forget it.

If you want to build the largest garbage disposal company in the world, focus on destroying or buying out all those that stand in your way. Don't get distracted by buying a cow farm in Tijuana.

thoughts?