Everything man-made has flaws. Everything.
Why? Because anything that the human mind conjures requires tradeoffs. It’s a fundamental law of nature. You can’t escape it. This, anyone who tells you that his ideas are flawless is dishonest.
Now here’s the thing. The Anzai Protocol works. And because it works so well, the tradeoffs are huge.
What’s more–most people can’t stomach it. They call it unfair (true), manipulative (debatable), immoral (false).
That’s OK. This knowledge shouldn’t be mainstream, anyway. After all, the fewer people who know this, the better it is for the rest of us.
And this brings me to the first flaw–
If the mark knows you’re using the Anzai Protocol, it won’t work.
You can’t persuade someone who knows you’re trying to persuade him.
You can’t persuade someone who doesn’t want to be persuaded by you. It’s not possible.
This is, of course, not a flaw specific to the Anzai Protocol. Once the mark erects his mental barriers, nothing gets through. Not Dale Carnegie. Not Robert Cialdini. Not Akira Anzai.
You build influence over your mark in the dark.
The second flaw–
The Anzai Protocol is overkill in most situations.
Truth: you won’t need the Anzai Protocol for most things.
Because many things are too trivial to warrant its use. Like, getting your kid to eat his greens. Or, for an extra espresso shot from the barista.
For trivialities, stick to mainstream (Cialdinian) tricks. Use the Anzai Protocol only where it matters.
In a fight where a stick is all you need, don’t bring a flame thrower.
The third flaw may annoy some–
The Anzai Protocol is not for most people.
To be an Anzaian, a base level of competence and eloquence is essential.
I’ll be blunt here. Someone who can’t string two words together (or have the charisma of a wooden stool) should forget about the Anzai Protocol.
You don’t dream of playing in the NBA if you’re a 5′ 2.
Look. I’m not here to sell you hope. The Anzai Protocol is not a magic bullet. It’s a specific set of knowledge that suits a specific set of situations for a specific group of people.
And like most useful things, there are flaws to deal with, tradeoffs to make.
Is the Anzai Protocol for you?
Well, if you’re not turned off by now, then maybe. Especially when (yes, there are more hoops to jump over) you can meet these three requisites.