Courtiers. Guerrillas.

The thing about competition in the marketplace is that the war is implicit. It resembles more of the medieval court situation (which of course Robert Greene recognizes the similarity in the supposed democratic climate we live in) where brands compete against each other behind the scenes.

What Greene says about individuals hold true for brands as well. We are mesmerized by the supposed democratic fairness and civilized atmosphere and are trained all our lives for peace. But we are not at all prepared for war. This insight alone yields advantages to the brands who do realize this reality, or are lucky enough to hire a marketing agency who understands this. Civilization is skin deep.
This is an arena where the subtlest, most flexible, the cleverest survives.

The system within a system is like a guerrilla unit. Or perhaps more like guerrilla strategy. Guerrillas make friends with complexity. They use it to maximum efficacy. The more chaotic the environment, the more power to the guerrillas and less to corporate giants.