The Dictator's Handbook presents a theory of political leadership that emphasizes the importance of coalition sizes in determining government behavior, contrasting small-coalition autocracies with large-coalition democracies. The article explores how these concepts apply to the dynamics of leadership within tech companies, highlighting the critical role of technical competence in fostering successful project outcomes and the differences from political maneuvering in larger organizations.

• The Dictator's Handbook's core thesis: leaders with small coalitions reward supporters directly (breeding corruption), while large-coalition leaders must deliver public goods to survive politically
• Applying coalition theory to tech orgs, the framework predicts inner circles would want to limit rivals/replacements to preserve their position
• Real engineering team dynamics contradict that prediction—engineers actively want capable peers around them because strong teams produce better collective outcomes, undercutting the "irreplaceability" logic coalition theory would suggest