Success excuses almost everything you may have done to acquire power. “Power generally insulates people from suffering too greatly for the consequences of their actions,” Pfeffer observes. (p. 151) That’s “partly because people want to be close to money and power and are therefore willing either to forgive those who have them or avert their gaze from their possessors' misdeeds.” (p. 151) I have been a fan of Jeffrey’s critical view on topics close to my heart, like leadership. I also have been intrigued by his views on power. The moment I saw a new book on power as a review copy on Netgalley, I just jumped at it. Am really thankful to the publisher for making the copy available to me to review just when the book is getting launched. Situations are often ambiguous so people will look to your behaviour for cues. If you act powerful, others will assume you have power, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Manage your reputation, as a good reputation is self-reinforcing.

Overall, as the author suggested I tried to be as non judgmental and tried to take learning which resonated with me and I thought was useful. Chapter 1 on getting yourself out there and chapter 5 on networking is useful. Even the conclusion on how to strategically work through it was good. People worry about the consequences of following the rules above but often, as disappointingly shown in many cases, those who rise to the top are instead further advantaged by their new positions, i.e: Cumulative advantage Title: 7 Rules of Power: : Surprising--But True--Advice on How to Get Things Done and Advance Your Career I have a friend and colleague at Stanford, Debra Grunfeld, who teaches a class called Acting with Power. The best part of that class is the first day when she tries to explain to people that you are always playing a role—maybe as a significant other, as a parent, as a child, as a leader, or as a subordinate.

Watch the full interview

Build a powerful brand. Associating with prestigious people and organizations is one way to do this, as their status and prestige rubs off. Other methods Pfeffer recommends include podcasts, books, and events, along with ample self-promotion. “You must also craft [your] narrative in a way consistent with the hero’s journey, so that people are more likely to remember it and, more importantly, embrace its inspirational message,” he writes. (p. 105) The author is a professor of Organizational Behavior at the Standford Graduate of Business and he writes about 7 rules that have given life-changing results. The title says it all. People don't like Jeffrey Pfeffer's books on power because they think the world shouldn't work that way, or that the power tactics won't work for them. This book lays out what works, and he takes pains to include stories from people without privilege or advantages using these tactics successfully. Power is absolute, it's the necessity of each living organism, without it you're nothing and with it you're everything, on whatsoever you go you can see the necessity of it and get only a handful people have it. Regardless of the perspective we need power in each and every step of our life. Rooted firmly in social science research, Pfeffer’s 7 rules provide a manual for increasing your ability to get things done, including increasing the positive effects of your job performance.

Having just finished Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything, coincidentally also from a Stanford professor, the 7 Rules of Power presents an interesting dichotomy of utilizing our behaviours to improve ourselves. Unlike Fogg's message of spreading positive habits to your group and then to the wider community, Pfeffer instead, convincingly (to me) advocates for a more mercenary outlook where becoming powerful can be a virtuous goal if you want to make an impact in your community and improve your station in life; though he warns that we should not use these lessons to do bad deeds. If you want to “change lives, change organizations, change the world,” the Stanford business school’s motto, you need power. These rules are rooted in social science research and will provide a manual for how to attain changes in our organization, life, and the world.Like a rousing slap of truth in the face, Pfeffer’s tough-minded, capstone book on power identifies 7 research-based, reality-revealing rules for hierarchical success. Anyone hoping to rise within an organization needs to obtain power and, therefore, needs to read this brilliant book.” Power is not something like a bottle of water that gets used up the more you drink it. It’s something that gets created the more effectively you use it. Number two: as research by some of my various colleagues has demonstrated, networking often makes people feel dirty and like they are winning by using underhanded or inappropriate tactics. That’s something that people often don’t want to do, so I think they underinvest in networking because they feel dirty about it. They don’t see it as the value-adding activity that it is.