7 Rules of Power: Surprising - But True - Advice on How to Get Things Done and Advance Your Career

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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. If you’re perceived as a powerful, effective, efficacious leader, that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

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. Some people do philanthropy after they get rich, but examples of that in this book are used to illustrate how to do public relations to boost your image after criminal convictions or other scandals.Leadership is not a moral pursuit". It is above all about the pragmatics of making things happen whether they be moral, immoral, or amoral. I really liked the chapters: ‘Get Out of Your Own Way’, ‘Appear Powerful’, ‘Build a Powerful Brand’, and ‘Network Relentlessly’. There's no convincing scientific evidence presented for how power-seeking disconnected from fairness or competence leads to the greater good. One could look at health statistics, for example, and see how they correlate with inequality or corruption or mistrust. That has been done, but does not get play in this book. One could even look at how national economies do overall. See books below. The rules are made by those already in power. If you’re already in power, follow the rules. If you’re not, make your own. This must be one of the most important books I've read not just this year, but during my almost 25 years of existence.

Break the Rules – Often times the ends justify the means, and Pfeffer is more or less on board with the age-old adage of “it’s better to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission.” While he does provide some examples of accomplished and powerful individuals who got their way by breaking the rules, I think the most important part of this section is really his emphasis on not being afraid to break social norms and conventions to get what you want. The rules are deceptively simple, and yet most people don't do them, out of fear that others won't like them (Rule 1: Get Out Of Your Own Way) and they'll get in trouble for stepping out of line (Rule 2: Break the Rules). They don't think they deserve power, so they don't act powerful (Rule 3: Appear Powerful).The audience of the book seems to be people who don't "believe in" the existence or reality of power, and as such spends an inordinate amount of time convincing the reader that power is an objectively real. If you come into the book believing that power exists, and that in zero-sum conflicts, the person or entity with more power will be able to get their way, this will feel not just elementary, but extremely disconcerting. Understand that once you have acquired power, what you did to get it will be forgiven, forgotten, or both. What they need from you is inspiration. They need energy, even if you’re not feeling energetic that day. They need guidance. They need information. They need you to behave like a leader. What I tell people is, if you want to be authentic, you can be as authentic as you need or want to be, but you need to be authentic to what the people around you need from you. You don’t need to be authentic to how you’re feeling. Recommend? YES. If you haven’t read anything on Power, this is where you should start with. As a beginner, you can read this book, and if you are someone who believes that one should not be in pursuit of power in the material world, this book might change that. Get out of your own way. Pfeffer makes the case for getting over any hang-ups about self-promotion and leaning into confidence and overconfidence. “Be willing to do whatever it takes—don’t run away from power,” he writes. (p. 25) He’s impatient with accommodating shy or introverted students, telling them it’s for their own good that they’re forced to overcome any inhibitions about speaking publicly. Pfeffer sees downsides to leaders sharing their vulnerabilities with colleagues, citing research that suggests it leads to lower influence. And he notes that researchers have found that being agreeable results in worse career outcomes and disagreeable people are just as successful in attaining power.

The research is also very good, and I appreciate someone telling the hard truth. This author seems to truly have wanted to deliver truth and helpful advice, rather than being liked (which, if you have read the book, will get the non-irony of that). I have studied by annotated, highlighted and rewritten sentences from the book. I have already recommended books about power to my female friends who have been taken advantage of and experienced things no people on this planet deserve to encounter. This book might be the most helpful one yet of those. With 7 Rules of Power, you’ll learn, through both numerous examples as well as research evidence, how to accomplish change in your organization, your life, the lives of others, and the world.Craft a narrative of yourself that matches what you want the world to perceive you as and tell your story before someone else does. Do as many things to get your name out to your industry, podcasts, books, conferences. Finally, always take credit for your work, don't be afraid of self-promotion, frame it as self-evaluation of the impact you have had to your work and team.

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, founder and CEO of the Chief Executive Leadership Institute; Lester Crown Professor at Yale School of Management and Senior Associate Dean for Leadership Studies The writing style is simple (my SEO brain could spot a few things, which I would not accept, but okay, okay, I know the book does not have to be SEO-optimised), and I liked the omniscient narration in many of the stories. Apart from this kind of narration, the first-hand experiences of people are also mentioned in the book. Dr. Pfeffer received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Carnegie-Mellon University and his Ph.D. from Stanford. He began his career at the business school at the University of Illinois and then taught at the University of California, Berkeley. Pfeffer has been a visiting professor at the Harvard Business School, Singapore Management University, London Business School, Copenhagen Business School, and for the past 8 years a visitor at IESE in Barcelona. When I started reading 7 Rules of Power, I had a long list of assumptions about leadership and building influence. With each chapter, more pieces of the power puzzle fell into place. By trying the strategies from the book, I founded a consulting company where I leveraged my 20+ years of professional experience to provide research, innovation, and strategy advice.” We know that educational credentials help predict salary. We know that gender and race help predict salary, even though they shouldn’t. We know that years of service, or seniority, helps predict salary, and there’s some evidence to suggest that years of service is one of the more important predictors of salary.

Success!

Is power the last dirty secret or the secret to success? Both. While power carries some negative connotations, power is a tool that can be used for good or evil. Don’t blame the tool for how some people used it. The rules are very simple - easy to recollect and keep tabs - but execution in my view seems to be a huge task. So only those who are clear in their goals and need the power will go the long haul. Rules like ‘get out of your own way’, ‘break the rules’, ‘appear powerful’, …’success excuses almost everything else’, are powerful yet simple.