Nobody would expect you to behave toward your subordinates as you behave toward your children, or behave toward your boss as you behave toward your significant other. All of these roles call for different behaviors, quite sensibly, and people go from role to role quite naturally. I think what causes difficulty is when people try to be the child at work—that’s not a good thing—or when they try to be the parent in places where it’s inappropriate. Though I was completely convinced with all the research and the anecdotes that Jeffrey provides, while reading through the book all I needed to do was to run through each “powerful” person I was seeing around me now and in my past. I was amazed to see how some of the rules like “appear powerful”, “break the rules” and “success excuses almost everything…” were brilliantly played out in real life. I could see people breaking the rules - appearing powerful both through that as as well gaining power through that. People who have ongoing allegations against them getting second terms as leaders of elite institutions and so on and so forth. Things I love about this book: The research and further reading the author tells you to go study. He mentions case studies you can go look up, and both successes and failures of the powerful. 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.”

The lessons from 7 Rules of Power will take a lifetime to fully implement. The book provides the lens through which I view the decisions and behaviors of those around me. Most importantly, Pfeffer has taught me that to win the game, changing the rules trumps raw effort.” 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.If fully understood and harnessed effectively, power skills and understanding become the keys to increasing salaries, job satisfaction, career advancement, organizational change, and, happiness. In 7 Rules of Power, Jeffrey Pfeffer, professor of organizational behavior at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, provides the insights that have made both his online and on-campus classes incredibly popular—with life-changing results often achieved in 8 or 10 weeks. In 7 Rules of Power, Jeffrey Pfeffer outlines what he views as the (seven) most important strategies to achieve, accumulate, and maintain power. Unsurprisingly, because he is a professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, much of what he discusses is related to the implications and importance of power in professional settings. Here are what I viewed as the main points from the 7 sections: After a lifetime of being the collaborator, team player, and ‘nice’ person, Pfeffer’s 7 Rules of Power taught me that power is not about control or greed--it is about effectiveness . . . The lessons have been transformational in my venture capital career and continue to guide my personal and professional path.” I really liked the chapters: ‘Get Out of Your Own Way’, ‘Appear Powerful’, ‘Build a Powerful Brand’, and ‘Network Relentlessly’.

If one accepts the underlying diagnosis that Americans live in a culture of corruption and incompetence ( Detroit: An American Autopsy), it does not follow that the prescription is to over-dose on the poison causing the problem.

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. Dr. Pfeffer has written the ultimate book on power that avoids the traps of conventional theories on leadership . . . Beautifully written and full of poignant stories and examples, 7 Rules of Power is my recommended read for anyone looking to radically change the trajectory of their life for good.” stars rounded up. It's definitely not a bad book, but it exemplifies several things I'm wary of in this genre (e.g. talking about people who do X and succeed and thus generalizing the principle of 'you should do X', but never talking about all the people who do X and don't succeed, or who don't do X and succeed; doing the song and dance of 'I'm not saying this is right or wrong, I'm saying this is how it is - act accordingly'; attributing certain outcomes to oversimplified factors such as Trump winning in 2016 because he was perceived as powerful. Like, sure, for some people that was enough for them to cast their vote in his favor...but that's reaaaaally just scratching the surface of all the reasons why Trump won; etc). There are a number of sources of power. One obvious—or maybe not-so-obvious—source of power is control over resources. Do you have budget control? Do you control real-estate assets? Do you control a physical plant? Resources are very important. Things I hated about this book: the ethical dilemma that it creates. Some of the studies mentioned seem very "eurocentric" or western in their conclusions, specifically about women in positions of power. there are cultures in the world where women are considered second class citizens. How can they presume to create a power dynamic in those spaces?

To a large extent, the arguments for the author's thesis are just anecdotes. This is very weak proof. There are also some psychology studies and such that I don't find very convincing, including data notorious in the Replication Crisis, e.g. power posing. 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) For Eg he talks about a study which shows a person being rude to the waiter and also throwing cigarette ash on floor appearing to be 20% more powerful. Dr. Pfeffer received his BS and MS degrees from Carnegie-Mellon University and his PhD from Stanford. He began his career at the business school at the University of Illinois and then taught for six years 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 14 years a visitor at IESE in Barcelona. Ultimately this book will help you people better understand the everyday dynamics and political truths of organizations of all types, public and private. The objective of this book is to make people learn how to apply these 7 Rules of Power and achieve their desirable goal, or moreover have a clarification at least.Studies have repeatedly proven that networking has a statistical significance in improving ones career prospects yet we all don't do enough of it. Network with those far outside your typical coworkers as the weak ties (people who you've haven't talked to for years) are likely the ones who may have an opportunity for you in the future. 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. 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. How does David beat Goliath? By breaking the rules. Goliath shows up with armor and swords. David figures that if he puts on all this armor, he won’t be able to move, let alone win the battle, so he fights by using a slingshot.

Title: 7 Rules of Power: : Surprising--But True--Advice on How to Get Things Done and Advance Your Career Monika Stezewska-Kruk, CEO Corvus Innovation, Executive Coach and Facilitator, Stanford LEAD program graduate Stacy Brown-Philpot, former CEO, TaskRabbit, Board member, HP, Inc., and Nordstrom, Forbes 40 under 40; former head of Google’s online sales and operations in India

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. Break the rules. “Violating norms, rules, and social conventions can make rule breakers seem more powerful and thereby create power for them,” Pfeffer writes. (p. 48) Rule-breaking surprises people, which causes them to pay more attention to you. And, as is often said, it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission, as Moses did in starting work on New York City development projects before having the permits for them. Leadership is not a moral pursuit". It is above all about the pragmatics of making things happen whether they be moral, immoral, or amoral. 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. Gender, race, years of service, and educational credentials all have nothing to do with performance. Yes, job performance matters, but there are other things that matter as well, so you need to understand the game. Don’t opt out of the game before you’ve even started playing—don’t place yourself at a disadvantage.