Power
Why Some People Have It-and Others Don't
Published on 1. October 2010
Book
Hardback
288 pages
978-0-06-178908-3 (ISBN)
Description
Over decades of consulting with corporations and the people who run them and 30 years teaching MBA students the nuances of organisational power, Jeffrey Pfeffer has watched numerous people suffer career reversals even as others prevail despite the odds. The most common mistake: most of us don't have a realistic understanding of what makes some people more successful than others. We tend to subscribe to the just world phenomenon, believing that life is fair, rendering us unprepared for the challenges and competition of the real world. Now, Pfeffer brings decades of research and incredible insights to a wide audience. Brimming with counterintuitive advice, numerous examples from a variety of countries, and surprising but research-based findings, his groundbreaking guide reveals the strategies and tactics that separate the winners from the losers. Power, he argues, is a force that can be used and harnessed for individual gain, but also for the benefit of organisations and society. Power, however, cannot be learned from those in charge - their advice often puts a rosy spin on their ascent and focuses on what should have worked, rather than what did.
Instead, he reveals the actual paths to power and career success. Iconoclastic and grounded in the realpolitik of human interaction, "Power" is an essential organisational survival manual and a new standard in the field of leadership and management.
Instead, he reveals the actual paths to power and career success. Iconoclastic and grounded in the realpolitik of human interaction, "Power" is an essential organisational survival manual and a new standard in the field of leadership and management.
Reviews / Votes
"Jeff Pfeffer is of immense service to the world with his work, blending academic rigor and practical genius into wonderfully readable text. The leading thinker on the topic of power, Pfeffer here distills his wisdom into an indispensable guide." -- Jim Collins, author of Good to Great and How the Mighty Fall "Talk about speaking truth to power! In refreshingly candid prose, Jeff Pfeffer offers brilliant insights into how power is successfully built, maintained, and employed in organizations. It's well known that when Pfeffer speaks about power, smart people listen. This book shows why." -- Robert Cialdini, author of Influence "Jeff Pfeffer nails it! Political skill, not just talent, is central to success in every field. In Power, this leading scholar comes down to earth with practical, even contrarian, tactics for mastering the power game." -- Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Chaired Professor, Harvard Business School, and bestselling author of Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End and SuperCorp "[Power] will help you get comfortable with challenging assumptions and lingering on the pause...[Pfeffer] draws on a wealth of social-science and psychology research." -- Inc. "Its candor, crisp prose, and forthrightness are fresh and appealing... Brimming with frank, realistic insights on paths to the top, this book offers unexpected-and aggressive-directions on how to advance and flourish in an ever-more competitive workplace." -- Publishers Weekly "[Academics and consultants] have an interest in presenting business as a rational enterprise... This leaves the analysis of power to retired businesspeople...(who strive to present themselves as business geniuses rather than Machiavellis) and practicing snake-oil salesmen...Jeffrey Pfeffer of Stanford Business School is an exception to this rule." -- The Economist "[Power] ought to be required reading for would-be leaders...[E]xcellent." -- Financial TimesMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers Inc
Dimensions
Height: 233 mm
Width: 159 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
434 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-06-178908-3 (9780061789083)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
09/2010
1st Edition
HarperCollins
from
€17.99
Available for download
Person
Jeffrey Pfeffer is the Thomas D. Dee II Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He has authored or coauthored fourteen books and is a highly sought-after expert on the subject of power and leadership. He is widely considered one of the leading management experts in the world. Pfeffer has been a visiting professor at London Business School, Harvard Business School, Singapore Management University, and IESE. He has served on the boards of several human capital software companies as well as on a variety of public and nonprofit boards. He lives in Hillsborough, California.