Power: Why Some People Have It—and Others Don't

Small things can matter a lot—attending birthday parties, funerals, going to lunch with people whose help you want, visiting them or their family members when they are ill.

Seeman told me that a former chairman of Swiss Re had this advice for maintaining a sense of perspective about oneself: “What you have to do is every now and then expose yourself to a social circle that really doesn’t care about your position.”

There are several dimensions to focus. One is specialization in a particular industry or company, providing depth of understanding and a more substantial web of focused relationships.

Use us-versus-them references.

If hierarchy is a fact of organizational life and, in fact, apparently preferred by people, then hierarchical arrangements will be omnipresent.

What you should trust is the social science research that provides help on how to acquire power, hold on to it, and use it. And you should trust your own experience: Watch those around you who are succeeding, those who are failing, and those who are just treading water. Figure out what’s different about them and what they are doing differently. Tha

The belief in a just world has two big negative effects on the ability to acquire power. First, it hinders people’s ability to learn from all situations and all people, even those whom they don’t like or respect.

First, you must come to believe that personal change is possible;

This turns out to not always be a good idea because the organization’s most central work is where you are going to encounter the most talented competition and also the most