Jeffrey Pfeffer

Professor of Organizational Behavior

Stanford Graduate School of Business

🚀 Career & Leadership (3)

Key Takeaways

1.Power is a neutral tool; to change the world for good, good people must be willing to acquire and use power.
2.Competence is not enough; you must build a personal brand because no one will promote you if they don't know who you are.
3.Stop apologizing and get out of your own way; overcome imposter syndrome and the need to be universally liked.
4.Network relentlessly by acting as a broker who connects unconnected groups, focusing on generosity rather than transaction.
5.Break the rules to stand out; following established rules often only benefits those who created them.
6.Appearance matters: Body language, speaking time, and energy levels significantly impact how powerful you are perceived to be.
7.The world is not fair or homeostatic; success often excuses the methods used to achieve it, so focus on results.

Methodologies(3)

The 7 Rules of Power

by Jeffrey Pfeffer

🚀 Career & Leadership

A comprehensive framework for acquiring and maintaining power in any hierarchy. It emphasizes practical, sometimes uncomfortable actions over idealistic views of how the world 'should' work.

Core Principles

1.Get out of your own way: Stop self-sabotage, imposter syndrome, and the obsession with being liked.
2.Break the rules: Differentiate yourself by disrupting conventions to gain attention and leverage.
3.Appear powerful: Master the skills of acting with authority (body language, voice, eye contact).
+4 more...

"If you want power to be used for good, more good people need to have power."

#rules#power#career

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Strategic Networking & Brokerage

by Jeffrey Pfeffer

🚀 Career & Leadership

A systematic approach to building social capital by focusing on generosity and connecting unconnected groups (brokerage). It prioritizes 'weak ties' over close friends to access non-redundant information.

Core Principles

1.List 10 key people: Identify individuals crucial to your goals and strategize how to meet them.
2.Be a Broker: Connect people who don't know each other but would benefit from the connection.
3.Pursue Weak Ties: Interact with people outside your immediate circle to gain new insights and opportunities.
+1 more...

"The more people you know, the more things you know. If leadership is getting things done through others, the more others you know, the more you'll get done."

#strategic#networking#brokerage

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Acting with Power Protocol

by Jeffrey Pfeffer

🚀 Career & Leadership

A set of behavioral adjustments based on the premise that humans respond to visual and auditory cues of dominance before content. These are learnable skills, not innate personality traits.

Core Principles

1.Physical Occupancy: Use open postures, invade personal space gently (e.g., hand on shoulder), and don't shrink away.
2.Commanding Communication: Speak loudly, interrupt if necessary, use humor to disarm, and avoid 'pre-emptory apologies'.
3.Eye Contact & No Notes: Maintain long gazing time and never read from notes to signal mastery and confidence.
+1 more...

"You cannot choose what is not in your head. No one is going to promote you if they don't know who the hell you are."

#acting#power#protocol

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