7 Rules of Power: Surprising - But True - Advice on How to Get Things Done and Advance Your Career Paperback – 4 May 2023

I really enjoyed 7 Rules of Power you certainly find some good stuff to take out of it and practice in your work life. If there was a negative its a bit American as in it comes with a dog eat dog business philosophy.But you can adopt to your own environment easy enough the over all Rules are pretty good and worth adding to your portfolio of management skills. I would consider it a worth while buy.

I went to a highly-ranked MBA program. There was nothing in my program even close to what this author discusses - there is a reason why it's the most highly ranked class in the Stanford MBA program. Talent alone isn't enough to get ahead at a company. If you don't understand how to gain power, others will use it against you over and over. Read this book.

This book describes in an intuitive way why some people reach powerful positions over others given equal technical qualifications. The author states right from the beginning that many people might find the concepts described a bit uncomfortable. This is also the main obstacle for most of us to obtain power. It also explains why children of powerful people tend to “get it” more frequently.The book also explains why people with power tend to stay in powerful positions and get away more easily with wrongdoings compared to powerless ones.That said, by explaining the “rules of power” in a research-based way, it distinguishes the behaviours necessary to obtain power versus when one sits in a position in power already and to stay there. This explains why many “leadership classes” presented by existing powerful people are most of the time completely useless to their underlings.The concepts described in this book are definitely useful, but it forgets to mention that in many cases it is not just down to one’s behaviour but simply down to the circumstances or luck. Of course, if you are the child of a powerful politician or CEO, you would enjoy many advantages the majority simply don’t have. I find “Outliers” from Malcolm Gladwell an excellent book about this issue.

The author distils 7 rules for power providing research-based practical tips that would help anyone in their career. I wish I had known and applied these much earlier in mine. I found Rule 1 and Rule 7 less relevant but that is not in any way to distract from them - they are insightful and absolutely correct for the author to include. I highly recommend this for those starting out in their career or even seasoned execs like me.

Jeffrey Pfeffer is the world’s leading expert on power and politics inside corporations. This new book is a must read for those trying to navigate their challenging corporate landscape and work with narcissistic leaders

This book so far is excellent. One reviewer noted that it was two dog-eat-dog American. Well, that is how the world is. Facing up to it means you will be able to attain power – the whole point of the book. The only criticism I have is the awful narrator, who constantly sneers when he utters certain words. I really could do without that interpretation. It trivialises what is being said. It also does not make you feel that the author is a nice person. Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t. Either way,it is not the narrator’s job to add sentiment. Just read the darned thing.