Power: Why Some People Have it and Others Don't

by Jeffrey Pfeffer

Provide Attention and Support Sometimes building a relationship so that others will help you requires nothing more than being polite and listening. One of the most amazing things about Willie Brown’s rise to power in the California Assembly was that he originally got the job because of the support of numerous conservative Republican legislators who were elected after a tax-cutting initiative and swept into power with President Ronald Reagan. Brown received this support even though he was best known for promoting legislation to relax the penalties for possessing small amounts of marijuana and decriminalizing homosexual activity. The source of the bond: when conservative Republican legislators got together for lunch, they talked about how Brown, at the time the chairman of a powerful committee, treated them fairly, gave them a chance to speak, listened to their points, and occasionally even agreed with them.5 Being nice to people is effective because people find it difficult to fight with those who are being polite and courteous. 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. Senator Ted Kennedy was an unabashed liberal who worked diligently during his 47 years in the U.S. Senate to promote bills and causes he believed in. His ability to get things done and the number of friends he had even among conservative Republicans came from his skill and assidu...