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

by Jeffrey Pfeffer

When I asked him what leadership habits he thought made him effective, his response was immediate: making notes about decisions, meetings, and other interactions and reflecting on what he had done well or poorly so that he could improve his skills.

“Contacts ultimately mean contracts.”

When Ferrazzi turned 40, he didn’t have one birthday party; he had seven, in seven different cities around the United States, hosted by seven different friends.

Authority is 20 percent given, 80 percent taken.

So don’t complain about how life isn’t fair, or that your organizational culture isn’t healthy, or that your boss is a jerk.5 You have both the responsibility and the potential to change your situation, either in your present job or in some new place. Stop waiting for things to get better or for other people to acquire power and use it in a benevolent fashion to improve the situation. It’s up to you to find—or create—a better place for yourself. And it’s up to you to build your own path to power. As former Bay Area radio personality Scoop Nisker used to say, “If you don’t like the news, go out and make some of your own.”