Customer Reviews
A bit scary book - By: Kerola Sami, 06 Aug 2008 
The book has instructions how to obtain power & some notes why or how power could be used. I afraid just this kind of books are the source of inspiration for eager young managers who want to make difference without point & end up cause troubles. That is not message of the book, butin wrong hands this book is dynamite.
For person like me the book has nice to know information value. At least now I know what it takes to take & hold power. Sounds like hard work, but perhaps if there is good enough reason one might see why to put so much time & effort to make difference.
The ability to influence behavior, events and people - By: Gerard Kroese, 21 Jun 2004 
Jeffrey Pfeffer is Professor of Organizational Behaviorin the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, California. Previously he has been at the University of Illinois, the University of California at Berkeley, & as a Visiting Professor at the Harvard Business School. He has written several business- & management-related books.
This book consists of four parts, with each part consisting of 3-to-6 chapters. Pfeffer starts with a definition of power: "... the potential ability to influence behavior, to change the course of events, to overcome resistance, & to get people to do things that they would not otherwise do." This power is utilized & realized through politics & influence. Based on above definition the book discusses the details to the implementation process which consists of seven steps:
1. Decide on your goals.
2. Diagnose who is importantin getting your goals accomplished.
3. Have a sense of the game being played, the players, & what their positions are.
4. Ascertain the power based of the other players, as well as your own potential & actual sources of power.
5. Determine your relative strength, along with the strength of other players.
6. Diagnose what is going to happenin an organization, as well as preparing yourself to take action.
7. Consider the various strategies or tactics that are available to you, as well as those used by others.
I believe it is important to keep these stepsin mind since the book does not follow the sequence of these steps. The other chaptersin Part I - Powerin Organizations provide help bothin diagnosing the extent to which situations are going to involve the use of power &in figuring out who the political actors are & what their points are likely to be. Some important quotesin this part are: "Power is a valuable resource [and] those who have power typically conserve it for important issues [scarcity & importance are correlated]." "Knowing the power of various organizational members & subunits is important, & so is understanding whose help you needin order to achieve your goals."
Part II - Sources of Power, consisting of 6 chapters, considers where power comes from, or some people & some subunits have more power than others. It offers implicit lessons on how to acquire more power & influence for ourselves. "Power comes from beingin the 'right' place. A good place or position is one that provides you with: 1. control over resources.; 2. control over or extensive access to information; & 3. formal authority." By using both well-known & practical examples, the author discusses each of these aspectsin detail. His view is that although individual attributes are important, beingin the right place (in particular, the right subunit) is more important.
Once we know where power comes, we need to know how to use it effectively to get things done. This is the subject of Part III - Strategies & Tactics for Employing Power Effectively, which consists of 6 chapters. It begins with the topic of framing & how the way we see things depends upon the contextin which they are seen. This,in turn, is affected by the principles of contrast, commitment, & scarcity. There is also the consideration of interpersonal influence by examining the impact of what others are saying or doing, the effects of liking, & the use of emotional contrast. Understanding this make it possible for us to consider some strategic elementsin the exercise & development of power. "It is not enough to know that power exists. It is also critical to know how power is used - to have an arsenal of strategies & tactics that translate power & influence into practical results."
However, the discussions of the strategies & tactics for employing power might us lose sight of what organizations are all about - getting things done. Therefore the final section of the book, Part IV - Power Dynamics, begins by providing some cautionary ideas about how power is lost. It shows how even the mighty fall, & consider what this means for us as we think about own personal relationship to power & influence. This part also considers how power dynamics can be productive or unproductive for the organization. "The book is about managing with power, & it is also about managing power." The final chapter returns to the main subject of the book: getting things done through understanding & using power & influence. "... there is a greater sin than making mistakes or influencing others - the sin of doing nothing."
Yes, I do like this book. It discusses a subject with which most of us have to deal day-in day out, whether we like it or not. Jeffrey Pfeffer provides us with an excellent handbook for understanding power & influence, but also with strategies & tactics on using it. Pfeffer also recognizes that certain individuals are obsessed with politics & power (I think that most of you will know what I am talking about), & therefore finishes the book with some excellent cautionary advice. Although the author has a strong academical background the book is writtenin a very practical manner complemented with good, understandable examples. Highly recommended.
Useful book; contains many eye openers. - By: GP Karman, 25 Feb 2003 This book discusses how to influence other people, how to get things done, how to prevent that others get things done, etc. The authors main point is that the ability to get things done is equally important as knowing what to do. He describes many methods of exercising influence. This is very useful material for people who are not experiencedin this 'game of life'.
As far as the content, I can recommend it to anyone. One drawbackin my opinion is the length of the book. It could have been much more compact, & summaries are also missing. Butin the end, I found the time investedin reading it worthwhile, so I give it 4 stars.
Power politics for managers - By: , 23 Nov 1998 Excellent book. Discusses use & abuse of power, politics & status within organisations such as universities, local/central government & commercial companies. Gives enough depth to understand what power is all about, how people wield power, hints on how to increase your power, & how power is lost.
