Building power and influence: Jeffrey Pfeffer's seven rules

Executive overview

Most people avoid thinking about power because it conflicts with how they were raised to think the world should work. But political skill — the ability to build and use influence — is empirically linked to higher salaries, faster promotion, and greater job satisfaction.

Pfeffer's seven rules reframe power as a learnable skill set, not a personality trait. Good people avoiding power doesn't make the world better; it just leaves power to others.

The core insight: if you want power used for good, more good people need to acquire it.

The seven rules of power

1. Get out of your own way — Stop letting discomfort, imposter syndrome, or the desire to be liked block effective action
2. Break the rules — Stand out by defying conventions; the rules were written by those already favoured by them
3. Appear powerful — Body language, eye contact, voice, and presence are skills that can be learned and practised
4. Build a powerful brand — Visibility without substance is useless, but substance without visibility is invisible
5. Network relentlessly — Broaden your network with weak ties; the goal is generosity and brokerage, not schmoozing
6. Use your power — Mobilising resources and getting things done attracts more resources and opportunities
7. Success excuses everything (almost) — Once you have power, prior actions are forgotten; life is self-fulfilling, not homeostatic

Getting out of your own way

• Believing power is dirty ensures you won't do what's needed to succeed
• Imposter syndrome causes preemptory apology — stop apologising before making a point
• Don't use self-disempowering language; if others see you doubt yourself, they will too
• The desire to be liked is a performance cap; prioritise competence and getting the job done
• You were hired to perform a role — not performing it harms the people you work with, not just yourself

Building a personal brand

• There are always fewer positions at the top; you cannot be chosen if people don't know you exist
• Visibility requires deliberate action: writing, podcasting, speaking, events, networking dinners
• Differentiate on something concrete — Keith Ferrazzi launched Deloitte's first CMO role; Tristan Walker signed Starbucks partnerships before he was hired at Foursquare
• Style and physical presentation are part of brand; Laura Chow at Canaan made her height a distinguishing feature
• Reframe self-promotion as amplifying the team's impact or scaling your knowledge

Breaking the rules

• Doing the unexpected makes you memorable — memorability is a prerequisite for advancement
• Industry rules were made by incumbents; disruption means doing what they don't
• One underrated rule to break: don't ask. Asking for help is uncomfortable, but people underestimate how often others say yes
• Worst case when asking: you're no worse off than if you'd never asked

Appearing powerful

• People respond primarily to how someone looks, secondarily to how they sound — content is least important
• Tall people and optimally attractive people earn more; subconscious responses to appearance are well-documented
• Skills to develop: sustained eye contact, no notes, louder voice, open posture, limited apology, purposeful touch
• Jack Valenti — five foot two — felt physically larger because of presence, command of material, and body language
• Steve Jobs couldn't present at the start of his career; Regis McKenna's team built those skills from scratch
• Four stages students go through: denial → anger → sadness → acceptance; the path is practice and coaching

Networking relentlessly

• The foundation of networking is generosity: who can I introduce, what can I share, how can I help?
• The broader your network, the more non-redundant information and opportunities you access
• Weak ties matter most: close contacts share the same knowledge you already have
• Mark Granovetter's research: the best job referrals come from people you're not particularly close to
• Become a broker — connect people who benefit from knowing each other; that's the entire job of VCs, bankers, and agents
• Practical exercise: list 10 people whose knowing you would change your career, then figure out how to reach each one
• Omid Kordestani stopped doing his job at Netscape to network full-time across Silicon Valley — became employee 11 at Google

Using your power

• Taking action with the authority you have attracts more resources, more responsibility, and more trust
• Ambivalence about power — publicly doubting you deserved the promotion — undermines the role from day one
• Showing that you have power creates a self-fulfilling loop: perceived power generates real power
• People are attracted to power; they will overlook flaws to be associated with it

The price of power

• Power trades away autonomy — every hour gets claimed by others' expectations
• Visibility invites scrutiny; things that were ignored before become public record
• The trust dilemma: you can never be sure whether people are close to you or close to your position
• James March's principle: you can have power or autonomy, but not both — choose deliberately

Homework: where to start

• Get a coach or a personal board of directors who give advice, support, and accountability
• Set explicit goals at the outset: what would success look like in 10 weeks?
• Self-assess on the seven attributes of power; build a targeted development plan
• Practice in small increments — push 15% beyond your comfort zone, not 100%
• For every principle, find one action to take this week: ask for something, introduce two people, write a brand statement