This document provides advice on how to build and wield power effectively in an organization or career. It suggests that performance alone is not enough and that managing relationships, especially with powerful bosses, is key. Other tips include networking strategically, taking risks early in one's career, gaining access to resources, conducting honest self-assessments, acting confidently, using anger appropriately, seeking advice, crafting one's public image carefully, and understanding that power is fleeting.

1. Don't believe the myth that some people are born to lead
and others aren't
"One of the biggest mistakes people make is thinking good performance — job
accomplishments — is sufficient to acquire power and avoid organizational difficulties.
Consequently, people leave too much to chance and fail to effectively manage their careers."
Get over the idea that everyone needs to like you
"Larry Summers, Treasury secretary under Bill Clinton, president of Harvard University and
former head of President Barack Obama's National Economic Council, is often described as
prickly, outspoken, and not very sensitive. ... [But] not only has Summers's reputation not
hurt him; it has actually helped."

2. Performance doesn't really matter
Your relationship with your boss matters more. "In 1980, economists James Medoff and
Katherine Abraham observed that salaries in companies were more strongly related to age
and organizational tenure than they were to job performance."
Help powerful people feel good about themselves
"Turnover in senior executive ranks was affected by CEO turnover, particularly when an
outsider came in. That's because CEOs like to put loyalists in senior positions — regardless
of what past incumbents have accomplished."
Build an effective power network

3. "Many studies show that networking is positively related to obtaining good performance
evaluations, objective measures of career success such as salary and organizational level, and
subjective attitudes assessing career satisfaction."
Break the rules, especially early in your career
"In every war in the last 200 years conducted between unequally matched opponents, the
stronger party won about 72% of the time. However, when the underdogs understood their
weakness and used a different strategy to minimize its effects, they won some 64% of the
time, cutting the dominant party's likelihood of victory in half."
Get access to key resources

4. "It would be nice to be Sergey Brin or Larry Page ... or Bill Gates. As they move through
venues like the World Economic Forum, they are surrounded not just by security staff but by
people who want to meet them and get close to them and the organizations they lead."
Do an honest self-assessment
"Because we like to think well of ourselves, we overestimate our own abilities and
performance. ... When people focus on what they need to get to the next stage of their careers,
they are less defensive
Act the part before you've got the part

5. "Over time, you will become more like you're acting — self-assured, confident, and more
strongly-convinced of the truth of what you are saying.
Be OK with conflict and showing anger
"Research shows that people who express anger are seen 'as dominant, strong, competent, and
smart.'
... The researchers found that in negative situations, participants believed that high-status
people would feel more angry than sad or guilty and that low-status people would feel sad
and guilty instead of angry."

6. Don't be afraid to ask for advice
"In one study, participants were asked to estimate how many strangers they would need to
approach in order to get 5 people to fill out a short questionaire. The average estimate was 20
people. ... [In fact], they only needed to approach about 10 people.
Carefully consider and construct your image
"The rise of Barack Obama in the tough world of Chicago and then Illinois politics illustrates
how Obama, from the very beginning, worked to build a political identity that would be
useful to him."
Just remember there's a high price to pay for power

7. Image: AP
Including addiction to power. "When you leave such a position and that level of activity
ceases, it is almost ... 'like a car going from ninety miles an hour to a dead stop.
And in the end, everyone loses power
CEO turnover rate increased 59% between 1995 and 2006, according to a Booz Allen study.