This was a hard review for me to write, because I am so conflicted about 7 Rules of Power: Surprising–but True–Advice on How to Get Things Done and Advance Your Career, by Jeffrey Pfeffer.
Here’s the good news. If you follow Pfeffer’s advice, you are much more likely to attain positions of power and be able to use that power to get things done. The bad news is that you might not like the person you become—or reveal yourself to be.
Let’s address the good news first.
I’ve been a fan of Jeffrey Pfeffer’s work for a long time, since I first read The Knowing-Doing Gap almost 30 years ago. I’ve read at least six of his books, and like them because they are filled with evidence-based management and personal advice, and because his research leads him to counter so much of what passes for management advice, and focus on uncomfortable truths about how power actually works in the real world, vs. how idealist leadership “gurus” want it to be.
His latest book, 7 Rules of Power: Surprising—but True—Advice on How to Get Things Done, follows that same tradition: a lot of practical advice based on solid research. There is a lot to like in this book. (If you haven’t read Pfeffer before, this book is useful because it encapsulates a lot of his ideas briefly. If you have read Power or Managing with Power, you probably won’t learn much that’s new.)
Briefly, the 7 Rules are:
- Get out of your own way
- Break the rules
- Appear powerful
- Build a powerful brand
- Network relentlessly
- Use your power
- Success excuses (almost) everything
Without going into detail for each rule, the gist is this: the world is not fair, and you don’t move up or accumulate power simply by showing up and doing good work, especially if others are employing some of the 7 rules to leapfrog you.
I don’t argue against the efficacy of Pfeffer’s 7 rules in attaining and maintaining power. They make sense to me, and he backs up his claims with solid evidence.
But I strongly take issue with Pfeffer’s stance on attaining and using power. Pfeffer says that morality is irrelevant to the pursuit of power. He says “Leadership is not a moral pursuit. It is above all about the pragmatism of making things happen.”
My first critique is that the suggestion that the ends justify the means sounds suspiciously close to those who praised a certain dictator because he made the trains run on time, or evangelicals who tolerate extremely un-Christian behavior from a leader because it gets them seats on the Supreme Court. Even if the ends are honorable, the means always carry consequences that are harmful to many people along the way.
Second, the people who most enthusiastically embrace some of the behaviors described in the book are the least likely to pursue honorable, altruistic aims once they are in power. It’s not so much that power corrupts—more often it reveals true character, because those in power tend to care less about what others think and they get away with it.
Finally, Pfeffer correctly notes that success excuses a lot. Those who attain positions of great power are shielded by that power, so anything you do to get it will carry no consequences. That sadly appears to be more true than ever. But, like most “how to” books, he ignores the fact that it’s possible or even likely that one could carefully employ the first five rules and still fail to attain power, making the last two rules moot. They won’t get to the point where they are immune from the consequences of their behavior.
If you want practicality, this is the book for you. If you want morality, don’t read it. In the end, I ask myself, would I want my son or daughter to read it? I would give a cautious yes, but I would trust them to sort out what they are comfortable with. I agree with Pfeffer’s contention that I don’t have a right to preach to you, so the same applies to you.
For further reading:
