Jeffrey Pfeffer
Guest is known for...
Jeffrey Pfeffer has been teaching at Stanford since 1979. He has Co-Authored or Authored 16 books, the last one being, 7 Rules of Power. He is in the Thinkers 50 Hall of Fame, a list that celebrate the all-time greats in the world of Business that are moving the world forward with their original ideas.
Here's what I will learn...
We spoke at length about his recent book on Power. More specifically, we spoke about the tension between Power and various other concepts that are doing the rounds in “pop wisdom” – Power vs Autonomy, Power vs Humility, Power vs Vulnerability, Power vs Authenticity and much more. He has a knack of telling things the way they are without mincing words.
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From the Podcast
Jeffrey speaks about how he came around to studying Power. He also goes on to speak about the kinds of career choices he has made and what he has said No to over time as his Power increased over time.
Jeffrey speaks about how nuclear energy can be a boon if used to generate electricity but could be a bane if it is used to make a bomb that kills people. Jeffrey goes on to say that context determines if something is good or bad and says that Power works in a similar fashion.
Jeffrey speaks about how being judgmental comes in the way of learning and can drive people away from us. He speaks about how Steve Jobs, Donald Trump and Elon Musk wielded power but as a result had a lot of attrition around them. He also speaks about how we may not have the right to tell somebody else what they ought to do but we possibly have a right or an obligation to tell others how they can get better at doing something.
Jeffrey speaks about how the opposite of humility might be something like Narcissism. He also speaks about Jim Collins work around Level 5 Leadership where he speaks about combining Modesty with Fierce Determination. Jeffrey says that some of these leaders become modest after they become leaders but not on the way to the top.
Jeffrey speaks about how, when people become more powerful, they stop getting meaningful feedback given the power dynamic. He also speaks about how we all need to get out of own way by reminding ourselves behind the “Why” behind accumulating greater Power.
Jeffrey speaks about how one needs to be careful about showing vulnerability while climbing the Corporate Ladder.
Jeffrey speaks about being true to oneself as a limiting construct. He says that by being true to some version of self in the past, we might be limiting our possibilities.
Jeffrey speaks about how we need to be careful about how we signal our warmth vs how we project our competence especially in situations where people are meeting you for the first time.
Jeffrey speaks about how one could think about engaging people and creating a certain stickiness to the commitment they make as a result. He uses the example of Jon Levy and the concept of Influencer Dinners that he organizes.