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Power Moves: Lessons from Davos
Adam Grant, the New York Times best-selling author of Give and Take, Originals, and Option B, went to the World Economic Forum in Davos to find out what the world’s most visionary and influential leaders had to say about power—and its transformative role in our society.
What he learned there may surprise you.
Grant delivers a heady mix of captivating interviews, compelling data, and his unmistakably incisive and actionable analysis, to give us a crash course in power that both inspires and instructs from the front lines. In interviews with two dozen CEOs, start-up founders, top scientists, and thought leaders—including top executives at Google, GM, Slack, and Goldman Sachs, the CEO of the Gates Foundation, and NASA’s former chief scientist—he shares hard-earned insights on how to succeed in this new era of hyper-linked power. He also explores how power is reshaping everything from the workforce, to the rise of women in the office, to the influence of scientists on policy.
As pillars of traditional power are transformed by networks of informed citizens, the use of power is increasingly seen as a force for good in the world, from one that was once coveted to one that demands to be shared.
What he learned there may surprise you.
Grant delivers a heady mix of captivating interviews, compelling data, and his unmistakably incisive and actionable analysis, to give us a crash course in power that both inspires and instructs from the front lines. In interviews with two dozen CEOs, start-up founders, top scientists, and thought leaders—including top executives at Google, GM, Slack, and Goldman Sachs, the CEO of the Gates Foundation, and NASA’s former chief scientist—he shares hard-earned insights on how to succeed in this new era of hyper-linked power. He also explores how power is reshaping everything from the workforce, to the rise of women in the office, to the influence of scientists on policy.
As pillars of traditional power are transformed by networks of informed citizens, the use of power is increasingly seen as a force for good in the world, from one that was once coveted to one that demands to be shared.
Audiobook
Published January 3, 2019
26 people are currently reading
259 people want to read
About the author
Adam M. Grant
44 books21.4k followersAdam Grant has been Wharton’s top-rated professor for 7 straight years. As an organizational psychologist, he is a leading expert on how we can find motivation and meaning, and live more generous and creative lives. He has been recognized as one of the world’s 10 most influential management thinkers and Fortune’s 40 under 40.
He is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 5 books that have sold millions of copies and been translated into 35 languages: Think Again, Give and Take, Originals, Option B, and Power Moves. His books have been named among the year’s best by Amazon, Apple, the Financial Times, and the Wall Street Journal. His New York Times article on languishing is one of the most-shared articles of 2021.
Adam hosts WorkLife, a chart-topping TED original podcast. His TED talks on original thinkers and givers and takers have been viewed more than 30 million times. He received a standing ovation at TED in 2016 and was voted the audience’s favorite speaker at The Nantucket Project. His speaking and consulting clients include Google, the NBA, Bridgewater, and the Gates Foundation. He writes on work and psychology for the New York Times, has served on the Defense Innovation Board at the Pentagon, and has been honored as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He has more than 5 million followers on social media and features new insights in his free monthly newsletter, GRANTED.
He is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 5 books that have sold millions of copies and been translated into 35 languages: Think Again, Give and Take, Originals, Option B, and Power Moves. His books have been named among the year’s best by Amazon, Apple, the Financial Times, and the Wall Street Journal. His New York Times article on languishing is one of the most-shared articles of 2021.
Adam hosts WorkLife, a chart-topping TED original podcast. His TED talks on original thinkers and givers and takers have been viewed more than 30 million times. He received a standing ovation at TED in 2016 and was voted the audience’s favorite speaker at The Nantucket Project. His speaking and consulting clients include Google, the NBA, Bridgewater, and the Gates Foundation. He writes on work and psychology for the New York Times, has served on the Defense Innovation Board at the Pentagon, and has been honored as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He has more than 5 million followers on social media and features new insights in his free monthly newsletter, GRANTED.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
December 7, 2020
don’t pick up this audiobook if you are looking for extensive research and discussion on the subject of power… cause this ain't it ;) BUT if you want to listen to a lot of interesting short interviews with a whole bunch of people from all sorts of different businesses this will be perfect :) I very much enjoyed this short listen, but I do wish it would have been longer cause it talked about a lot of fascinating topics connected to power :) I will definitely look for other books / podcasts or something else about it, because it definitely got me curious to research this subject more :) highly recommend it :)
XOXO
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XOXO
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June 16, 2020
Mostly boring. It's just a series of interviews with people at Davos about aspects of power - there's nothing particularly insightful. In fact there are a number of annoying things about the book:
- Not everyone should read audiobooks. The author's voice is a bit irritating.
- Background music in an audiobook is more distracting than artsy.
- Any scientific studies cited were referred to at such a superficial level that they didn't add anything to the points being made - they were included as if to say "because science". For example, a study that showed hedge fund managers who were "givers" rather than "takers" performed better. What precisely was the metric used? How exactly was the line drawn between "givers" and "takers"? What sociological or psychological phenomenon can give some insight into this "result"? There was absolutely no discussion along these lines, so the reference was worthless in my view.
- The content is much better suited to a series of articles or podcasts. It's an indictment of a 3hr audiobook if you feel you have to persevere to the end.
- Not everyone should read audiobooks. The author's voice is a bit irritating.
- Background music in an audiobook is more distracting than artsy.
- Any scientific studies cited were referred to at such a superficial level that they didn't add anything to the points being made - they were included as if to say "because science". For example, a study that showed hedge fund managers who were "givers" rather than "takers" performed better. What precisely was the metric used? How exactly was the line drawn between "givers" and "takers"? What sociological or psychological phenomenon can give some insight into this "result"? There was absolutely no discussion along these lines, so the reference was worthless in my view.
- The content is much better suited to a series of articles or podcasts. It's an indictment of a 3hr audiobook if you feel you have to persevere to the end.
January 8, 2024
This was another Audible book for me. I typically enjoy books that offer advice on life, career, values, finances, and mindsets. I thought this book would be similar to those types that I’ve read in the past, but it was structured quite differently. I know this was an audiobook, but instead of this being a narrated self-help kind of book, it ended up feeling more like a motivational podcast with a slurry of famous and powerful people sharing tidbits of advice. I truly couldn’t keep track of any of the names of the people Grant interviewed much less their job titles or why they were considered to be so powerful.
At any rate, I still had a few positive takeaways from the book that I will share here.
• I enjoyed the chapter where Grant actually discussed the different types of power, but he didn’t really capitalize on how to gain power or influence other than the brief definitions he provides of each type, which I’ve reiterated below. Five different ways to gain or wield influence to become more powerful:
1. Coercive power – influence based on threats and punishments.
2. Reward power – using the ability to offer incentives.
3. Legitimate power – influence based on your position or title.
4. Referent power – influence based on being liked or admired.
5. Expert power – influence based on your knowledge or skills.
6. A 6th power has also been added: Informational Power – This is like Expert power but it isn’t tied to your competence, it’s the ideas opinions and facts you collect by virtue of where you sit and who you happen to meet. Informational power is becoming more critical as work becomes more project-based.
• When a group or organization is going through a culture change, it is not the best strategy to highlight the expected benefits of the change. This isn’t the best route because people are usually pretty positive about the status quo, if they weren’t they would have changed already. If you want people to change, you need to destabilize the status quo, which means leading with all the bad things that are going to happen if they don’t change.
• Appreciative Inquiry – asking groups what is working instead of focusing on what isn’t working.
At any rate, I still had a few positive takeaways from the book that I will share here.
• I enjoyed the chapter where Grant actually discussed the different types of power, but he didn’t really capitalize on how to gain power or influence other than the brief definitions he provides of each type, which I’ve reiterated below. Five different ways to gain or wield influence to become more powerful:
1. Coercive power – influence based on threats and punishments.
2. Reward power – using the ability to offer incentives.
3. Legitimate power – influence based on your position or title.
4. Referent power – influence based on being liked or admired.
5. Expert power – influence based on your knowledge or skills.
6. A 6th power has also been added: Informational Power – This is like Expert power but it isn’t tied to your competence, it’s the ideas opinions and facts you collect by virtue of where you sit and who you happen to meet. Informational power is becoming more critical as work becomes more project-based.
• When a group or organization is going through a culture change, it is not the best strategy to highlight the expected benefits of the change. This isn’t the best route because people are usually pretty positive about the status quo, if they weren’t they would have changed already. If you want people to change, you need to destabilize the status quo, which means leading with all the bad things that are going to happen if they don’t change.
• Appreciative Inquiry – asking groups what is working instead of focusing on what isn’t working.
May 15, 2020
Meh. Coulda been an article/podcast. Always find the famous-people-interviewing-famous-people style of knowledge sharing minimally insightful and indulgent unless the conversations actually dig deeper and more personal. Granted, I’m writing this review a year after listening to this, but these are my noodles in hindsight. Probably pass, but it’s also ok.
May 4, 2020
Audible book with interviews. It was ok.
April 20, 2020
This is a relatively short audio book by Adam Grant who does research and writes about organizations and leadership. In this book he uses the context of the World Economic Forum at Davos and the encounter with major leaders of industry in that context to examine the nature of Power in organizations, how to obtain it, how it is used, how it is seen, etc. He also looks into gender biases when it comes to the topic of power in business and politics.
I found the book informative and worth reading (actually listening to).
I found the book informative and worth reading (actually listening to).
June 4, 2020
One of those audiobooks that was probably written in a forced session of productivity when it realistically could have been an article.
Minor point, but adding in music to the background of the audiobook was REALLY annoying.
Some good lessons, but A LOT of filler.
Minor point, but adding in music to the background of the audiobook was REALLY annoying.
Some good lessons, but A LOT of filler.
December 1, 2023
3 stars. Meh. Short. Mildly interesting.
November 29, 2020
- I was pleasantly surprised by this piece. It's not really a book, rather audio show. Interesting conversations about power, with people who hold it, or those who study them.
- You can hear from CEOs of Microsoft, Google, Slack, Nasa, GM and Goldman Sachs. The professor who studied presidents and their relationship to power. Presidential photographer. And other leaders who visit the World Economic Forum at Davos.
- My expectations were low, after hearing a lot of critique of Adam's work. This is not science book, well made piece of journalism IMO.
- "Power doesn't corrupt, it shows who you really are"
- There is lot of talk about empathy, equality, and changes in power structures in contemporary world.
- You can hear from CEOs of Microsoft, Google, Slack, Nasa, GM and Goldman Sachs. The professor who studied presidents and their relationship to power. Presidential photographer. And other leaders who visit the World Economic Forum at Davos.
- My expectations were low, after hearing a lot of critique of Adam's work. This is not science book, well made piece of journalism IMO.
- "Power doesn't corrupt, it shows who you really are"
- There is lot of talk about empathy, equality, and changes in power structures in contemporary world.
March 26, 2021
This audiobook was a little dull for me. Any beginning business administration student should already know this information. Nothing really new is added to those who have taken business courses. However, I did enjoy the last ch. I can see why it was saved for last.
Overall, though, there really is not much to say about this audiobook. It is divided into 7 ch that each talk about a different aspect of power and how to hang onto it while making improvements to whatever goal, business, etc. you have. And again, business students should already know these facts. Those new to business and this subject would probably benefit from hearing it, otherwise I would probably just skip it.
Overall, though, there really is not much to say about this audiobook. It is divided into 7 ch that each talk about a different aspect of power and how to hang onto it while making improvements to whatever goal, business, etc. you have. And again, business students should already know these facts. Those new to business and this subject would probably benefit from hearing it, otherwise I would probably just skip it.
September 2, 2020
This is not your average audiobook, it’s an interview compendium packed in Audible-exclusive audiobook format. Nonetheless, it’s worth the 3+ hrs it takes to tune it.
As a book, it does a great job in exposing the different manifestations of power in both the classical concept and the current standards, why politicians pursue constant power positions, how should you behave within your workplace to achieve the best outcome out of the situation, but most importantly, how to encourage your team to feel they own their work, that their efforts do have an impact on the outcome of the organisation.
As a book, it does a great job in exposing the different manifestations of power in both the classical concept and the current standards, why politicians pursue constant power positions, how should you behave within your workplace to achieve the best outcome out of the situation, but most importantly, how to encourage your team to feel they own their work, that their efforts do have an impact on the outcome of the organisation.
July 25, 2024
I love Adam and his works. The way his mind works is fascinating and he explains concepts well.
This was a very different book from his normal style. To start, it is an audible only book, narrated by Adam Grant. I'm not sure if 3 stars is the correct rating, but I picked it because it's hard to figure out where this sits. This was closer to his interviews than his normal research and findings. If you have Audible and like Adam Grant, I absolutely recommend this. If you don't, you don't need to sign up for this one in particular.
This was a very different book from his normal style. To start, it is an audible only book, narrated by Adam Grant. I'm not sure if 3 stars is the correct rating, but I picked it because it's hard to figure out where this sits. This was closer to his interviews than his normal research and findings. If you have Audible and like Adam Grant, I absolutely recommend this. If you don't, you don't need to sign up for this one in particular.
January 9, 2021
Loved this. Super informative, thought provoking and entertaining. It never got boring. So many topics and concepts covered, I was consistently taking notes and marking topics I wanted to look into further that I hadn’t heard of or considered before listening to this audible piece. Highly recommend to anyone, whether you’re pursuing a power position or not.
November 12, 2025
Grant's Power Moves reminds me of a Gladwell audiobook product. He uses interesting interviews and short narratives to delve into prescient issues for today's leaders. I found the book illuminating as it sharpened my perspectives on AI, networking and the sensibilities of rising generations. Very enjoyable.
October 22, 2020
A great listen (only available as an audiobook). Each chapter is fairly standalone and has summary tips at the end. The chapters on Women power and Robot power were great listens. The book could have been a series podcast episodes probably.
December 21, 2020
I was not the intended audience for most of this short audio book. Their advice is far too late for me. There were some interesting bits though, especially the last two chapters on AI and the reason that science can no longer avoid politics.
May 6, 2020
Me gustó mucho. Una serie de entrevistas con personajes influyentes del mundo actual. Siempre es bueno escuchar algunas visiones de otras personas.
July 27, 2020
What a fun listen! Filled with great insight on influence and leadership.
October 18, 2020
Too much sugar coating and bias
November 2, 2020
Chapter 3: Powerful Women...alone makes this whole book worth read.
The book illustrates REAL power and those that utilized it in their own way from politics, to business to human rights.
The book illustrates REAL power and those that utilized it in their own way from politics, to business to human rights.
December 9, 2020
Hey, just because I'm a billionnaire, doesn't mean I'm a bad guy, right?
December 26, 2020
LOVE Adam Grant, but if you’ve listened to his podcast, you’ve heard this all before.
My Full Review
My Full Review
January 7, 2021
Audiobook
January 8, 2021
wish i could unread.
January 17, 2021
Enjoyable discussion with multiple attendees at Davos...
February 16, 2021
More of a long podcast. Most of the concepts and studies referenced I’ve heard before.
February 20, 2021
Once again, Adam Grant has created a beautiful, thought-provoking listen.
March 21, 2021
Interesting enough. Feel weird including it as a book read, as it's basically a podcast series in audiobook form, but there was certainly some good ideas that I may return to.
April 8, 2021
Power doesn’t corrupt, it only magnifies a person’s characteristics. Reading Meditations by Marcus Aurelius reminds me of this
April 13, 2021
Enjoyed audiobook. It’s a quick listen. Gives good perspective.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews