Discover how to gain (and keep) power in any situation with this “remarkably insightful read on what power is, how it’s gained, and how it can be used for good” (Adam Grant, bestselling author of Think Again ).
Power is one of the most misunderstood—and therefore vilified—concepts in our society. Many assume power is predetermined by personality or wealth, or that it’s gained by strong-arming others. You might even write it off as “dirty” and want nothing to do with it. But by staying away from power, you give it up to someone else who may not have your best interest in mind. We must understand and use our power to have impact, and pioneering researchers Julie Battilana and Tiziana Casciaro provide the playbook for doing so in Power, for All .
Battilana and Casciaro offer a “necessary” (Tarana Burke, creator of the #MeToo movement and bestselling author of Unbound ) and “invaluable” (David Gergen, CNN political analyst) vision of the ability to influence someone else’s behavior. This influence is derived from having access to valued resources, and once you understand what those are, you can take action to improve life for yourself and others.
With proven strategies of agitating, innovating, and orchestrating change, Power, for All shows how those with less power can challenge established structures to make them more balanced. The authors teach you how to power-map your workplace to find who can create real change at work, plan for and cause sustaining shifts, and understand the two basic needs all human beings share—safety and self-esteem—and the resources people seek to satisfy those money and status, but also autonomy, achievement, affiliation, and mortality. They explore how these dynamics play out through vivid as Donatella Versace successfully leads her brother’s company after his death—despite having a title, but little influence; what social movements can learn from youth climate activists and how they can go farther; and how a manager can gain the trust of skeptical employees and improve the workplace.
Power, for All demystifies the essential mechanisms for acquiring and using power for all people.
Brilliant piece of work by Julie Battilana & Tiziana Casciaro, dissecting and elucidating the seemingly simple notion of power. From social power to political power to financial power, the authors analyse the construct of fundamental power, how it is acquired, pitfalls of power and what a well educated and engaged citizenry can do to keep the powerful in check. For anyone interested in social justice or innovative power networks or fostering transformations at work or otherwise, this is a great foundational read. Love it
3/5 I picked this one on a whim, during a time I was switching jobs, negotiating a new salary and on top of that the invasion of Ukraine happened. I was struggling with my perception of power, while sickly feeling extremely powerless. So this book jumped out to me in the store and I am glad I picked it up, despite the last half of the book being very "lofty"
Power is energy. Trying to change something in our world without power is like trying to drive without any fuel.
This is the main lesson I take away from this book. As much as money, power is neutral.
If you have always felt a bit out of touch with power, but want to contribute and change something in our world, pick this one up.
Absolutely fantastic. I put this up there with Patty McCord’s “Powerful” as a book that everyone in management should read, but more so people that have to work with managers should definitely read. The book defines power, how and where it is used, and how one can access and use it.
A good foundational book on the various aspects of power. Julie Battilana and Tiziana Casciaro tap into a wide range of social science research to present a thesis on how power works, and how individuals, activists, workplaces and the wider society should reason and distribute it.
The book does a good job of combining personal stories with the latest research. The numerous examples of the historical, moral and societal uses of power provide relatable cases to illustrate how power has been and is applied. The authors are happy to push a social agenda, so this isn't just a dry science take. Nothing wrong with that.
The book takes a very nurture-centric viewpoint, with natural learning ability and behavioural differences waved away as pseudoscience. This is one of the authors' weakest points, as relative intelligence plays such a major role in gaining power in life in modern societies. Academic success is purely attributed to existing power structures, e.g. children of the top class get access to "résumé-building extracurriculars" which cements power along family lines. This is a topic of much more nuanced debate than the authors imply.
Reading the book sparked a few new ideas for me, so I felt it was well worth the read. A mental model of splitting power into stages of agitate, innovate and orchestrate was great for explaining how many of the social media-based rallies pick steam and which hurdles often lead to them ending with a whimper. Another insightful take was the holistic view on how a combination of personal world view, social environment, and old powerstructures come together to have an amplified effect on individual behaviour and success.
Today’s Book of the Day is POWER, FOR ALL, written by Julia Battilana and Tiziana Casciaro in 2021 and published by Simon & Schuster.
Julia Battilana is a French professor of organizational behaviour and social innovation at the Harvard Business School and the Harvard Kennedy School, where she is also the founder and faculty chair of the Social Innovation and Change Initiative. She has studied the politics of change, power, and leadership in organizations and in society. She is also the co-founder of the Democratizing Work initiative, a global alliance of researchers and practitioners collaborating toward a more just, green, and fair economic system.
Tiziana Casciaro is an Italian professor of organizational behaviour at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. She researches interpersonal and organizational networks and power dynamics and advises organizations and professionals across industries.
I have chosen this book because it deals with a topic I usually discuss and campaign for: the meaning and the redistribution of power.
The book has a core idea: power, often seen as a negative element in business, is based on its impact and significance on relationships and as such its better use comes from its distribution instead of accumulation.
Reading the book you understand that every power relationship can be read and understood based on its four elements:
Do you have what the other party wants? How many alternatives to you and your role do they have to get it? Do they have something that you may want? Do you have alternatives to them for getting it? From this intrinsic duality, Battilana and Casciaro draw their conclusion: if power is based on a relationship between parties, then it is possible to improve this relationship. The best way to do it, according to the authors, is to reduce the gap between the extremes by giving everyone in the game the same power.
We all know that getting too close to the fire you get burned and power can be intoxicating, from this point of view.
To avoid the risk associated with the accumulation of power, the best solution is to become aware of the need for empathy in our organizations and society. Once we become aware of it, we can nurture it, and develop an attitude of sharing the power with those we have around us.
Empathy is an essential trait for leaders, who need to develop and use it in their relationships with both their employees and customers. This, in turn, will reduce the feeling of a powerful yet isolated leadership and management that is often present in many businesses.
Every role in a company that gives the person some power should be designed, according to the authors’ point of view, so that this power is used keeping in mind its real meaning: a way to better serve and help others rather than a tool to control them.
One of the brilliant suggestions in the book is for managers to maintain some humbling attitudes and tasks. Doing small things will help them to understand that every job and role is worth it and that being a manager should not be seen as a granted privilege or a way to our pressure on colleagues and employees.
All this brings us to the authors’ central message: power cannot be the privilege of a few in a society or an organization, but rather a precious, valuable social resource that should be redistributed democratically across the organizations to help people grow, feel engaged, and live better.
Power, for All focuses on two basic needs for everyone: safety and self-esteem. The book makes an excellent job of demonstrating the many different ways and resources people pursue to meet these needs, such as looking for symbols of social and economic power, money, and social status, but also the freedom of choice, personal and professional achievements, and recognition.
Keeping this in mind an organization can distribute power democratically so as to run the business, its managers, stakeholders, and employees in a new, strategic way that will enhance the potential of everyone instead of just a few.
The good news is that this is not just a utopia, the ideas and values in the book can be concretely and effectively applied to every organization willing to welcome change and develop these new concepts and mindset based more on empathy and fulfilment rather than money and control.
All of this can be done, according to the authors, by understanding the real roots of power, using both psychology and structural analysis, working on both the individual and social levels, and taking care of the interest of both the individuals and the entire organization.
This book is as enjoyable as it is stimulating! In a shrewd mix of vivid real-life examples and academic research, Battilana and Casciaro explain what power is, “how it really works,” and “why it’s everyone’s business.” Understanding power as the ability influence others’ behavior spotlights that it is indeed everyone’s business. From team meetings at our work to study groups at our school to neighborhood associations on our street, our lives revolve around situations in which others’ behavior, and hence power, is important. It is not something that is of concern only to usual suspects, such as political or corporate leaders. Nor does it have to be Machiavellian, as it is often conceptualized to be. In the authors’ words, “power can be dirty, but does not have to be.” The authors also explain how one can exercise power, building on a simple yet powerful point: what enables one person to influence another is to control over access to resources the other person values. Accordingly, it is important to understand what people value and who controls access to them. Implications of Battilana and Casciaro’s insights abound. For example, saying that things don’t work (which they refer to as to “agitate”) is not enough to bring change in social movements. It is also necessary to create actionable solutions (“innovate”) and coordinate actions across diverse parties (“orchestrate”), which would not be possible without power and influence. This beautifully written, insightful book will change the way you look at the world.
Grasping the dynamics of power is the key not only to pursuing our personal objectives, but also to participating effectively in shaping our collective future. This book explains the dynamics of power in a simple manner.
This book is meant for everyone, including those that have been excluded from power. That power can be for all is the brilliant theme of the book. It convincingly demonstrates that power is everyone’s business and that power is for all of us. The book presents tested ideas and solutions to make power accessible to all. This is a practical guidebook on power.
The book has eight chapters. The first chapter describes some ways to shift the balance of power. The second chapter explains how power can be used for virtuous purposes and not be allowed to become dirty in our hands. The next two chapters answer two questions that are crucial for diagnosing where the power lies in any situation: What do the people involved value? Who controls access to what they value? The next two chapters help in learning how to disrupt entrenched hierarchies of power. Chapter 7 discusses how to deploy technology to ensure that power changes hands and falls in the hands of many, thereby achieving a democratization of power. The last chapter outlines the ways in which power can be kept in check.
This is an extraordinary book that will enable anyone to understand, build, and use power.
This was so much like background music that I finished it one sitting and am not really sure what I heard...but the places I earmarked are helpful so perhaps I should re-listen before I give a rating.
3 pernicious fallacies: 1) power is a thing you possess; some special people have traits to acquire it. Must have or get traits to get power. 2) power is positional; mistaking authority for power 3) power is dirty; requires manipulation, coercion, cruelty
"Miriam's experience in getting caught up in the comfort of power and becoming insensitive to others is not uncommon."
"Research shows that the feeling of progress, born out of increasing confidence and achievement, is a source of motivation for people at work."
"Across cultures and contacts, people judge other individuals and groups on two criteria: competence and warmth....Warmth is trust in someone's intentions. Competence is trust in someone's ability to act on their intentions."
"Before you can build your own power you need to understand who currently holds it and why."
This is one the enlightening books you must read to understand the world around you, like Guns, Germs and Steel, Sapiens, or On the Origin of Species. Most importantly, Power for All gives the reader the tools to analyze power dynamics around you, and how to bring about change to the power structures that are responsible for the situations you may be in, at work, or in your community. The book is also fun to read as it features a bevy of real life stories that take place in a variety of cultural settings. For example, you learn how an illiterate woman in an African village becomes the most powerful individual in her community. Studying power is absolutely worth your time. I highly recommend Power for All.
In this brilliant synthesis of the state of knowledge on power, Battilana & Casciaro provide an evidence based tour de force. They provide a helpful framework for understanding and using power and, unlike so many books on power, the evidence to support their approach. Their framework also involves an explicit discussion of how to use power both practically and *ethically*, an important step past prior work. On top of all of that, the writing is clear, engaging, and entertaining. In short, this book is an instant classic and should be required reading for MBA students, budding politicians, and even parents.
Battilana and Casciaro provide a refreshing view of power and how everyone can gain and use it based on years of research. Even more importantly, it explains the nature of power and describes both how to wield and defend from it for a positive impact in society.
This book has an excellent structure and gives an in-depth framework of the key concepts and mechanisms. It provides an outstanding balance of models & strategies grounded with specific examples and stories. It is consistently constructive and helpful to anyone who wants to understand and use power to impact positively.
One of the most thought-provoking and lucid treatments of power ever written. This book helped me understand that power is not dirty or relegated to a select few, but essential for driving positive change in the world. Deeply accessible, and the stories in each chapter help bring the concepts being described to life (I especially loved the stories of an Argentine LGBT+ activist working for marriage equality.) I would highly recommend this book to anyone feeling overwhelmed by organizational politics or powerless to the whims of their bosses, or their bosses' bosses.
This book is a good reality check for people in the social impact field (I'm sure others too but that's my work). We talk all the time about power and yet my experience is that many people underestimate how often power dynamics are at play when approaching their day to day work and/or even their strategic priorities.
The authors do a great job of unpacking how power works at the individual, organizational, and movement level. I know I will use this myself and also share it with my employees going forward.
It was very refreshing to read this book! The book is based on authors years of research on one of the most important topics in human histoy-power. It is engaging and very well structured to understand principles of power and use of it in the history, politics, business and every day life.. This book is relevant to everyone as power impacts our professional and personal lives. Well written and has been an enjoyable read with many practical and actionable insights. I have already purchased extra copies for my coworkers and friends. One of the best books I read this year!
I was delighted by this book. It was meticulously researched, interdisciplinary in the best sense AND highly readable and engaging. I thought the topic would be awfully hard to cover in one book but somehow the authors navigate centuries of scholarly works, from Plato through Machiavelli and Foucault and Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter, with stories that bring to life the point that all of us have power and can choose to use it to make the world a better place. A lofty goal, but masterfully attained. This book will make you feel smarter for having read it, and more powerful.
I read this for my course (LLO8110) on Leadership Theory and I really enjoyed learning about power and the forms it can take as well as different ways we can access it, even if we aren’t in a positional role that seems to have it in abundance. At the simplest, power is just having a resource (tangible or intangible) that someone else values. It is not fixed and it is not inherently bad, but I appreciated the ways that the authors looked at how to monitor ourselves, as power can cause a shift in mindset.
Power, For All provides a truly insightful analysis of power and its inner workings, but with a remarkably relatable twist. The authors provide concrete situational examples about people's experiences with power, and debunk the main preconceived fallacies people have about it. Power, for All really convinced me that power is indeed for everyone, and if harnessed correctly, can be the force that brings about positive change in society.
A truly helpful guide to learning how to understand and navigate power. I would recommend it to anyone who has felt overwhelmed by the subject or felt as if you don't have power! Battilana and Casciaro clarify and make digestible the concept of power, the misconceptions surrounding it, and how we can all use it to change the world around us for the better.
Thoughtful prospective on how power, or bettur influence's mechanism works over other people. The language is clear and the reasoning is easy to follow, with short but effective descriptions of examples which helped to understand what both professors have experienced through their researches on human behaviour.
Great read, didn't realize how universal power really is
As someone who feels fairly aware of power dynamics, I found the book really good to validate my beliefs a d challenge some others that I had. I think overall the book has helped make me better at politics at work and in social situations. We'll done
I read the 48 laws of power before, where powers are presented as nasty but vivid recipes. Yet, just in this book I got the definition of power which makes sense and finally is possible to reason about. I won't spoil it, you'll find the definition in the beginning of the book.The rest of the book explains what contributes to gaining the power or resisting/balancing the power. Recommended.
Enjoyed this and took my time to go through it which helped. I liked the sections on organizing and protests (chapter 6: Agitate, innovate, orchestrate) and algorithmic decision making/ digital transformation (chapter 7: power doesn’t change- it just changes hands) the best
A good primer on the types of power and the factors that build, destroy and change it.
Moral of the story: you need power to enact a change you want to see in your environment. If you don’t have it, you can find like minded people and bind together to change it democratically.
The book's central thesis is that power is misunderstood as something you possess, only positional (i.e., for kings) and dirty. The authors believe that power can be for all, and it's a matter of who controls resources that are valued by others.
Power for All distills the theory behind power and power structures down to an easy to read and comprehend book, and in doing so makes it relatable across industries. Highly recommend for anyone leading an organization, or who wants to be, or anyone serving in a senior leadership role.
A really important book on the nature of power and how to use it. The first several chapters are dynamite. I’ll be thinking about some of these concepts for a long while to come.
great opening, but become boring as it progressed isinya bisa dirangkum dalam 40 halaman pertama dan 20 halaman terakhir. Kekuasaan adalah tentang siapa yg punya akses ke sumber daya yang penting